Writer's Welcome.

Today, scheduled on my to-do list, was to write an article for one of my blogs. Normally, this is a task I get through just fine and have no problems with. This time I found myself bopping between each blog, browsing for ideas, and coming up with nothing.

I’ve already written on so many topics for my hobby blogs, that it takes a bit of creativity to think up  a new topic. I’m in the ‘dry’ phase for blogs however, and nothing came up no matter how much I thought about it.

That’s when I realized that writer’s block is a great topic to discuss here on my writing blog.

For the cause of writer’s block, I’m going to pass on a really great link from writers.com about writer’s block in general. The first section talks about a Yale study on writer’s block and what it’s composition is. I don’t think I can do better, so read it here.

On how to fix it, here’s my best tips.

Free Write

I am actually currently doing one of the best ways to end writer’s block right now. You set a timer, and for that amount  of time you write something, anything, even if it’s just “I don’t know what to write” over and over again.

There’s something about the physical act of writing that can break down that mental block and free you up for the serious writing. It’s working right now, is it not? Here’s half an article right here.

Free Yourself from Editing

Admit it. There’s an author you read who you know no matter how hard you strive, you’ll never touch their feet in skill level. Jim Butcher is that author for me. When I read his Harry Dresden series, magic felt so real that I had to give his signature fire spell a try to see if it would happen. (No, it didn’t. Sigh.)

When we’ve seen the beauty of another person’s polished draft and then look at our own draft—well it kinda looks like a dumpster fire. It can stagnate our writing because we want the finished draft to flow from our finger tips right now.

Lock that editor up in a closet, and just write. Earnest Hemmingway famously said,  “The first draft of anything is shit.” He’s not wrong. Let it be  a dumpster fire. Let it be messy. Leave those plot holes. Don’t question why your character walked into a dark alley by herself. Embrace it.

Plenty of time for editing later. For now, just write!

Prompts

Finally, using a writing prompt can often spark something if nothing else works. I used to have a wonderful book shaped like a block, that was called…The Writer’s Block! (I actually dug around on Amazon until I found it again. It’s here. Yes, it’s an affiliate link. No, you don’t have to buy it.)

The book was packed with incredible prompts, and you could choose one and write on that to help jump start things.

What are your favorite ways to get over writer’s block?

Just this past month, I have started writing fiction again. The past few years, non-fiction has taken over all of my writing time. I haven’t so much as looked at my half-edited ideas for fiction in years. At one point, I even thought perhaps my fiction writing days were over.

All that changed recently when I loaned a copy of my only traditionally published book, “Diary of a Non-Conformist Vampire Victim” to a new coworker. Just the act of watching a reader take an interest in my work again sparked that bit of creativity and got me working on a new idea for another vampire romance.

That first idea uncorked many more, and I found myself pausing repeatedly in my progress to jot  down new ideas. It made me realize that no matter how far apart my creative writings, I have a distinct cycle for these. I thought it might be interesting to share.

Phase 1: The Idea Phase

In this phase, I have approximately one million new ideas. What if a vampire was a paranormal pet groomer?  What if a prophecy was openly defied by the person the prophecy was about? I have a flood of ideas, and not enough time to write any of them.

As a teen, I would flit between these ideas, start everything, finish nothing. Now, I’ve learned to create a folder on my computer to house all of these, write everything about each idea that comes quickly and easily, and ignore all but one until after this phase has ended.

Phase 2: The Drought

As quickly and easily as these ideas came, that’s how fast they leave. Suddenly, I can’t come up with a new idea to save my soul. This was a great frustration to me in the days where I was competing short stories, but now I rely on my idea folder for these moments.

Drought times are when I work on old ideas, polish rough drafts, and generally live off the ideas I produced in phase 1.

Do you have a similar creativity cycle? What do you do to manage it?1

The past few years I have spent sharpening my craft, with a particular focus on my dog blog. In order to take steps towards improving it I joined the Dog Writer’s Association of America, and began competing my best articles in their yearly contest.

This year, I am proud to say that All Things Chihuahua received first place in the Blog of the Year category, and has received the Maxwell Medallion.

I have received many awards for my work in the past, but  I must say this is probably the biggest award, and the one that means the most to me.  I hope to continue onward and up, writing new and exciting articles to catch the reader’s eye.

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

It’s been many years since I’ve taken up a pen to write in the world of fiction once again. Although my daily life consists of writing pages and pages of blog posts, news articles, and content pages for the real world, I haven’t written much fiction since 2015.

That all changed recently, when I entered a contest with a story I typed out in 5 minutes of fun–and took third place with it. That little story made me realize how much I missed writing for myself, and I decided to start writing fiction again.

This blog is designed to keep readers updated on when and where they can read my work, as well as writing tips and reviews of good books.

Hope you come back, and turn a few pages with me.