Writing Exercises to Remove Writers Block
>Wendy Bailey is my guest today. A freelance writer and blogger, Wendy contributes to a number of sites, and today shares some ways to defeat writers block.
There are times when you might need writing exercises to remove writers block. When this happens it can be very upsetting. If the person writes professionally, it can be very devastating. Fortunately there are ways to eliminate this block with a few simple steps.
Writing Exercises
• These help the writer to get the creative flow back into their life.
• It helps to remove the panic that can happen when a person has an emotional crisis.
• These will also ad to your ability to write more creatively and prolifically.
Free Writing
Begin writing on a subject that you love. Write freely and openly. Sometimes this can be very liberating and get the flow of the art going forward. This can be a wonderful way to begin every day. Even on the days that you do not have writers block, this can be a wonderful way to begin the flow of creativity.
Automatic Writing
Pick a subject. Then set a timer. Begin writing and do not stop until the timer goes off. When you do not know what to write, then you simply write that. The point of the thing is to keep going. No matter how hard it is, never stop writing.
Keywords
Take a set of keywords and write a story based on those keywords. Like the previous exercise, set a time limit or length. Do not stop until that length or time period is reached. It is a wonderful way to the creative juices flowing and kick the writers’ block.
Yoga Exercise
Find a secluded place and site quietly. Place your hands on your lap and close your eyes. Take a few cleansing breathes through your nose. Then breathe out. Focus on your breath for a few minutes. Then you can begin to write because you are able to release some of the stress that can happen.
Unscramble
Take words that are scrambled and try to unscramble them. You can get them from many places. Sometimes the newspaper has this sort of thing available. It helps with the concentration factor and focus on the letters. Think of I as going from small to big. You are focusing on something so small and concentrating so hard that it is easy to branch out from there.
Journaling
Good old-fashioned journaling can get the juices flowing for a writer. Just the simple process of writing on a daily basis for expression can help as a writing exercise. It helps get the flow of your pen moving forward so you can write.
Blogging
This has a similar effect as journaling. Take any subject that catches your fancy and run with it. You will be amazed at how easy it will flow. Make it a daily blog. Soon, you will wonder how you lived without blogging.
Switch
The last one is perfect for any freelancer. Take one project and write on it a while. Add to it and mix it up. Soon your creative juices will begin to flow like never before. Then switch to another subject. This becomes a game. Then when you go back to the writing you will find that you are far more creative than ever before.
Writing exercises like these can really help remove the writers’ block that gets in the way. Every writer will experience this from time to time. It is very important to not let that interfere in the creative process. Once you begin some of these exercises, you will find that your blocks come far less.
Share your experiences with us — how do you beat writers block?
>Writing Exercises to Remove Writers Block
>Wendy Bailey is my guest today. A freelance writer and blogger, Wendy contributes to a number of sites, and today shares some ways to defeat writers block.
There are times when you might need writing exercises to remove writers block. When this happens it can be very upsetting. If the person writes professionally, it can be very devastating. Fortunately there are ways to eliminate this block with a few simple steps.
Writing Exercises
• These help the writer to get the creative flow back into their life.
• It helps to remove the panic that can happen when a person has an emotional crisis.
• These will also ad to your ability to write more creatively and prolifically.
Free Writing
Begin writing on a subject that you love. Write freely and openly. Sometimes this can be very liberating and get the flow of the art going forward. This can be a wonderful way to begin every day. Even on the days that you do not have writers block, this can be a wonderful way to begin the flow of creativity.
Automatic Writing
Pick a subject. Then set a timer. Begin writing and do not stop until the timer goes off. When you do not know what to write, then you simply write that. The point of the thing is to keep going. No matter how hard it is, never stop writing.
Keywords
Take a set of keywords and write a story based on those keywords. Like the previous exercise, set a time limit or length. Do not stop until that length or time period is reached. It is a wonderful way to the creative juices flowing and kick the writers’ block.
Yoga Exercise
Find a secluded place and site quietly. Place your hands on your lap and close your eyes. Take a few cleansing breathes through your nose. Then breathe out. Focus on your breath for a few minutes. Then you can begin to write because you are able to release some of the stress that can happen.
Unscramble
Take words that are scrambled and try to unscramble them. You can get them from many places. Sometimes the newspaper has this sort of thing available. It helps with the concentration factor and focus on the letters. Think of I as going from small to big. You are focusing on something so small and concentrating so hard that it is easy to branch out from there.
Journaling
Good old-fashioned journaling can get the juices flowing for a writer. Just the simple process of writing on a daily basis for expression can help as a writing exercise. It helps get the flow of your pen moving forward so you can write.
Blogging
This has a similar effect as journaling. Take any subject that catches your fancy and run with it. You will be amazed at how easy it will flow. Make it a daily blog. Soon, you will wonder how you lived without blogging.
Switch
The last one is perfect for any freelancer. Take one project and write on it a while. Add to it and mix it up. Soon your creative juices will begin to flow like never before. Then switch to another subject. This becomes a game. Then when you go back to the writing you will find that you are far more creative than ever before.
Writing exercises like these can really help remove the writers’ block that gets in the way. Every writer will experience this from time to time. It is very important to not let that interfere in the creative process. Once you begin some of these exercises, you will find that your blocks come far less.
Share your experiences with us — how do you beat writers block?
February Fresh
January has been both exciting and exhausting.
Together with the fabulous authors showcased here on the blog last month, we gave away 34 books!! But beyond the books themselves, I’m even more thrilled about introducing so many readers to amazing authors they hadn’t before heard of or read.
February will be a month of fresh new posts, focusing on the positive–ways to keep yourself positive in writing and in life. I’ll be posting material from my own hypnotherapist and work that I have done to get past writing blocks–which could also be used to get past blocks in everyday life.
I will also have tips and tools to aid in your writing.
Another exciting development this month is my new column with Savvy Authors, PRACTICED MASTERY. The column will post on the first Wednesday of each month with a review of a new fiction novel from an author’s perspective. There, I will showcase the stellar use of craft elements in each novel and highlight them to use as teaching points for other writers.
I hope you’ll come back often and share your thoughts, maybe sign up for the giveaways I can’t seem to keep myself from offering. 🙂
Thanks for following for the last month and meeting all my author buddies!
If there is something particular you’d like to talk about on the blog, a book you thought was stellar that you’d like me to review for craft, let me know in the comments.
>February Fresh
>January has been both exciting and exhausting.
Together with the fabulous authors showcased here on the blog last month, we gave away 34 books!! But beyond the books themselves, I’m even more thrilled about introducing so many readers to amazing authors they hadn’t before heard of or read.
February will be a month of fresh new posts, focusing on the positive–ways to keep yourself positive in writing and in life. I’ll be posting material from my own hypnotherapist and work that I have done to get past writing blocks–which could also be used to get past blocks in everyday life.
I will also have tips and tools to aid in your writing.
Another exciting development this month is my new column with Savvy Authors, PRACTICED MASTERY. The column will post on the first Wednesday of each month with a review of a new fiction novel from an author’s perspective. There, I will showcase the stellar use of craft elements in each novel and highlight them to use as teaching points for other writers.
I hope you’ll come back often and share your thoughts, maybe sign up for the giveaways I can’t seem to keep myself from offering. 🙂
Thanks for following for the last month and meeting all my author buddies!
If there is something particular you’d like to talk about on the blog, a book you thought was stellar that you’d like me to review for craft, let me know in the comments.
Overcoming Resistance (A.K.A. Fear)
>
Considering Halloween is here, fear seemed an appropriate topic for a post.
I just finished reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
In a nutshell, this amazingly talented and successful writer speaks to a writer’s resistance to the writing itself, gives practical guidelines on how to overcome it and inspiration on the writer’s journey.
I have to admit, I’m struggling with this now. And as the deadline for my second book to Kensington draws near, it seems I find more and more…resistance.
And…yes, this post as well as reading the e-book, counts as distraction, and thus, resistance.
Paraphrasing Pressfield’s astute definition of resistance, it is any distraction, real or contrived (mostly contrived) which keeps you from sitting down and getting the words on paper — or rather, on screen.
You know them–blogging (eh-hem), research, facebook, twitter, reading, TV, movies, friends, kids, laundry, trimming the dog’s toe nails, washing the hamster, brainstorming your next series before you’ve finished the edits on the one in your editor’s hands… [yes this resembles you, dearest CP …].
Yes. Distraction = Resistance. I know. Painfully so. I’m there.
But, where does this resistance come from?
Ah, yes, fear. I know it well. That little devil whispers in my ear constantly. “Will my editor like this? Is it too ordinary? Is it too contrived? Is my plot organic? Are my characters 3-D? Is there too much sex? Too little? Too explicit? Not explicit enough? OMG, what if I write these 100,000 words and she hates it?”
You get the picture. It’s not pretty. It doesn’t feel pretty either. And as I get closer to finishing–now about five chapters away, the stronger my resistance becomes. Which, once again, is explained by Pressfield:
Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.
Well, then, this writing gig must mean a lot to the growth of my soul, because I’m nearly frozen by the damn thing!
I’ll get over it. I have countless times before. I will again. Because, deep down, I know writing for me is both a curse and a calling. About 90%-10%, respectively. I couldn’t quit writing any more than I could quit being a mother to my two teenage daughters. As challenging, hair-pulling, nail-biting and potentially health threatening as it is…that’s who I am–as much a writer as a mother.
I’d just love to find a kinder, gentler way to beat this fear, a.k.a. resistance, so I’m not beating myself up over revisions right down to midnight the night before the dang project is due.
How do you handle fear and/or resistance?
>Overcoming Resistance (A.K.A. Fear)
>
Considering Halloween is here, fear seemed an appropriate topic for a post.
I just finished reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
In a nutshell, this amazingly talented and successful writer speaks to a writer’s resistance to the writing itself, gives practical guidelines on how to overcome it and inspiration on the writer’s journey.
I have to admit, I’m struggling with this now. And as the deadline for my second book to Kensington draws near, it seems I find more and more…resistance.
And…yes, this post as well as reading the e-book, counts as distraction, and thus, resistance.
Paraphrasing Pressfield’s astute definition of resistance, it is any distraction, real or contrived (mostly contrived) which keeps you from sitting down and getting the words on paper — or rather, on screen.
You know them–blogging (eh-hem), research, facebook, twitter, reading, TV, movies, friends, kids, laundry, trimming the dog’s toe nails, washing the hamster, brainstorming your next series before you’ve finished the edits on the one in your editor’s hands… [yes this resembles you, dearest CP …].
Yes. Distraction = Resistance. I know. Painfully so. I’m there.
But, where does this resistance come from?
Ah, yes, fear. I know it well. That little devil whispers in my ear constantly. “Will my editor like this? Is it too ordinary? Is it too contrived? Is my plot organic? Are my characters 3-D? Is there too much sex? Too little? Too explicit? Not explicit enough? OMG, what if I write these 100,000 words and she hates it?”
You get the picture. It’s not pretty. It doesn’t feel pretty either. And as I get closer to finishing–now about five chapters away, the stronger my resistance becomes. Which, once again, is explained by Pressfield:
Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.
Well, then, this writing gig must mean a lot to the growth of my soul, because I’m nearly frozen by the damn thing!
I’ll get over it. I have countless times before. I will again. Because, deep down, I know writing for me is both a curse and a calling. About 90%-10%, respectively. I couldn’t quit writing any more than I could quit being a mother to my two teenage daughters. As challenging, hair-pulling, nail-biting and potentially health threatening as it is…that’s who I am–as much a writer as a mother.
I’d just love to find a kinder, gentler way to beat this fear, a.k.a. resistance, so I’m not beating myself up over revisions right down to midnight the night before the dang project is due.
How do you handle fear and/or resistance?
Momentum Lost
>Maybe it’s becasue I’ve been working a lot. Maybe because I’m fighting a chest cold. Or maybe there is something going wrong in the story. I don’t know. At least not yet. I’m still waiting for my subconscious to speak to me on that point.
But I wouldn’t call myself blocked. I don’t believe in writer’s block. I have had many times when I’ve hit a wall with my writing, but I’ve always viewed it as a temporary pause where insight is gained…never as a block.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
While I’m waiting for my psyche to speak or the momentum to rev up, I suppose I could work on my website…or future blogs…or…
>Momentum Lost
>Maybe it’s becasue I’ve been working a lot. Maybe because I’m fighting a chest cold. Or maybe there is something going wrong in the story. I don’t know. At least not yet. I’m still waiting for my subconscious to speak to me on that point.
But I wouldn’t call myself blocked. I don’t believe in writer’s block. I have had many times when I’ve hit a wall with my writing, but I’ve always viewed it as a temporary pause where insight is gained…never as a block.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
While I’m waiting for my psyche to speak or the momentum to rev up, I suppose I could work on my website…or future blogs…or…
That Funky Feeling
>It’s been following me for quite a while, a little like that cartoon raincloud follows a character, threatening to drench them just before splitting them in two with a stroke of lightning.
Occasionally, I out run that cloud, take another step forward in my story. That’s when I think I’m on a roll, that I’ve escaped it for good. Which is exactly when things start to slip again.
It’s okay. I’ve come to accept the lulls in my writing process. I have grown to trust the fact that I’ll come back around to the sunshine in time. What I’m still not so good at is the wait. I feel anxious and preoccupied and moody when I can’t get a story right. I know my rough spot at the moment is partially caused by the new job, partially caused by the many recent rejections from agents and partially because this story is complicated and difficult to write…but that does nothing to quiet those little doubt demons.
And that’s where I’m at now, antsy and unsettled.
What do you do when that happens? How do you quell the little Mexican jumping beans in your belly?
>That Funky Feeling
>It’s been following me for quite a while, a little like that cartoon raincloud follows a character, threatening to drench them just before splitting them in two with a stroke of lightning.
Occasionally, I out run that cloud, take another step forward in my story. That’s when I think I’m on a roll, that I’ve escaped it for good. Which is exactly when things start to slip again.
It’s okay. I’ve come to accept the lulls in my writing process. I have grown to trust the fact that I’ll come back around to the sunshine in time. What I’m still not so good at is the wait. I feel anxious and preoccupied and moody when I can’t get a story right. I know my rough spot at the moment is partially caused by the new job, partially caused by the many recent rejections from agents and partially because this story is complicated and difficult to write…but that does nothing to quiet those little doubt demons.
And that’s where I’m at now, antsy and unsettled.
What do you do when that happens? How do you quell the little Mexican jumping beans in your belly?