Maneuvering through writer's block

It's been a long time since I posted - I appreciate any readers who have remained with me during my long absence.  It was not because of writer's block that I've been gone - it was just life.  I got a job, am still home schooling, taking care of my elderly mother, etc, etc.  I know, I know, everyone has a life.  Mine just sort of fell into a black hole for a bit.  I did not stop writing, but it's hard to be creative when you're in a hurry.  I'm actually at Chapter 19, for those of you who are following my progress.  I'm excited!  The entire novel takes place, mostly, in about one week, and I'm on Friday!  This project is nearing completion.  There is a sense of purpose, of having accomplished what I set out to do...almost, anyway.  I still have to tie in the lose ends, and leave some hanging.  I think, perhaps, that this is the hardest part of the writing.  While I've been doing all of this, I'm also reading for a friend.  And wouldn't you know it, he got BAD writer's block right about the time I started staring at my computer, wondering where my story was going.

So I've been thinking about writer's block.  What is it that makes us 'lose our way' or 'forget why we came into this room' while writing our novels?  And when we get there, how do we navigate out of it?

I would love to hear from the rest of you what thoughts you have and what things you've tried.  For me, I've tried a few things that seem to work and I'll share them here.

The first one is a bit time consuming.  I did this at the beginning, when I only had a few chapters to read.  But now I have over 50,000 words so this method is...cumbersome.  I would go back and read the entire story, not allowing myself time for editing, but just racing through the story.  Then, when I reached the part I was trying to write, my brain would kick in and carry on with more.  Perhaps I could still do this, by using my story board?

Which brings me to the next thing - story boards.  I bought those thin strips of cork board, in a metal frame, about 4 feet long.  I put each chapter and major scene on an index card, color coded by character groups and sub plots.  (I would love to have one like Castle has, but you know, I'm not a best selling author, yet, ha!)

Day dream.  I know, if people walk in on me, it's a little awkward, so I lock my door and slip into one of my characters.  Yep, it's weird, but hey, it works. 

Take a walk.  Or a long drive.  This seems to be my most effective helper.  I take my digital recorder with me and let the sunshine and fresh air stir up my mind. 

So...any input from the rest of you?  What do you do to jump start your story line?

Not for lack of desire...

I write in small spurts. C'mon, I have 5 children at home still, one who is in the Marines, and one who just gave me a grandchild. My mother thinks that her mother is still alive and that she needs to go see her. She also can't figure out who my husband is - she thinks she worked with him. Fortunately, she lives about 40 minutes from me, so I can go see her. The point being, life is exceedingly full at the moment. Over the next 6 years, I will be graduating 4 children, with 1 more to go...

But I dream in technicolor...my characters from Stoning the Crows walk through my dreams and tell me things about themselves that I did not know. I am driven to write and often sacrifice sleep to do so. My most recent endeavor, and I suspect that other writers can identify with this, is to pull out some of the excess in my story. I have about 40,000 words in the novel. I have been told to 'slow down,' so I'm working now on trying to accomplish this feat - maybe a little less coffee?? Several characters are receding in the rewrite. One is becoming a ghost. Well, not a real ghost. But I like the sound of that for my undercover cop. These others...well, I like them. So I'll keep their stories and perhaps write them into sequels. I have at least one sequel in the works. Why not 2?

My favorite endeavor, at the moment, is little interludes from the future with my 'ghost.' He's being investigated. So he's answering questions for an interrogator who holds him in, um, low regard. He looks like a crook. But he'll come out smelling like roses. Is it a perfume to cover up the bad smell? Or is he really the good guy? Is what appears to be unethical really only the lesser of two evils? As I untwist his logic in this interview, I, too, will find out the answer to these questions.

I am on the edge of my seat...

What remains...

Memories link, one to another, and form the playing field upon which we walk. Think about your last ten years…You don’t remember every detail. Some memories waft through your mind, sparked by a current circumstance or something someone said, or even a scent. A certain berry bush has a distinct smell that takes me way back to daycare, when I was very small. Every time I smell it, I’m suddenly only three feet tall. Music is the same. It takes us places, like the sci fi portal into another dimension. It’s odd, the things that remain in the memory. Some seem so disconnected, yet there they are. Every memory finds its way into the present because it is connected somehow. Without the connection, it is lost.

Now think of all the books you’ve read. What is it that has remained of those books? Do you remember the words that were spoken? The witty little phrases? Maybe. Do you remember how the book felt in your hands? Or the image on the cover? Well, I suppose that one might remain long, especially if you are a visual learner. Some stories remain because they touch us, where we live. We can relate. We feel them. But we don’t remember the exact words…in fact, in some cases, we don’t even remember the title of the book. What we remember is how we felt, while walking in the character’s shoes, or how they looked while we watched them from within the story. We remember how we felt when they said something to us or reacted and we wanted to stop them or slap them or hug them. We are relational creatures. If a character touches our lives, our hearts, our minds, they will remain. As writers, we have the opportunity to reach into the lives of people we’ve never met and touch them, where they live, to leave an impression that will link with their memories and remain a part of them. How cool is that?