Ask the Author: A.C. Flory
Answered Questions (5)
A.C. Flory
I don't think there's a single 'cure' for writer's block because it all depends on why your writing is blocked in the first place.
For me, the block usually happens when my subconscious realises that something I've already written, maybe chapters earlier, is wrong. It could be an 'event' that doesn't work, or the motivation of a key character that is at odds with their core personality, but whatever it is, The Thing has skewed the story into a creative dead end.
When I first started writing fiction, I'd end up not writing anything at all for months on end. Then I'd finally go back to the story and re-read it [to remember what I'd already written]. That would be when I'd notice The Thing. I'd fix The Thing and suddenly, 'hey, I'm on a writing high again!'.
These days, I recognize the problem and instead of going into a slump for 6 months, I go back and search out The Thing. Once I've found it, I bite the bullet and rewrite all the chapters that were affected by it and then I'm good to go again.
It's not a magic bullet, and it's not easy, but learning to trust my subconscious has definitely worked for me.
For me, the block usually happens when my subconscious realises that something I've already written, maybe chapters earlier, is wrong. It could be an 'event' that doesn't work, or the motivation of a key character that is at odds with their core personality, but whatever it is, The Thing has skewed the story into a creative dead end.
When I first started writing fiction, I'd end up not writing anything at all for months on end. Then I'd finally go back to the story and re-read it [to remember what I'd already written]. That would be when I'd notice The Thing. I'd fix The Thing and suddenly, 'hey, I'm on a writing high again!'.
These days, I recognize the problem and instead of going into a slump for 6 months, I go back and search out The Thing. Once I've found it, I bite the bullet and rewrite all the chapters that were affected by it and then I'm good to go again.
It's not a magic bullet, and it's not easy, but learning to trust my subconscious has definitely worked for me.
A.C. Flory
The best thing? That's easy - being able to play in the worlds I create.
A.C. Flory
Read a lot, daydream a lot and then write the story you want to read.
A.C. Flory
To me, writing is the logical extension of daydreaming, and I do a lot of that. The trick is to give yourself permission to take that daydream a little further and put it down in words.
A.C. Flory
The sci-fi novel I'm working on at the moment - Innerscape - is about a woman in her fifties who gets a second chance at life by entering a digital world called Innerscape. The idea grew out of my own fear of ageing [sorry, Australian spelling] but like all ideas, it morphed quite a bit along the way. :)
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