Writer's Block

Writer's Block, an author's worse nightmare. And yet all writers go through it, it is inevitable. The challenge is to work through it, to try and get past whatever wall that has come between your creative ideas. At the end of each month we are going to be posting a "Writer's Block Challenge" these challenges are going to be simple little things to hopefully help get you over the hump of Writer's Block.

 

Today's challenge is simple, edit. Everyone has to edit their writing, no matter if you are a poet, you write short stories, or long novels. Everyone has to edit, and chances are, you hate doing it. Well today is the day. Get comfortable and edit away, even if it is only one page, just get it done. And hopefully as you re-read your work, your imagination is triggers to write.

 

NOTE: Since everyone will experience Writer's Block at different times, it is okay to save this for another time, when writer's block is effecting you more. There will always be plenty of opportunities to catch up later.

Take an idea that you have had floating around for a while and write about it. Just get it out there, get it down on paper. Even if it is just a few sentences. It is a starting point. And maybe you will come back to it later, and maybe you won't but it gives you something to think about.
 

 

 

Personally, I did this and I will share a little of my experience with you. (Not too much, don't want to spoil anything.) But it started with an idea about a serial killer that had never been caught. I believe on of the most unfair things in life is that it isn't like a movie. Bad guys don't always get caught, and they don't always admit to their crimes. Which kind of sucks. And I want to take that idea and run with it.

 

I don't really know much about this idea. And in fact I have never written an all out crime drama before, or anything to do with a serial killer. Unless you consider the Crime Romance Novels I am currently working on, but even those are different to this. This would be something completely out of my comfort zone. But I have an idea in my head and I need to explore it.
 

I know the Prologue is going to be of a murder. I think I am just going to show a killer on the loose (sometime in the past), and make it obvious that he wasn't caught. That is the key to this story. Chapter one is going to focus on an elderly man. He is writing a book and he is dying. I am going to make it clear that he knows his time is running out. Maybe even show him going to a few doctors appointments. I assume it is cancer that is slowly killing him. But anyways, the point is he is going to start by telling the story of his life. How he grew up in the city (I am thinking New York), how he joined the military and served in the war, and things like that. I know he was married but I am not sure if he had any children or not. If he did it would be one son.

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I went on to write more for my exercise, but even this was good enough. Just as long as you get something out there and something to think about is a great start!

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All Rights Reserved by A.L. Keegan (2020)

Today's challenge is to get inspired. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Maybe something happens in real life that sparks an idea, or a plot in a TV show doesn't go the way you thought it should. Inspiration is everywhere. Personally, I get a lot of my inspiration from music. Some lyrics really speak to you and just tell a story that you either want to know more about or expand upon. The same goes for TV shows sometimes too. It is okay to take inspiration where ever you can get it. And as long as you aren't actively stealing someone elses idea, you should be fine.

 

I watch a lot of crime drama shows myself. Some of my favourits are/were Criminal Minds, Blindspot, Numbers, shows like that. And they all inspired me to try and write more crime dramas. And though I had been playing around with the idea for a while, nothing ever came of it. Until I was watching TV one day, just relaxing and an episode of Billions got me thinking. So that is the challenge today, go out and relax and try to find inspiration around you.

Today we are taking a page out of the Boot Camp of Writing Prompts from Reader's Digest (you can get it free by subscribing to their website). And the first prompt they give you is to Break Up with Writer's Block. This is a great idea. It helps to get the creative juices flowing. And that's really how to break out of writer's block is to just keep going, keep pushing through.

 

To find all the details about this prompt you can go to their website and you can also download it via that page as well. Again keep in mind, just because these are from Reader's Digest doesn't mean that they have to be done a certain way or a certain length. You can make them as short or as long as you'd like and play around with them also. Mine (below) was very short and sweet and even though I didn't write much, it still felt great once I was done.

 

Dear Writer’s Block,

It’s not you, it’s me. We had some great times together, you trying to stop me from killing off some of my beloved characters, me procrastinating by doing anything but write. It was fun while it lasted but now I need to get back to editing and writing new books. My characters are waiting for me and I can’t let you stand in the way anymore. So this is goodbye. I know you will be back and maybe we can have some fun every now and then. But ultimately, I need to focus and you need to leave.

Sincerely yours,

A Future Author

This week we are going to do something super simple, Just Write. It doesn't matter what you write about, it doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. JUST WRITE. Whatever comes to mind, however you want to, point form, or full sentences. Just get something out. Set a timer for 10, 20, or 30 minutes and just type. Don't stop, don't think just write whatever comes to mind. And in the end, see what comes of it. Maybe it will bring you new book ideas, or maybe it will send you on a topic that helps resolve your writer's block. Either way, writing something helps get the creative juices flowing and can help with the writing process.

 

Ten Minute Timer:

 

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. The assassination of Kennedy was the fourth and last assassination of a U.S President. The similarities to the first presidential assassination of Abraham Lincoln are terrifying.

 

President Lincoln was shot in the head at Ford's Theater, while watching a play called, "Our American Cousin" alongside his wife, Mary Todd. President Kennedy was shot in the head while being driven in a Ford Lincoln with his wife Jackie Bouvier (later Jackie Kennedy - Onasis).

 

Both assassins had three names, John Wilkes Booth, and Lee Harvey Oswald. Booth shot Lincoln in Ford's Theater and fled to a warehouse, Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater. Both men were eventually killed for the part they played in the assassinations. Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby only a few days after his arrest.

 

Kennedy had a secretary named Ms. Lincoln, and both Kennedy and Lincoln had Vice President's named Johnson (distantly related but not apparently so). Both assassinations have been pledged with controversy and conspiracy theories.

 

Many believe that John Wilkes Booth did not die and fled either deeper into the southern states, up to Canada where some of his sympathizers were gathering, or to Europe where his girlfriend had moved with her family.

 

There are also many conspiracy theories about Oswald, including that he was not working alone, that he was not the lone gunman, and that he was a spy for the Soviet Union. There is also talks that Lee Harvey Oswald may have been hired by the mob to kill Kennedy and stop his brother's crusade to ruin them. (Obviously, this did not stop Robert Kennedy and he was later assassinated also). There is also a belief that the CIA may have had Kennedy assassinated. His blunder during the Bay of Pig and his carelessness when it came to women, decorum, and the fact there was no love loss between him and the CIA have been brought up for this argument.

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As you can see it doesn't have to be about anything special. I am not writing a book about Kennedy or Lincoln or their similarities. I am simply reading about them and enjoy history. Not everything has to be accurate either, don't research just write. If nothing else you will feel good for what you have done. Maybe you will get a chuckle out of it.