Copyright 1999

I can't write. Okay, don't roll your eyes at me. I know I'm writing this article, and that's writing, but it's not what I'm talking about here. Just keep reading. I haven't lost it completely ... yet ... and you just might find something that will help you, too.

Okay, here's my problem. I sit at my computer at my normal writing schedule, and I can come up with a thousand things to do, other than working on my manuscript.

Anyone know what's wrong? Go ahead, I'm open to suggestions.

"You have writer's block. That's all. Give it time, it'll go away." That's impossible. You see, I don't believe it exists. I think it's nothing more than an urban legend. For those of you who aren't On-line Addicts like myself, an 'urban legend' is nothing more than something someone made up, passed around from person to person, until everyone believes it to be true. It's nothing more than an excuse for procrastinating.

"You're just mulling over your story. When it's ready you'll write it." Okay, I'll buy that. But what does 'mull over' mean? I just happened to have a crossword dictionary handy and guess what, a ten-letter word for 'mull' is procrastinate. Hmm, there's that word again. Anyone else?

"There's a lot going on in your life. When things calm down, you'll get back in the grove." Well, considering I just bought a house, got my girls in school, have daily company, a sick dog, and a husband who's promotion requires him to travel all the time, this is something I can agree with. But, I've always had enough going on in my life for two people anyway. Why is it just affecting me now? Uh oh. I think I see a pattern here. I guess it's safe to assume, since it keeps coming up, that I'm procrastinating for some reason.

But what is procrastination anyway? According to Merriam Webster, it means to put off something that should be done. Okay, now this is making sense. That's what I'm doing. But why?

"You don't know your characters." Hmm, think I'll have to disagree with this one. I know them frontwards, backwards, even sideways. Know where they were born, their family life, what made them who they are. Even know their deepest, darkest secret (thanks Kim for having that question on that Character sketch you passed out!). Now I've been known to let you walk around in a void for five pages without setting the stage. I'm happy to report that that's one problem I no longer suffer from. (Thanks to Marge for suffering through those five pages of white void to let me know that there was a problem and telling me how to fix it!) But characterization? No, that's not the problem either.

"You iust need to research your manuscript more." Again, I have to disagree. I know their location, even though I haven't been there myself I have the Web at my disposal. Have people online to tell me all about it. Even had a person write me a four page email attachment on what the trees smell like after a rain storm so I could us that impression in my writing. I know it's not as good as being there myself, and anyone who wants to buy my ticket to Montana, well, it won't take me but a minute to pack.

"There's something wrong with your story. Something that's making it 'not feel right' when you try and write it. Try starting something new. Maybe some separation will help you determine what went wrong and how to fix it."

Now, this is good advice. Step away. Okay, I can do that. Did that two months ago. Started something new. Have a great outline and a not-too-bad synopsis under my belt. But, I still have a little problem.

Yep, you guessed it, I still can't write.

What makes a person procrastinate? What makes them scrub toilets, with pleasure, to keep from working on their manuscript? Most importantly, how do you get passed it and back into the writing gear?

I don't have all the answers. I don't even know if I'm on the right road here, but, if you're up to exploring some possibilities with me, I'd sure appreciate the company.

So, now that we know what the problem is, how do we go about fixing it? Here are some suggestions. Don't know if they're more Urban legends, but, it something we can try.

• 1. Re-read your outline and/or synopsis. If you don't have one, write one. Put those flame-throwers away right now! Everyone knows I hate to write an outline, and I even put the synopsis off until the very end because I hate writing it so much, but there comes a time when you're desperate enough to try just about anything. Even the dreaded synopsis.
• 2. Free-Associate with a purpose. By this I mean, take your hero, heroine, the villain, even story goal or conflict and write about it for ten to fifteen minutes. Don't stop to check your spelling, or if the comma should be there. Just write, jotting down all facts that pertains to your subject.
• 3. Write a letter to yourself Tell all about the problem, and possible solutions to fix it. This is great because it gives you a chance to vent your frustrations and cuss your characters out for causing you so much trouble. Then, of course, you have to apologize, and get down to some serious problem solving.
• 4. Write the same word or phrase repeatedly. This one calls on your brain's defense mechanisms to get you back to writing. Try it. Open your word processor to a brand new page, type; "I don't know what to write", and repeat each word to yourself as you type it. I've never made it beyond two pages before my characters start screaming the next scene.
• 5. Turn your monitor off. This will not harm your computer in any way. This is also a great way to get into gear and just write. Why? Because you can't stop the flow of the story to edit as you go if you can't see what it is you're writing. Sometimes shutting the internal editor up is enough to get you writing again.
• 6. Write something everyday. I know this is the hard part. It's like getting blood from a turnip, as my grandmother used to say, but it is so important. When you feel the words won't come, that's when you need to write the most. The longer you go without writing, the more painful the starting back up will be. Set little goals for yourself. This can be writing one sentence or ten words a day for a week. Then, upping it to two sentences or twenty words and so on until you're back to writing at full speed.

  If all the above fail, there is still hope. It could be that you're one of those people, like myself who have to have closure - write 'The End'-before you're able to start a new project.

  If you've tried some/all of the suggestions above and you're nodding your head at this statement, there is still hope.

  Call upon your critique group for help. Explain the problems and listen openly for their suggestions. Be prepared to answer question about your premise, GMC, characters, and anything else that might be thrown at you. Remember that all it takes is one question, one 'what if' to get you away from that brick wall and back to producing again.

  Hope some of this helps.

  Happy writing!

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