Do you believe in writer’s block?
I heard of a writer who after having the first novel published couldn’t write for years afterwards. No matter how hard the writer tried there was no second manuscript in sight.
If that is an accurate description of what writer’s block is about, then it’s pretty severe and scary thing for a budding writer like me to know.
Right now writing is not a problem for me at all.
But wait!
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Spring has sprung. The crabapples bloom heavily, the songbirds perching on a dogwood branch and pastel colors of apple green, yellow and variation shades of pink flowers between multi-colored tulips are a feast for my eyes. The sky is so blue, without any trace of clouds and the wind is cool amid the hot sun penetrating my skin.
This is a perfect spring.
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I read about this debate all over the place – in the forums or in “how to” books for writers.
So what exactly is an outline? It’s defined as a statement or summary of the chief facts about something.
Now if you’re already a writer and you know your preferences, you either outline your novel first before you write or you’re a seat-of-the-pants type of writer – based on intuition or experience – rather than a plan.
If you’re a first time writer and want to write your first novel you should continue reading. Then you can decide for yourself if you’d like to outline first or you prefer to just go a head and start writing.
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Read! Read! And Read!
Sorry, but it’s not a secret at all. And this is what I’m doing lately. I am reading a lot – nonfiction and fiction from my favorite authors. From mystery writers to romance novels, I search the ones I like best.
I am a voracious reader. And this causes me trouble. I often borrow books from the library longer than I should (and this is even after being renewed three times!). My DH (Dear Husband) always becomes the one who rescues me from the “sideways look” of the clerk at the library. And when I thought I was safe, my DH whispers giving me the sideways look. “Why is it that whenever I return your books they always have fines on it?” Witnessed the scene, the clerk gave me a sour look.
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I knew I wanted to write and get published when I first got my grubby paws on the romance novel – you know, the ones with gorgeous river pilot on the cover: tall, dark, muscular and handsome hero with beautiful heroine – when I was 16 years old.
I said to one of my best friends, Sylvia, “I’d love to write my own novel one of these days.”
She looked at me. “Like this one? No. You can’t be serious.”
I tried to hide my mischievous smile.
“I don’t believe you,” she said with bulging eyes.
“Watch me,” I said.
She laughed. “All right. The glint in your eyes convinces me you’re up to something.”
Someone clears his throat. “You two, did you finished your work?”
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After completing my short story a couple of months ago, I managed to write another short fictional piece (750 words) and a short memoir (1,500 words). Between editing my manuscripts, I became overwhelmed with ideas coming down like rain. I felt practically pelted – so to speak.
So, amid rewriting I’ve stopped, grabbed my note pad and started to jot them down furiously. Now I have a couple of dozen ideas ready to be turned into fiction – or do I? Well, it happens that these ideas are, you know, just ideas – I couldn’t turn them into fiction.
I wondered why that is? After analyzing the situation for a while I think I knew the reasons. Here they are:
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Do you know that a window is associated with a writer – especially a large window? Well, every time a writer goes to task – writing that is – they will look outside through the window when they get stuck… looking out at the snow falling down and marveling at the beauty of the winter season (right now since winter is still here).
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So, it has been almost two months since I completed my short story and I’m still working on improving it so it looks like it was written by someone who knows how to write fiction. Well, it’s almost there and I’m still trying to find a way to improve the story’s depth. So far, I’ve polished the characters and each has a life. As far as the theme is concerned, I figured it’s really tied to the characters or plot. So, I also summarized the theme for my own reference. I also improved the dialogues so it has more slants and not bores the reader.
I am not sure if I found my own voice yet.
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Can you smell or feel it? There is something in the air! Yes! The spring is in the air! Or am I just imagining it because the winter is too long, too cold and too much snow? Well, at least here in New England, it is. One thing for sure though, the days are starting to get noticeably longer, yippee!!
Okay, back to my blog. I was a total crap. I can’t get my blog going consistently. It is my fault. I know. Being someone else in my day job and writing mostly technical and analytical and then switching it into the creative writing mode in a matter of minutes totally wreck my brain. It’s hard and my creative side just dies no matter how hard I try to continue to write. Has this happened to you too? At least I am not the only one.
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So I completed my short story and had fermented it for a while and am now editing it to death! However, in these past few weeks, I’ve found myself also writing the sequel to the story. The MMC and FMC (Male Main Character and Female Main Character) bugged me to write more about them. Hmmm…maybe this was crazy, but if you were the author, you’d know what I mean. Writers are like that. They dwell on their writing for a long time and hope something would come up making it even better than their previous writing.
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