Alissa’s answer to “How do you deal with writer’s block?” > Likes and Comments
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How do you deal with writer's block if the story is in your head but you can't put the words to paper? I know what's going on, but I can't make the scene go from movie in my head to words on the screen
Hi Cat. That, I'm afraid, is only going to be fixed with a ton of practice, deleting, re-writing and so on...That's what be a writer is all about; figuring out how to get the words from head to paper/computer. Unfortunately I do not have specific advice on how to help you with this particular dilemma. Rally it's a matter of doing it over and over again. There's is one piece of advice a literary agent gave me during an online seminar (Writers Digest offers all types of webinars which I highly recommend) is that you can spend forever, literarlly, on a progect and never get anywhere if you constanly fix what you have already wrote over and over again. The best thing to do is get the story out until it is finished, and then go back and makes edits and changes (and you will make a tone of revisions). The first chapter is quite possibly the hardest chapter to get perfect, but you have to keep moving forward with the story. When I am starting a new book I open several documents and begin the story several different ways, and then I go back and see which one I like best and will allow me to continue the story the way I want. Another piece of advice an agent gave me is"If you are bored at any point writing a certain chapter, chances are your readers will be just as bored to read it"...Those two pieces of advice have stuck over the years. If you need further help I recommend Agent (and Author) Donald Mass's 'The Breakout Novelist ' he goes over strategies for writing and writing well your first time through. He also wrote 'The Fire in Fiction' which help as well. I hope this helps you.
EEEsh please ignore all the typos. I was writing with a toddler on my lap and trying to multitask LOL
Awesome! thanks! And I typo all the time without kiddos driving em crazy! So I understand
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Cat
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Feb 04, 2015 01:26PM
How do you deal with writer's block if the story is in your head but you can't put the words to paper? I know what's going on, but I can't make the scene go from movie in my head to words on the screen
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Hi Cat. That, I'm afraid, is only going to be fixed with a ton of practice, deleting, re-writing and so on...That's what be a writer is all about; figuring out how to get the words from head to paper/computer. Unfortunately I do not have specific advice on how to help you with this particular dilemma. Rally it's a matter of doing it over and over again. There's is one piece of advice a literary agent gave me during an online seminar (Writers Digest offers all types of webinars which I highly recommend) is that you can spend forever, literarlly, on a progect and never get anywhere if you constanly fix what you have already wrote over and over again. The best thing to do is get the story out until it is finished, and then go back and makes edits and changes (and you will make a tone of revisions). The first chapter is quite possibly the hardest chapter to get perfect, but you have to keep moving forward with the story. When I am starting a new book I open several documents and begin the story several different ways, and then I go back and see which one I like best and will allow me to continue the story the way I want. Another piece of advice an agent gave me is"If you are bored at any point writing a certain chapter, chances are your readers will be just as bored to read it"...Those two pieces of advice have stuck over the years. If you need further help I recommend Agent (and Author) Donald Mass's 'The Breakout Novelist ' he goes over strategies for writing and writing well your first time through. He also wrote 'The Fire in Fiction' which help as well. I hope this helps you.
EEEsh please ignore all the typos. I was writing with a toddler on my lap and trying to multitask LOL
Awesome! thanks! And I typo all the time without kiddos driving em crazy! So I understand
