In the Winter of Our Discontent
Jan. 21st, 2009 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxIn and around the last few days I've seen people struggling with writers block and fic malaise of some form or another. And goodness knows I've been struggling with it myself. (Seriously, I don't know why I'm so stalled on my fic. I have large chunks of it drafted, but I've been stuck on what should be a quick fight scene for-freaking-ever for no good reason that I can think of other than I'm stuck. But I am as stuck as if I had my feet locked in curing concrete. This isn't working, and I don't know why).
Anyway, I don't have any wise words to share on the subject of writer's block or fic malaise. I don't think I'm qualified to give wise words. I did think to dig up some (fingers crossed) inspiration from books that I have. Maybe one of them will help me refocus my thoughts, and, while doing so, I thought I'd share:
Stephen King's: On Writing:
... Not every book has to be loaded with symbolism, irony, or musical language (they call it prose for a reason), but it seems to me that every book -- at least every one worth reading -- is about something. Your job during or just after the first draft is to decide what something or somethings your story is about.
{...} The Stand took an especially long time to write because it nearly died going into the third turn{...} I'd wanted to write a sprawling, multi-character sort of novel -- a fantasy epic if I could manage it {...} I had an absolutely marvelous time envisioning a world that went smash during the course of one horrified, infected summer {...} all of this sounds terrible, is terrible, but to me the vision was strangely optimistic. No more energy crisis for one thing, no more famine, no more massacres in Uganda, no more holes in the ozone layer. Finito as well to saber-rattling nuclear superpowers, and certainly no more specter of over population.{...} I liked my characters. I liked my story. And there still came a point where I couldn't write any longer because I didn't know what to write. {...} If I'd had two or even three hundred pages of manuscript instead of over five hundred, I think I would have abandoned The Stand and gone on to something else -- God knows I've done it before. But five hundred pages was too great an investment, both in time and in creative energy; I found it impossible to let go. {...} So, instead of moving on to another project, I started taking long walks. Boredom can be a very good thing for someone in a creative jam. I spent these walks being bored and thinking about my gigantic boondogle of a manuscript.
For weeks I got exactly nowhere in my thinking -- it all seemed too hard, too fucking complex. I had run out too many plotlines, and they were in danger of becoming snarled. I circled the problem again and again, beat my fists on it, knocked my head against it. . . then one day when I was thinking of nothing much at all, the answer came to me. It arrived whole and complete -- gift-wrapped you could say -- in a single bright flash. I ran home and jotted it down, the only time I've done such a thing, because I was terrified of forgetting. The world where The Stand took place may have been depopulated by the plague, but my story had become dangerously overcrowded. The solution for where I was stuck, I saw, was the same as the situation that got me going -- an explosion rather than a plague, but still one quick, hard slash through the Gordian Knot, sending the survivors on a final redemptive quest.
(...) If there is one thing I love about writing more than the rest, it's the sudden flash of insight when you see how it all connects. I have heard it called "thinking above the curve," and it's that. I've heard it called "over logic" and it's that too. {...} The rest of the book ran itself off in nine weeks. {...} Later, when my first draft was done, I was able to get a better fix on what had stopped me so completely mid-course; it was a lot easier to think without that voice in my head constantly yammering "I'm losing my book! Ah shit, five-hundred pages and I'm losing my book! Condition red! CONDITION RED!" I was able to analyze what got me going again and appreciate the irony of it: I saved my book by blowing approximately half the characters to smithereens. {...} What had stopped me was realizing, on some level of my mind, that the good guys and the bad guys were starting to look perilously alike, and the good guys needed a wake-up call. A bomb in the closet would do just fine. All this suggested to me that violence as a solution is woven through human nature like a damning red thread. That became the theme of The Stand, and I wrote the second draft with that thought firmly in mind. {...} Although I'd used symbolism, imagery, and literary homage before getting to my novel about the big plague, I'm quite sure that I never thought much about theme before getting roadblocked on The Stand. I suppose I thought such things were for Better Minds and Bigger Thinkers. I'm not sure I would have gotten to it as soon as I did, had I not been desperate to save my story.
I was astounded at how really useful "thematic thinking" turned out to be. It wasn't just a vaporous idea that English professors made you write about on midterm essay exams., but another handy gadget to keep in the writer's toolbox. {...} since my revelation concerning the bomb in the closet, I have never hesitated to ask myself, either before starting the second draft or while stuck for an idea in the first, just what it is that I'm writing about. The answer doesn't always come right away, but there usually is one, and it's usually not that hard to find.
Between the Lines: the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing by Jessica Page Morrell
The word epiphany in Greek and means "manisfestation" -- a sudden intuitive realization that comes shining forth. I like to imagine that an epiphany shines a light into a previously dark place in a character's soul or consciousness. This new understanding is often the opposite of the truth that was previously known, and therefore provides a stunning contrast. In order for an epiphany to cause a profound change, however, it must be centered around a sudden insight concerning the essential nature of something, not a random or mundane recognition. This new understanding is linked to character arc and affects the story's end. {...} Revelations, on the other hand, can occur in many aspects of the story and can involve subplots and backstory. And, while a revelation can provide insight, it doesn't necessarily need to change the protagonist. Revelations can cause twists and reversals.
{...}Epiphanies come at a price and usually this price is a character's suffering. {...} there are three parts to an epiphany: (1) the setup, (2) the trigger, and (3) the realization. The set-up can vary in length. The trigger is the catalyst that applies pressure to the protagonist's old way of thinking, causing uncertainty or struggle. The realization, then, is when the protagonist consciously recognizes something she had not previously understood and, as a result, undergoes a profound change...
{...}Imagine a revelation as a hidden gem buried deep in your story. If you don't have a murder investigation, the discovery of a valuable object, or a long-buried secret at the heart of your story, ask yourself if there is some valuable information that can be withheld for as long as possible. Withholding information causes suspense and creates layers of intrigue{...} Revelations exist at the heart of most plots, supplying the undercurrent to the larger, story-shaping epiphanies.
{...} Tying your character's epiphany or revelation to your novel's theme or premise is a sure way to bolster tension. Both theme and premise provide foundations for building your story. Theme is central unifying idea or concern of your story. {...} Premise is linked to the story's conflict and to the truth that is proved by the story's ending. {...} Theme and premise create boundary lines in a story. While writing, you can keep asking yourself if your subplots, secondary characters, epiphanies, and revelations tie back to the theme and premise. If they seem random or added for color, it's likely you don't need them. Also, unless the protagonist is a child, if he encounters a revelation in every chapter or undergoes a long string of epiphanies, the story may come off as gimmicky.
101 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs To Know by Robert Masello
Of all the ways writers find to waste time, waiting for the muse to show up has to be the most common and most fruitless of them all. If you're waiting for her, stop it. {...} Anyone who actually writes on a regular basis can attest the muse is a very unreliable creature. Sometimes she shows up at noon raring to go; sometimes she shows up at midnight when you're ready to call it a day. And sometimes, no matter how many times you put in an SOS, she doesn't come to your door (that you've conveniently left unlocked); she's simply missing in action. Gone without a trace. {...} Sometimes you will feel inspired when you sit down to write-- and sometimes you won't. That's just the way it is. But sit down you must, and write you will. Once you stop worrying where she is and focus instead on the work at hand, she may put in a surprise appearance.
And if I could take that last one more seriously, I'd have a heck of a lot more done. Instead, I'm copying passages from books and watching Lost. But, I thought I'd share the procrastination. :)
X-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
wip_out
Anyway, I don't have any wise words to share on the subject of writer's block or fic malaise. I don't think I'm qualified to give wise words. I did think to dig up some (fingers crossed) inspiration from books that I have. Maybe one of them will help me refocus my thoughts, and, while doing so, I thought I'd share:
Stephen King's: On Writing:
... Not every book has to be loaded with symbolism, irony, or musical language (they call it prose for a reason), but it seems to me that every book -- at least every one worth reading -- is about something. Your job during or just after the first draft is to decide what something or somethings your story is about.
{...} The Stand took an especially long time to write because it nearly died going into the third turn{...} I'd wanted to write a sprawling, multi-character sort of novel -- a fantasy epic if I could manage it {...} I had an absolutely marvelous time envisioning a world that went smash during the course of one horrified, infected summer {...} all of this sounds terrible, is terrible, but to me the vision was strangely optimistic. No more energy crisis for one thing, no more famine, no more massacres in Uganda, no more holes in the ozone layer. Finito as well to saber-rattling nuclear superpowers, and certainly no more specter of over population.{...} I liked my characters. I liked my story. And there still came a point where I couldn't write any longer because I didn't know what to write. {...} If I'd had two or even three hundred pages of manuscript instead of over five hundred, I think I would have abandoned The Stand and gone on to something else -- God knows I've done it before. But five hundred pages was too great an investment, both in time and in creative energy; I found it impossible to let go. {...} So, instead of moving on to another project, I started taking long walks. Boredom can be a very good thing for someone in a creative jam. I spent these walks being bored and thinking about my gigantic boondogle of a manuscript.
For weeks I got exactly nowhere in my thinking -- it all seemed too hard, too fucking complex. I had run out too many plotlines, and they were in danger of becoming snarled. I circled the problem again and again, beat my fists on it, knocked my head against it. . . then one day when I was thinking of nothing much at all, the answer came to me. It arrived whole and complete -- gift-wrapped you could say -- in a single bright flash. I ran home and jotted it down, the only time I've done such a thing, because I was terrified of forgetting. The world where The Stand took place may have been depopulated by the plague, but my story had become dangerously overcrowded. The solution for where I was stuck, I saw, was the same as the situation that got me going -- an explosion rather than a plague, but still one quick, hard slash through the Gordian Knot, sending the survivors on a final redemptive quest.
(...) If there is one thing I love about writing more than the rest, it's the sudden flash of insight when you see how it all connects. I have heard it called "thinking above the curve," and it's that. I've heard it called "over logic" and it's that too. {...} The rest of the book ran itself off in nine weeks. {...} Later, when my first draft was done, I was able to get a better fix on what had stopped me so completely mid-course; it was a lot easier to think without that voice in my head constantly yammering "I'm losing my book! Ah shit, five-hundred pages and I'm losing my book! Condition red! CONDITION RED!" I was able to analyze what got me going again and appreciate the irony of it: I saved my book by blowing approximately half the characters to smithereens. {...} What had stopped me was realizing, on some level of my mind, that the good guys and the bad guys were starting to look perilously alike, and the good guys needed a wake-up call. A bomb in the closet would do just fine. All this suggested to me that violence as a solution is woven through human nature like a damning red thread. That became the theme of The Stand, and I wrote the second draft with that thought firmly in mind. {...} Although I'd used symbolism, imagery, and literary homage before getting to my novel about the big plague, I'm quite sure that I never thought much about theme before getting roadblocked on The Stand. I suppose I thought such things were for Better Minds and Bigger Thinkers. I'm not sure I would have gotten to it as soon as I did, had I not been desperate to save my story.
I was astounded at how really useful "thematic thinking" turned out to be. It wasn't just a vaporous idea that English professors made you write about on midterm essay exams., but another handy gadget to keep in the writer's toolbox. {...} since my revelation concerning the bomb in the closet, I have never hesitated to ask myself, either before starting the second draft or while stuck for an idea in the first, just what it is that I'm writing about. The answer doesn't always come right away, but there usually is one, and it's usually not that hard to find.
Between the Lines: the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing by Jessica Page Morrell
The word epiphany in Greek and means "manisfestation" -- a sudden intuitive realization that comes shining forth. I like to imagine that an epiphany shines a light into a previously dark place in a character's soul or consciousness. This new understanding is often the opposite of the truth that was previously known, and therefore provides a stunning contrast. In order for an epiphany to cause a profound change, however, it must be centered around a sudden insight concerning the essential nature of something, not a random or mundane recognition. This new understanding is linked to character arc and affects the story's end. {...} Revelations, on the other hand, can occur in many aspects of the story and can involve subplots and backstory. And, while a revelation can provide insight, it doesn't necessarily need to change the protagonist. Revelations can cause twists and reversals.
{...}Epiphanies come at a price and usually this price is a character's suffering. {...} there are three parts to an epiphany: (1) the setup, (2) the trigger, and (3) the realization. The set-up can vary in length. The trigger is the catalyst that applies pressure to the protagonist's old way of thinking, causing uncertainty or struggle. The realization, then, is when the protagonist consciously recognizes something she had not previously understood and, as a result, undergoes a profound change...
{...}Imagine a revelation as a hidden gem buried deep in your story. If you don't have a murder investigation, the discovery of a valuable object, or a long-buried secret at the heart of your story, ask yourself if there is some valuable information that can be withheld for as long as possible. Withholding information causes suspense and creates layers of intrigue{...} Revelations exist at the heart of most plots, supplying the undercurrent to the larger, story-shaping epiphanies.
{...} Tying your character's epiphany or revelation to your novel's theme or premise is a sure way to bolster tension. Both theme and premise provide foundations for building your story. Theme is central unifying idea or concern of your story. {...} Premise is linked to the story's conflict and to the truth that is proved by the story's ending. {...} Theme and premise create boundary lines in a story. While writing, you can keep asking yourself if your subplots, secondary characters, epiphanies, and revelations tie back to the theme and premise. If they seem random or added for color, it's likely you don't need them. Also, unless the protagonist is a child, if he encounters a revelation in every chapter or undergoes a long string of epiphanies, the story may come off as gimmicky.
101 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs To Know by Robert Masello
Of all the ways writers find to waste time, waiting for the muse to show up has to be the most common and most fruitless of them all. If you're waiting for her, stop it. {...} Anyone who actually writes on a regular basis can attest the muse is a very unreliable creature. Sometimes she shows up at noon raring to go; sometimes she shows up at midnight when you're ready to call it a day. And sometimes, no matter how many times you put in an SOS, she doesn't come to your door (that you've conveniently left unlocked); she's simply missing in action. Gone without a trace. {...} Sometimes you will feel inspired when you sit down to write-- and sometimes you won't. That's just the way it is. But sit down you must, and write you will. Once you stop worrying where she is and focus instead on the work at hand, she may put in a surprise appearance.
And if I could take that last one more seriously, I'd have a heck of a lot more done. Instead, I'm copying passages from books and watching Lost. But, I thought I'd share the procrastination. :)
X-posted to
wip_out
