Writers Block…..My Top Tips

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

*shudders*

It’s a pain isn’t it?

The nightmare situation for most writers….a blank page (or computer screen) and your mind, desperately searching for the words that just won’t come *gulp* 😦

The lovely Andy Szpuk wrote this poem which, to me, sums it up very nicely 🙂

You sit there looking at the page
The page stares blankly back at you
You’re locked in a wordless cage
You sit there looking at the page
So glad you’re not up on stage
With your heart and soul all askew
You sit there looking at the page
The page stares blankly back at you

“Locked in a wordless cage” is the line that really made me think, the connection between being blocked and being inspired, is freedom. Ok, now bear with me on this lol.

Inspiration isn’t going to fall into your lap, it doesn’t just magically show up the minute you sit down to write (ok, perhaps it does for some people lol). Most of the time, you have to find it…..and that’s why I’m a big believer in always carrying a notebook 😉

As writers, most of us don’t bother to nourish our muses with experience. So, for me, when the words just won’t come, I try to come up with things that will excite my muse 😉 we need to give him/her the freedom to experience new things, great things, small things 🙂

Here are my top 10 things to do to free my muse from that cage:

1. Go to a cafe or park and people watch. Take your notebook, write down snippets of conversations and free write.

2. Go to an art gallery (most of them here in the UK are free). Immerse yourself in visual stimulation.

3. Sit on a beach and stare out to sea (one of my favourites….I love beaches 🙂

4. Make soup! Lol…..can’t cook? Yes you can, don’t tell porkies 😉 Making soup is so therapeutic, all that chopping lol

5. Listen to music, read, or watch a film, depending on your preference. All can be really inspiring, and relaxing, coz lets face it, being blocked is stressful 😦

6. Go for a walk. I must confess, I’m not a huge fan of exercise, but, I love walking down a street and looking at people’s houses, imagining who lives behind each door and what their lives are like.

7. Do something arty. Paint, draw, do some colouring, or make something out of modelling clay.

8. Go notebook shopping. Always fun IMO and a great purpose to boot!

9. Do some gardening. Ok, so you haven’t got a garden….but I bet you have a windowsill that could do with a few pot plants or herbs?

10. Tidy your desk/work area….ORGANISE even if that means you have to invest in a couple of pretty folders or brightly coloured plastic wallets (ooooo, another excuse to visit a stationery shop! Lol).

And my top top tip …….wherever you go, and what ever you do….take a camera!!!!! (or mobile phone lol). Any photos you can take can be used as prompts 🙂

What do you do to excite and stimulate your muse?

Free Writing In Bath

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Bath the city, not in my bathroom….although, that’s not a bad idea lol 😉

I was up at 5am yesterday morning, sitting in the grounds of the hotel with my cup of tea by 5.15, and of course, with my notepad.

I was sat on a bench with this pond in front of me:

And with this view to my left:

A perfect setting for some free writing 🙂

My fingers are numb from the cold, but the ducks don’t seem to mind. Preening themselves on a rock in the middle of the pond. The only sounds are the cascading water from the fountain and the seagulls, calling to each other high above the tree’s. I’m surrounded by sandy Bath stone, drawn back in time to Jane Austen’s Georgian elegance. The trees towering over my head envelope me in an enchanted forest and remind me of just how insignificant I am. I’ve been coming here, on and off, for 17 years now, but i am such a small blip on this historical city. Nothing really changes, apart from the people, the constant stream of tourists. The stone facades weather and age, just like the people’s faces.

As you get older, birthdays inevitably bring with them a sense of loss. The idea that we’ve wasted years, thrown away chances and allowed ourselves to be pushed and pulled in directions we didn’t want to go. The hopes and dreams of childhood are long gone and the realisation of an ordinary life are what’s left. Most of us, just sit by our pond, like the ducks, with no attempt to make any impact on the world around us. Perhaps I don’t want to be a duck any more, not even one that lives in such beautiful surroundings.

Ooooo, that was a bit melancholy lol. Actually, I wasn’t in a melancholy mood, but I did continue this piece of writing further. It turned into the start of a story about a woman who walked out of her home on the eve of her 49th birthday. I haven’t got a clue why, or where she is going….yet 😉

Bath is my favourite city outside of London. I love the history of it, the Georgian elegance, and so did Jane Austen, who set 2 of her books there. I like the idea of writing a novel set in a place I love. And of course, you’d have to spend a lot of time there for research 😉 So whats your favourite city and why?

Pitching The WIP

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

This week I’ve been scribbling in my notebook how to pitch my novel. If I’m talking to an agent or publisher (which could very well happen in the not too distant future) I need to be able to say exactly what my novel is all about.

So here’s what I’ve come up with……

I’ve just finished my novel, called But Not Forgotten. It’s the story of 2 brothers who fall in love with the same woman and how the elder brother frames the younger brother for murder, well, so you think. It starts with a suicide and contains corruption, black mail, romance and emotional conflict. A kind of modern day family saga where the action takes place in 2010, but the characters are responding to the events that took place in 1984

Hmmm, now what about genre, that terrifying word. Would you know what genre my book was from that description? Lol….I really need to sort that one out lol

There’s a classic love triangle, albeit that one party is dead, and it also confronts issues around a young woman suddenly discovering that the man she thought was her father, is, in fact her uncle.

Hmmmm, leave out the dead bit? Does that give the impression it’s a ghost story?

It’s told from multi viewpoints, which gives the reader an insight into what is going on inside the 3 main characters heads.

Do they need to know that? I was thinking along the lines that it’s my unique selling point, but, that just sounds confusing doesn’t it

The guy who was the villain at the start, appears to be the hero at the end, but that depends on how you perceive the ending.

So what genre is it? Lol Does your WIP straddle more than one genre?

I spoke about the whole Genre thing here back in December, and it seems that I’m not the only one struggling……

The Write Inspiration

This Weeks Goals 14-20th May

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

So did you give the photo prompt a go yesterday?

I was thinking along the lines that it was a guy returning to his family home to introduce mummy & daddy to the latest girlfriend. Mummy & Daddy are Lord & Lady Hampton and the new girlfriend is a cockney, who drinks pints of Ale, smokes roll ups and works as a lap dancer 😉

Right, where was I? Ahhhh, yes, the goals…..

I’m afraid, I failed miserably 😦 My reason? I had to have my dog put to sleep on Wednesday night (the 9th). It was fairly sudden, she became ill over the weekend, vet gave her antibiotics for a chest infection (she was having trouble breathing) and by Wednesday night we ended up at the emergency vets, where an X-ray confirmed a tumour on her lung. Too large to operate on and causing her distress. Always a difficult decision, but we didn’t want her suffering any longer. The vet said it was only her spirit that was keeping her alive. She was 12.

So as you can imagine, I’ve been on a huge downer….bouts of tearfulness and generally the inability to even pick up a pen 😦

My darling Georgie, I will miss you so much….the house feels so empty without you….but, I know I have to pick myself up, carry on, because I know you’re somewhere, reunited with Bill (our Shih T Zu who died of a heart attack in 2010). I know in my heart that one day I will see you again.

*blows nose and wipes eyes* Does how you feel emotionally affect your ability to write? It feels like I’ve just been plunged into a dark space, and I’m finding it hard to focus my eyes. Oooo, that sounds a bit dramatic doesn’t it….I’m fine really.

Right, so lets crack on, I needto focus…… I needto get back into some kind of routine 🙂

The original list from last week was:

1. Finish the spell check (and do it again incase there’s something I’ve missed). DONE
2. Check that’s it’s set out correctly (ie paragraphing and indenting dialogue). STARTED
3. Check punctuation (I have a tendency to forget all about it during dialogue). STARTED

The rest, I’m afraid, didn’t get tackled….however, I did print all 202 pages off. I find it much easier editing it when it’s on paper in front of me.

Yep, so guess what the plan is this week?

4. Change tense where needed (one of my worst habits, I tend to flit between past and present during a longer piece lol). STARTED
5. Print off to start the re-write (I’ve decided to change a few things quite considerably). PRINTED OFF
6. Do the research needed.
7. Write the ending (GULP).
8. Write a synopsis.
9. Decide who to pick on as Beta readers lol (Think of questions to ask Beta readers)
10. Think about what to do with it next (depending on Beta readers comments, I could be starting back at number 1 lol).

What are you hoping to achieve this week? And how about editing Do you do most of it on the PC or print off and use the red pen?

Who Are They?

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

To give my brain a rest on a Sunday, from now on, (ha bloody ha….like my brain will rest, I’ll probably spend most of the day thinking up blog posts for next week lol). Sundays will be photo sharing day. I take a lot of photos and most of them I use as writing prompts

So grab a pen, your notebook, and a coffee….and see what you can one up with for this?

Who are this couple? Why are they there? Do they live there? Work there?

What’s the story? I’d love to hear your ideas.

I’ll share my ideas tomorrow 🙂

Insecure Writers Day, Or Help, Somebody Kick Me

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Today is Insecure Writers day (see the tab at the top for more info). A day where members spill their guts on their writing fears, concerns, worries, and hopefully receive sympathy from the other members.

So how am I feeling about my writing at the moment? Pretty shit to be honest lol. I’m really struggling with motivation and I don’t know why lol. I need a boost 😉

My out there’s have dropped considerably (down to about 10 now) and although I was Long Listed in the Flash500 Competition (my entry was titled “Ashes”) it wasn’t really enough to give me that kick up the arse I seem to need right now. So what will it take?

I need to be more organised, I know that, and I’m fed up writing at my dining room table. The room is so cluttered now, I can’t get to my books, can’t easily access my notebooks and have to keep moving my piles when we have dinner *deep sigh* I know, logically, there’s nothing I can do about it, but I feel pretty sulky and low about the whole situation *pouts*

I’m not suffering from writers block, far from it! I have ideas coming out of my ears, what I don’t have is the motivation to sit down and write….I potter, tidy up, sort the washing, shop for food, cook (occasionally lol), blog, check e mails and FaceBook and then watch a film lol.

I know I am so lucky to have the time to write, that I don’t really have any commitments, and that my husband is very supportive, so what’s my problem right?

Am I in a writing slump? anyone have any suggestions on how to fire me up? 😉

I Am A Writer

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve been following Jeff Goins excellent blog for a few months now. So when I received an e mail update asking for people to review his new book I jumped at the chance 🙂

I received the eBook a few days ago, and I read the whole thing that same day! WOW! I guess being a fan of Jeffs blog means that it was inevitable that I would love the book. So am I biased? Probably lol 😉 No, seriously, it’s thoroughly enjoyable, with some great advice to us “aspiring” writers. Lots of info on Platform Building, connecting with other writers and what to do before you even get published.

But it was the first part of the book that hit me straight in the face, because it talks about the one thing that plagues me….. The whole idea of calling myself a writer. I’ve talked before on my blog about not being able to bring myself to say that. I feel a fraud, like, if I say, “Hi, my names Vikki and I’m a writer.” someone will jump up and say “No you’re not, you haven’t had anything published.” I even had a brief discussion about it recently with Chris on Write To Perfect (see the comments for an excellent article Chris recommends).

Jeff’s book wagged its finger at me lol….. He asked Steven Pressfield what he meant by “turning pro in your head before you can do it on paper.” (from Pressfield’s book The War of Art). He asked Mr Pressfield “When do you really become a writer? Is it when you get an agent? When you sign your first book contract? When you sell 10,000 copies?”

The response from Mr Pressfield was…… “When you say you are.”

So Jeff started making public declarations of his identity as a writer, and actually started believing it. And because he believed it, he started acting like one. Jeff learnt that before others will believe you’re a writer, you have to believe it yourself 🙂

So is it time for me to submit, surrender to something I’ve been resisting as Jeff says? Ok, I’m going to give this a go…..ready……

Oh, that felt good, uncomfortable, but good lol 🙂

Jeff suggests that I write I Am A Writer everyday….”affirming something deep inside of you that you’ve been resisting.” And hell, have I been resisting!!!!!!

There’s a web site You Are A Writer to accompany the book so I hope you check it out.

So thanks Jeff, for the opportunity to read your book, and the pep talk 😉 I’m going to give it a go….I’ll start with my FaceBook profile *gulp* 🙂

Do you struggle telling people you’re a “writer”?

Creativity Kick Up The…..

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

A break from the A-Z Challenge lol. I’m enjoying it, but, at the same time I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself for this month, especially as I have a million and one other writing things that need doing 😉

I’m wondering what I will do with these 26 people at the end of April. So my May challenge may be to connect them all (daisy chain style) a bit like Jonathan Kemp’s 26 or 253 by Geoff Ryman 🙂

I attended a Writing Workshop with Vanessa Gebbie recently where we played a game called “Writing Cricket” which was so much fun!

You’ll need to do it in a group or with at least one other person (who isn’t writing). We started writing with an initial prompt, then, Vanessa called out random words which we had to use in our story.

We began with out of the shadows then every 2 or 3 minutes, she called out the following list of words:

vitamins
leathery
Spanish
crowds
elderly
rust
lemon
partial
jealous
marshmallow
pebble
solid
moth
gift

You can use variations on those words, ie leather, partially or jealousy. The whole exercise took 20 minutes and although I ended up with pins and needles in my hand, I also ended up with a pretty good scene of a story, about a guy having a argument with his girlfriend.

Trying to fit the word “lemon” suddenly thrown at me when my character was sitting on a beach at midnight was a challenge I can tell you lol

This is definitely an exercise I will be trying to convince my writing group to adopt 🙂

Vanessa was lovely, so i just had to buy her books 🙂

I’m attending another one if her Workshops on the 21st of April, so I’m looking forward to that 🙂

Soooo, today’s prompt about a candlelight vigil turned into the start of a story about a woman who’s husband died by a tree and there are people there holding a vigil. I’ve not quite decided yet what happened to him, but whatever it is, his wife holds the community responsible. Today’s prompt is write about small regrets which shouldn’t be too hard now should it 😉

D is for…..

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Dominic, who has been removed because I want to use him for my Nano 2012 novel.

Sorry you missed it 😦

Dom’s weekly supplies 😉

A-Z Challenge

Ok, so I’m thinking….. should he try to find his father? Would it change anything? Or should his girlfriend just give up and find someone who does want to settle own and have a family? Could finding his father lead to more problems?

Today’s prompt about the stranger turned into the start of a story about a sleepy little village where a young guy moves in….not sure where it’s gunna end up though. Today’s prompt is write about a summer fling after Kd Lang and I’ve already got an idea 🙂

B is for…..

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Benjamin, who has been removed because I want to use him for my Nano 2012 novel.

Sorry you missed it 😦

The A-Z Challenge

Well, the first thing that strikes me about Benjamin is that he’s not a very nice bloke and I feel sorry for Cleo….. Just what is she getting up to while he’s out all day? I think that she knows about all of the affairs….so why does she stay? 😦

Yesterday’s prompt about ordering in turned into the start of a story about a couple who order pizza and the delivery guy ends up being her brother she hasn’t seen for years….curiouser and curiouser lol. Today’s prompt is write about a hot wind……is there such a thing? 😉