Friday, April 8, 2011

When Words Won't Mesh...

What do you do?

I experienced a day like this on Tuesday. Not Fun!

If you're like me, eventually you give up on trying to get your words to resemble some sense of worthiness, and pull out that elusive procrastination tool. Normally I'd say that's a bad thing, but in this instance it saved me.

I did some blog hopping (I'm so enjoying visiting everyone again). Did some dishes (ticked off that chore on my list). Rolled up clean polos for our Donner boy. Wiped the counter down (two more chores ticked off). Did some more blog hopping and this time discovered a gift post. Ever come across one of those?

A blog post that cured your woes? Wiped the slate clean? Got you back in your groove?

Well, this one did it for me this week. I read it, resonated with it, then opened up my document once more and voila, the words tumbled onto the keypad in all their glory, thus improving a scene. An opening scene no less. Life is good. My thanks goes out to the many bloggers out there. You may not realize your post gave a writer a needed kick start or the tool to fix something, but more often than not it does!

The moral of this story is that sometimes a diversion is the very best thing when a writer hits a word block. It doesn't mean you're giving up, it's an opportunity to put procrastination to work for you.

Q4U: What other methods do you use other than procrastination to regain your writer's touch?

Till next time, may your weekend be a treasure, and may you write on...

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

4 comments:

Gina Conroy said...

I might take a prolonged break to focus on other areas of my life I might be neglecting by "worrying" and trying to force the words. Right now I'm in that in between writing stage. My current WIP I've been editing is off to a crit partner and I'm mentally switching gears to try and create something new. I agree, sometimes distractions are a great way to get you back on track!

Anonymous said...

Rachelle's was one of the first blogs I started following, and need to get back to her place more often! Being around other writers helps me get my butt kicked into writing action. This weekend I'll be needing extra padding because I have a writing conference that includes a critique of my stuff. Have a good weekend!

Loree Huebner said...

I'm with you, Eileen.

When the words won't mesh, I take a break. I do some chores that are calling my name or take a walk. I love reading blogs too. I think the Lord loves to give us inspiration through others...that way we don't feel so alone in our problems, or when the words won't mesh.

Laura Frantz said...

Wonderful post, Eileen. I think the thing that helps me most is walking. It seems to jump start ideas, onlyl I've learned to keep paper and pen handy;) Another thing lately that has saved me from frustration and staring at the page is just doing dishes or running errands and simply THINKING about that next scene. I'm loving that pensiveness in regards to what comes next. Bless you so much.