Writer’s Block.
You had a good story idea. Really you did. But now, after 18,253 words (but who’s counting?) it just seems so—dull. How do you get your story going again?
1. First off, if it seems dull to you, then it’s dull and it needs some shaking up. Are your characters too nice? Are your scenes too normal? People like to relate to settings and characters, but they don’t want to read about something that’s exactly like their own lives.
2. Spin away from your original line of thought. Maybe your characters need to go somewhere else. Maybe they need to meet a new character who will shake things up. Maybe your main character needs a different past, a sinister step-father, a handy secret.
3. Watch a movie. I know—this sounds like a way to procrastinate. But if you watch a movie—and not just any movie but a movie outside your normal entertainment realm—you’ll get some new ideas.
4. Or read some poetry. I picked up African American Poetry for Children on tape the other day and started listening to it during my commute. Fantastic stuff! Langston Hughes’ metaphors and Countee Cullen’s descriptions of people really got my mind churning and thinking of new scenes.
5. Remember that your rough draft is just clay. Somebody told me once that the rough draft is just making clay. After you have the clay you can start sculpting, but that doesn’t happen until you have enough clay. You can—and you must—go back and revise later. So don’t be intimidated. Clay is supposed to be ugly, right?
