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Unleash
your writing skills with the WB cure!
Part 2 of Breaking
Out of Writer's Block cracks the case on this dreaded word disease.
By Apryl Duncan
Now, let's take a look at how you can write your way
through Writer's Block.
THE CURE!
After you've beat your fists on the keyboard and taken two aspirin for that
migraine, try these cures for writer's block:
* Revisit *
Re-read some of your previous works. Maybe it was a journal entry. Perhaps you
wrote a poem once. It doesn't matter if you're working on a novel. You can
still gain insight and even inspiration from something else you've written.
* Change of Scenery *
How many times have you heard a song that reminds you of something? Perhaps you
heard that song a dozen times a day when you were in college. So that
particular song brings back memories. The same goes for scenery in your every
day life.
If you're sitting in the same room, day after day, the scenery's going to get
old. That scenery starts to remind you that you're not writing. That you're
stuck in what seems like a hopeless case of Writer's Block.
The solution is simple. Seek out a change of pace. Go for a walk. Take a drive.
* Rewrite Another's Work *
Check out a newspaper or
magazine article. Now rewrite that story from a new angle. Maybe a young girl
was kidnapped. Police are still looking for the suspect and the little girl.
Your version of the story might portray the young girl as the daughter of a
lawyer. Perhaps one of his clients wasn't happy with
the way his own daughter's murder trial was handled. So he kidnapped the
defending lawyer's pride and joy.
* Use Real Pictures *
Flip through a
magazine. Cut out pictures, headlines, even certain blocks of text. Now write a
short story based on your clippings.
For example, you might cut out a picture of a man riding a bicycle on page 14
of your favorite magazine. On page 22 you cut out a quote that says,
"Anyone caught doing this will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law."
Your story could turn into one man's crusade. Perhaps this man's riding his
bicycle across country because he's outraged by automobile pollution levels.
His point is to raise people's awareness about the effects of pollution.
Meanwhile, police keep hindering his efforts because the man's riding his
bicycle on the freeway, a violation of the law. So you have a man on his
bicycle and the police quote, "Anyone caught doing this will be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law."
* Doodle *
Yes! You were scolded in
elementary school for doodling on your paper. Now you have full permission.
Free your mind while scribbling.
No need to think about your character's next move. No plot structures to
consider. Just a sense of connecting your pen to paper.
* Object Focus *
Take a look around
you. Does something catch your eye? Even something as simple as a stapler.
Describe an object in full detail. Start with its size, shape, color.
* Building Blocks *
Romance. Mystery. Thrillers. All
genres have their own keywords. Build keywords from your own genre.
If you're a romance writer, you could come up with words like love, marriage,
betrayal, lust, happiness. Jot down as many words as you can think of.
* Life Events *
The birth of a child. Holidays.
Graduation. Weddings. We all have our favorite life events. Pick one of your
own and write down all your thoughts and feelings about that day. Turn it into
a story.
* Network *
Many authors beat Writer's Block
or avoid it altogether by networking with their fellow writers. Bulletin
boards, chats and writer's Web sites all offer you the chance to meet other
authors and work your way through the many facets of fiction writing. Think of
talking with other writers as your own personal support group.
Writer's Block may attack you at some point in your
writing career but always remember:
WB isn't fatal.
Overcoming WB is not impossible.
WB's only temporary.
Part 1
Part 2
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Apryl Duncan is the founder of FictionAddiction.NET. Visitors can
post their work, search for publishers and agents, read articles on
the writing craft, contact their favorite authors, subscribe to two
newsletters, one for writers and one for readers and so much more.
Visit: http://www.FictionAddiction.NET
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