It seems like ages ago when I wrote about keeping going in the summer holidays. Today was the day that my kids (finally!) went back to school and no longer could I put off getting started on the second draft of my first middle-grade novel. I’ve been dying to get stuck in for weeks, but my first major edit is the intimidiating prospect of writing a whole new chapter. The more I thought about it the more stuck I got. Today I made a breakthrough, though. Here’s how I did it:
1. Just write, stupid!
Yes, it’s an obvious one. Thinking about writing isn’t writing. Worrying about a new chapter isn’t writing a new chapter. To break myself out of my funk I started by setting a timer for 15 minutes, got my trusty fountain pen and a scruffy old notebook and started free-writing around my character and the scene I had very sketchily thought about. Within a few minutes, the ideas started flowing along with my ink. I was back with my characters and they took over.The trick is not to put too much pressure on. If you feel like the first line has to be perfect you never get started. But if your only plan is to put pen to paper for 15 minutes, it’s amazing what comes out.
2. Go for a walk
People talk about this all the time but it really works. There’s something about walking around that gets both the blood and the ideas flowing, and September is the perfect time of year for a stroll. If I’m feeling tense or worried about something, walking around outside amongst the trees instantly helps. If it's rainy, I stick on Spotify and have a dance by myself in the kitchen.3. Better still, walk and dictate
Many of us have spoken about the benefits of dictation before, and I find I’m using it more and more. In fact I’m dictating this blog post on my iPhone whilst cooking a sweet potato vindaloo! If you have an iPhone, all the software you need is built in. I record using the standard notes programme, and upload to my computer at the end of the day. I love this for getting words on the page when I'm under deadline pressure.4. If in doubt, change it up
In all today, I wrote 1,000 words of my new first chapter and have plenty of ideas for the rest. I did this through a combination of methods: dictating on the way back from the school run into my phone, typing directly into my computer when I got back, free-writing with pen and ink, and finally dictating my free writes into my laptop afterwards.Not too shabby considering I had no clue how I was going to get started this morning.
How do you break yourself out of a writing funk, or get creative when you're feeling tense and under pressure?
Alex English is a graduate of Bath Spa University's MA Writing for Young People. Her picture books Yuck said the Yak, Pirates Don't Drive Diggers and Mine Mine Mine said the Porcupine are published by Maverick Arts Publishing. More picture books and her first middle-grade novel are forthcoming in 2020/2021/2022.
www.alexenglish.co.uk
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
3 comments:
I thank Anne Cassidy of this parish for telling me (and others) about the kitchen timer trick. Set the timer for whatever length of time you think you can bear: you not only write for that time but usually carry on after the bell rings. I now use it for all kinds of tasks that my idleness is evading: an hour to clean the kitchen: an hour to plant bulbs: go!
My partner has now bought himself a timer and uses it to get him painting. He has exactly the same problem as us writers. He wants to paint, knows what he wants to paint, but somehow never gets around to it -- until he sets a timer and tells himself he'll only paint for 30m.
I sometimes combine the 'write for an hour' method with taking my work to a pub or cafe. If you can bully yourself to set the timer or go to the pub, it never fails. It's like going to the gym. If I can drag myself through the doors of the gym, I exercise. If I tell myself I'm going to exercise at home, I never do.
Yes, kitchen timers are great aren't they? It's amazing how well this method works, and once you get going, it's all fine!
I cna go to the pub! I'll take that as permission :)
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