I never thought that I would reach this point but I confessed to my wife that I was running out of things to talk about. She replied by saying that all I had to do was ask her a question and something would come to me so that I would interrupt her before she finished her sentence. Hummm…. I guess I have to work on that…..
Seriously though, I have found myself stuck while writing a couple of my novels. At other times, I just can’t type fast enough to get the ideas out of my head and onto the page. It’s like the words are fighting to get out of my brain.
I founded the Ottawa Science Fiction and Fantasy writers group and have discussed writers block over a beer or two with other writers. What I have found works for me is to plan the book over a longer period of time. I especially like to come up with scenarios when I’m out running in the summer. The problem with that is that I don’t usually have a pen when the solution presents itself. Every try to remember something in the middle of an 18 Km run?
I’ve noticed that solutions to problems come in the strangest places. I very often go to bed with a question and wake up with an answer. I also come up with solutions to problems in the shower. Perhaps it has something to do with running hot water over my brain?
My advice to you would be:
- find time to think,
- think creatively outside the box,
- exercise for longer periods of time so that your brain has time to wander,
- give yourself a problem to solve when you go to bed at night,
- never give up and remember that if the solution is hard, there must be an easier one,
- don’t go directly to Google, it short circuits your brain,
- socialize with people outside of your normal group,
- start conversations with people about bizarre things,
Live large and enjoy life. It’s amazing how many things I draw on from Tae-kwon do. General Choi was a very observant person. For today lets consider his advice on sparring as it applies to life. (Consider the following a bizarre conversation, although one sided). The bullets are the general’s rules for sparring, the comments in brackets are my adaptation to life in general.
- Courage (To face the world)
- Timing (Is everything especially in business)
- Accuracy (Make sure you understand)
- Control (Self control)
- Alertness (Stay awake)
- Combinations (Mix it up to keep life interesting)
- Observation (Pay attention)
- Reaction (Participate)
- Physical Conditioning (Be ready for every challenge)
- Speed/Reflex (Don’t wait to react)
- Stamina (Train for the marathon)