tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post6599579539790886749..comments2023-10-30T08:00:54.059-04:00Comments on Laurel's Leaves: "Writer's block": Wall or desert? (part 1)Laurel Garverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-67464566393669028112010-10-28T12:50:38.007-04:002010-10-28T12:50:38.007-04:00Janet: our rational mind can be the biggest block ...Janet: our rational mind can be the biggest block of progress. One's intuition needs freedom to try things and play.<br /><br />Laura: Good plan. The one thing that almost never works is continuing to bang one's head against that wall.<br /><br />Victoria: Sounds like a looking in the wrong direction problem, as if the character is saying "Yoo-hoo! I'm not over there, I'm over here!"Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-55285166695036797732010-10-27T23:11:59.173-04:002010-10-27T23:11:59.173-04:00I usually hit a wall when I feel as if I can't...I usually hit a wall when I feel as if I can't connect with my character because I am distracted or something else is going on that won't allow me to focus.VICTORIA SAAVEDRAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10329745716789899212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-1521386112773562422010-10-27T14:26:48.810-04:002010-10-27T14:26:48.810-04:00I usually just need to wait it out while my brain ...I usually just need to wait it out while my brain works out whatever I'm stumped over. I'll read. I'll work on something else. Eventually I get over it.Laura Paulinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503090226508079501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-90240531151362018462010-10-27T13:04:40.414-04:002010-10-27T13:04:40.414-04:00What a great post! How many times are we our own b...What a great post! How many times are we our own block without realizing it? Allowing ourselves to write what wants to come is sometimes hard, but always worth it. Thank you!Janet Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12688012956157161889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-2845347625024838272010-10-27T09:40:03.060-04:002010-10-27T09:40:03.060-04:00Roxy: I highly recommend Robert McKee's _Story...Roxy: I highly recommend Robert McKee's _Story_ to help with plot. It's written for screenwriters, but is dense with good ideas for building solid plots. My plot problems is too many ideas randomly popping up and having trouble keeping the plot arc contained and organized, but McKee's book is so helpful!<br /><br />Mary: That's why I picked it up at the library for the fifth time (really ought to buy it!). Bird by Bird is a wonderful mix of advice and "I'm there in the trenches with you." And she manages to be wonderfully funny throughout.<br /><br />Cindy: So your wall was a not-working scene you didn't need. Taking a step back and looking at the overall flow sounds like an excellent approach to the problem.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-2581436815464419432010-10-27T09:34:20.345-04:002010-10-27T09:34:20.345-04:00Ann: Lamott's Bird by Bird was really stimulat...Ann: Lamott's Bird by Bird was really stimulating my thinking on this whole issue--as is trying to get through chapter 4 in my current WIP.<br /><br />Nicole: setting aside can be a helpful thing--if one puts a time limit on it. Walls can turn into long hiatuses if we're not careful! But you're right that after a little rest, the intuition is more likely to show up and help us map a different route, away from the wall.<br /><br />Lynn: Lamott's ideas of coaxing your intuition to help you are a great antidote to being rules bound. <br /><br />Mediea: sounds like a "desert" problem more than a wall. Stay tuned--I'll post about that tomorrow!Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-50688976293232114552010-10-27T09:27:27.953-04:002010-10-27T09:27:27.953-04:00Jill: I hear what you're saying about leaving ...Jill: I hear what you're saying about leaving the rules for revision--but having spent 2.5 years revising because I just wrote whatever and it was a mess, I kind of want to get more right the first time with book 2. Somewhere between the extremes of rule flouting and rule rigidty is where we should probably ideally be.<br /><br />JEM: your wall problem might instead be a desert one: your creativity is a bit starved and needs to be fed before you'll be able to conjure a solution.<br /><br />Shannon: thanks. I'm thinking I should do an analysis of that section of a film to talk about how to build incremental tension. It's really a well-done piece of storytelling.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-76442097900295897072010-10-26T23:01:31.479-04:002010-10-26T23:01:31.479-04:00I just hit one of those walls in my current WIP. I...I just hit one of those walls in my current WIP. I was cruising along just fine, more than one thousand words a day and all the sudden, it wasn't flowing anymore. It took me a day or so to realize it wasn't that I was stuck, it was that the scene wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't advancing the plot--and I had cut down on the tension--so it wasn't flowing like it should.Cindy R. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13488732331021750408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-85083599493423336582010-10-26T21:31:12.020-04:002010-10-26T21:31:12.020-04:00I need to read Lamott's book! I'm stuck r...I need to read Lamott's book! I'm stuck right now.Mary Aalgaardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08051735579638637382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-86805940651525935332010-10-26T20:40:03.162-04:002010-10-26T20:40:03.162-04:00I get stuck with plot issues. I do have success wi...I get stuck with plot issues. I do have success with following advice from other writers who have experienced the same problems. Great post, Laurel.Roxyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09787088898112141579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-48682783230369350642010-10-26T19:00:08.831-04:002010-10-26T19:00:08.831-04:00What gets me stuck is when I realize that my story...What gets me stuck is when I realize that my story doesn't have enough tension. I keep writing, but I slow down. Then extra layers of the story slowly come to me and I realize the characters and subplots I can add to spice up the story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-2363166433836079522010-10-26T18:16:26.302-04:002010-10-26T18:16:26.302-04:00Rules get me stuck. But I'm slowly learning ho...Rules get me stuck. But I'm slowly learning how to break them effectively. Excellent post Laurel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-78714974518472902382010-10-26T14:04:39.393-04:002010-10-26T14:04:39.393-04:00Hmm I just get stuck occasionally and have to put ...Hmm I just get stuck occasionally and have to put it aside for a few days. the rules don't really concern me because most the time they aren't rules just guidelines *grin* I've seen rather a few pieces of work ruined because the writer was too concerned with the rules :)<br /><br />www.damselinadirtdress.comNicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17648307410383451558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-20143743930179711072010-10-26T13:58:17.686-04:002010-10-26T13:58:17.686-04:00Good post. Gets one thinking about what it is that...Good post. Gets one thinking about what it is that stops us in our writing, or from moving forward in our lives toward whatever goal we want to reach. <br />http://melissajcunningham.blogspot.com/2010/10/turn-it-off-pretty-please.htmlAnn Besthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14628616245339887301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-27719874480320745962010-10-26T12:29:19.868-04:002010-10-26T12:29:19.868-04:00Helm's Deep is a great example, Laurel. You a...Helm's Deep is a great example, Laurel. You always have such brilliant and meaningful posts. :-)Shannon O'Donnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299313309059235876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-81616483434332878432010-10-26T11:58:49.037-04:002010-10-26T11:58:49.037-04:00That wall for me recently was asking a question I ...That wall for me recently was asking a question I couldn't figure out an answer to. I didn't understand why I did what I did, but I couldn't take it out for various other plot reasons. I need to learn that broccoli trick, I'm ALWAYS questioning my plot motivations when I'm writing. That's a task for revision, I think. Good post!JEMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04043891292719086478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263988256560129564.post-63645878030339262272010-10-26T11:34:12.768-04:002010-10-26T11:34:12.768-04:00Yes, but can you imagine a wall appearing in the m...Yes, but can you imagine a wall appearing in the middle of a desert? I agree that following rules too rigidly creates walls of frustration,sometimes before ever beginning. The rules are much better used during the editing process.Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05536293384635588296noreply@blogger.com