Tips for Overcoming Writers Block

The hardest thing for me about not being able to write is that I feel like I should keep sitting there at the computer, trying to tough it out. Unfortunately, this martyr’s approach rarely helps and often hurts. Sure, if you’re merely stuck, then sitting there and continuing to slog through the muck until you get to the productive writing again can be a good thing. But if you are truly experiencing the writer’s block that is usually associated with creative burn-out, what you probably need to do is…Step Away from the Computer.

Below is a list of tips I’ve compiled.

1. Do something different. It should not involve typing. It should not involve the internet. It should be all about living your real life in the real world. Cook. Garden. Visit a friend. Go for a jog. Walk your dog. Do things that make you happy and remind you that you are a productive human being even when you are not writing.

2. Play at creativity. The most joyful and exciting creative times I’ve ever experienced where when I was a kid, new to the creative process. I was fearless, and I was having fun. This is what we all need to tap into when our creative efforts have become painful and even miserable. Try some type of creative act you don’t normally do, like cartooning, or sketching, or painting, or writing poetry, or composing a song. Whatever it is, it should be FUN to you, and you should not be worried about the final product. It’s all about being in the moment and rolling with whatever happens.

3. If number two works well for you, and you want to take your newfound creative fun a step further, try giving it an audience, even if just an audience of one. Maybe you compose a silly poem for your best friend’s birthday, or you paint a postcard to send to your mom. Keep it safe (no critical audiences–choose people who will love whatever you do!), and keep it in the spirit of fun without pressure. This is not the time to summon your inner Martha Stewart.

4. Try writing something very different from what you normally write. If it goes well and you love the results, consider submitting it somewhere. This is only if the pressure of submission doesn’t bog you down in writer’s block again. If it does, then just have fun–write a story for your kids, or a family history for your grandmother, or the like.

5. Change your scenery. I’ve had success moving from my much beloved place on the bed, where I usually work on my laptop, to a neighborhood cafe. I hated doing it, but once you have a set of negative habits or patterns associated with your usual writing spot, you’re going to have to shake things up to get past those negative patterns.

I’ll add to this list as more tips occur to me…

A Year (or Two) Away from Writing

I’ve pretty much always known I wanted to be a writer. I feel edgy and off kilter if I’m not writing regularly. And for most of my adult life, I’ve been writing almost daily. But about two years ago, after writing 20+ books, I hit a wall. The words were coming more and more slowly, and the effort it took to produce those few words was becoming more and more painful.

I was constantly under contract to write, and I had always loved writing, so wasn’t this a good thing? Most writers would say it was a downright excellent, wonderful, amazing thing, to have someone else paying me to write. It is. It was. And yet, something was terribly wrong. I was experiencing creative burnout.

Rather than push on and perhaps make myself forever hate writing, I decided I needed to take a break. This was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life. I worked so hard and so long to become a published author, and I was terrified that if I walked away from my career, it wouldn’t be there for me when I came back. But there didn’t seem to be any other choice. I had reached a point where I was under so much stress I couldn’t write.

I decided to try something totally different that I’d also always wanted to do–teaching. So I went to graduate school, studied special education, and spent the past year teaching special ed at a local high school. It was a relief to have a break from my writing life, and yet, it always feels as if a piece of me is missing when I’m not writing. I’d occasionally give it a try during the past two years, but it hasn’t been until a few months ago that the words have started coming to me again in more than just fits and starts.

I don’t want to jinx myself by saying too much, but I am writing again. Yay. It’s so nice to have that part of myself back.

June Book Release

I have a new book out this month, entitled The One That Got Away. It’s a Harlequin Superromance, and here’s the cover:

Not my favorite cover, but it’s not the worst either. I wish the hero didn’t have such chubby cheeks.

Baby Under the Mistletoe

My latest book, a Harlequin SuperRomance titled Baby Under the Mistletoe, arrived in stores last week!

Here’s the back cover copy:

Having a baby isn’t exactly in Soleil Freeman’s plans. Being single and pregnant? Even further off her to-do list. Still, she can make this work…if she can figure out how to handle the father.

West Morgan is absolutely perfect summer distraction material. But building a life with a guy who’s all about picket fences and tradition is not her deal. Funny thing happens when she drops the “Merry Christmas, you’re gonna be a dad” news, though. That delicious attraction that fueled their affair is alive and well. And when West embarks on a campaign to be a family, she’s more open to the idea than she thought!

And if you’d like to order a copy online or read an excerpt, you can do so at EHarlequin, among other places.

Like a Good Neighbor?

I posted yesterday on the Blaze Authors blog about being a not-so-good neighbor: http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/09/05/like-a-good-neighbor/

If you add a comment in the next couple of days there on my blog post (the one at Blaze Authors, not this one) you’ll get a chance to win my current release or any one of my previous books. I think I’ll draw three winners on…oh, let’s say Tuesday.

Hmm, that’s not very fair now, is it? Giving away books there but not here? Okay, I’ll also give away a copy of any one of my releases to someone here as well who posts a comment on this entry in the next few days.

Made You Look Is Out Now

Somehow it’s already September. I blinked and the summer vanished. How??? How did this happen??? Have the calendar trolls been toying with me?

So I never got around to making a book page for Made You Look or pretty much any other book, for that matter. Don’t act surprised, because you already know I’m a terribly inefficient website administrator. The very word “administrator” being applied to ME is wrong. Wrong, I tell you. I don’t administrate. Apparently I don’t blog much either.

Anyway, my latest book, Made You Look, was released today. And we should all know by now that Harlequin novels remain on the shelves for exactly 5 minutes, so don’t tell me I didn’t warn you if you wait around until, oh, say, September 15th and can’t find my book anywhere. Go to the store right now and buy it, or get yourself on over to http://www.eharlequin.com and order it. EHarlequin is kind of cool because you don’t even need a credit card to order from there.

Okay, and that’s enough self-promoting. If I do any more I’m going to have to go take a shower.

But what about the book, you ask? Here’s a reader letter I wrote for it, which I kinda like:

What would you do if you had a neighbor who liked to perform indiscreet acts in front of his open window, for all the world to see? Would you draw the shades, or would you pop some popcorn and pull up a chair for the show? When the heroine of Made You Look is presented with this dilemma, she watches, and watches, and watches some more.

I live in an apartment building similar to the heroine’s, with another building across the way, and I’ve often wondered how many eyes are watching me when I accidentally leave a curtain open. And I can see into other people’s apartments as easily as they can see into mine. Lucky for my neighbors, I have a natural instinct to honor other people’s privacy. Otherwise, they might find their lives serving as fodder for fiction.

Unfortunately, I haven’t ever seen anything remotely interesting happening through an open window, even accidentally. Which is why I write fiction—I can create a world where there’s always something fascinating happening in the open window.

I hope you enjoy Made You Look!

My September Release

Here’s the cover for my upcoming September book, Made You Look. I’ll created a book page for it soon with more info. Stay tuned:

When Books Attack

Okay, so I disappeared for a wee little month and a half. It happens. The truth is, I was knocked on my butt by a book.

It all started like this… I wrote a manuscript last fall that didn’t go as I hoped it would. Things went wrong on many levels. I pushed through and got it written, working through vacation and Christmas and finishing it up December 26th. I turned it in, and a few months later, I got a call from my editor. Revisions. Okay, they happen with every book, but the problem was, I’d made such a mess with this one, I had major, major work to do to get the book back on the right track.

So I tried, and tried, and tried some more. It look a month longer than I told my editor it would. I hate being late. It makes me insane. I’m still not sure I did the book justice, but I tried my best.

And the moral of the story? Who knows. But expending extra energy to do anything writing-related, even my blog, was impossible for a while. I think I’m back on my feet now. So here goes…

What’s everyone been up to this spring? Planning to go to the RWA conference this year? I’m not, sadly. My bank account said no way.

Oh, and I’m blogging today at the Blaze Authors blog, www.blazeauthors.com, about my hermit tendencies with online social media.

Happy Earth Day

This morning I had to get my kids to school early so that my son could participate in an Earth Day presentation. His class had gathered up all the wasted food from recent lunches at the school, weighed it, and did some math to figure out how much food on average was going to waste during each lunch at every school in our county. They presented their findings to the entire school and pointed out how the food is not only going to waste, but the resources spent in producing and transporting the food were also then wasted.

I’ve asked my kids in the past to bring home any food they don’t eat from their lunches (unless, of course, it’s something impractical like a half-eaten yogurt with no lid–I had to learn the hard way to point this out to my daughter) or else share anything they don’t want with someone at their lunch table. But the presentation today reminded me about being diligent. Too often I throw away uneaten food instead of taking the time to find a later use for it.

So that’s my resolution for this Earth Day–to use our food carefully. Maybe even prepare and eat a little less… Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll, um, try. Do you have an Earth Day resolution? If so, what is it?

The Joy of Snakes

Among the various pets my kids have talked me into accumulating, our ball python Jawzahr (named for the mythical Persian dragon who chased the sun and moon) gets the most frequent expressions of disapproval from friends and family.

Why on earth would you want a snake? they sensibly ask.

My initial answer was, my son wanted it. He was going through his reptile phase, and he’s such a careful and attentive observer of nature, I wanted to reward his interest with a gift. But over time, I’ve become the snake’s biggest fan.

Jawzahr, unlike our other pets, is neat, quiet, and requires almost no maintenance save for regular handling and a defrosted mouse every week or so. He rewards us with his beauty and peacefulness. I unexpectedly discovered that handling him is good for my mental health, too. He is easily startled, so I must be calm and careful when holding him. This has the effect of lowering my own stress level.

Over time, we’ve learned a great deal about snakes from caring for and observing him, and while this isn’t a benefit I ever thought I wanted, it’s made my frequent wilderness hikes more enjoyable. When I encounter a snake now, I don’t experience a jolt of fear the way I once did. I know how to react, and since most snakes are harmless, I can appreciate such moments as rare chances to observe a creature in its natural habitat.

Our fish tank is a hassle, our lizards are smelly and high maintenance, and our rabbits are disdainful and prone to chewing things they shouldn’t. But the python? He’s lovely.

What’s the best pet you’ve ever had? The oddest?

(PS: If you’re in the market for a snake of your own, check at your local humane society, or look for local breeders on places like Craigslist to help keep the pressure of pet trading off wild populations. Captive-bred snakes are often easier to feed and handle than wild-caught ones too.)