Let's Spring into Action!

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." —Ralph Waldo Emerson

The power inherent within a single idea is breathtaking. Every life-changing invention, every rousing song, every exquisite work of art and every heartfelt book began with a single idea.

Yet the work involved to pushing that idea to fruition is daunting. We're starting with a barren field! The dirt must be overturned, then sifted through for weeds and rocks. Fertilizer must be applied. Seeds planted then watered. More weeding. Some judicious pruning. Yikes! How long until we bask in the glory of our blossoming tree?

The process can be so overwhelming, many a writer is tempted to give up. Even the best idea might not seem worth the struggle, those tedious hours staring at the screen striving to somehow bring this seed of a story to life. And that's just the first draft! The inevitable process of revising also requires boatloads of patience as the hours, the days, the weeks speed by. Why not just move on?

"Throwing away ideas too soon is like opening a package of flower seeds and then throwing them away because they're not pretty." — Arthur VanGundy, Ph.D. (Idea Power, 1992)

Because You Are A Writer. If you're looking for an easy career, keep looking. Trust me, this isn't it. Being a writer requires patience, more effort than seems possible, an eye that is never discerning enough (*sigh*) and a determination that keeps you chug-chug-chugging along like a certain little train from one of the first books most children ever read.

"I don't know much about creative writing programs. But they're not telling the truth if they don't teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer." --Doris Lessing

Being a writer means sacrifice. It means carving out fifteen minutes of your day when you only have ten. And more: tossing off the covers while the sun is still snoozing or crawling into bed when the rest of the family is already snoring away. Turning down an invitation to lunch because your current manuscript must be edited. Ignoring emails and avoiding computer solitaire! While there will be those moments when you absolutely need to step away from the computer or set down the legal pad and actually partake of life outside of your story, the key to success is to Spring Into Action. Take charge of your life and your writing and do whatever it takes.

"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair." - Mary Heaton Vorse

As one of the writers in our group called it: 'Butt-Glue'. Adhere posterior to aforementioned office chair posthaste and get thee to writing! (And do forgive my complete lack of historical eloquence. *heh-heh*)

In past months, we've embraced our desire to spark the flame of inspiration and to embrace our playful nature. This week, let's remember the reality of being a successful writer--the absolute need to stay focused and get our stories written. To return to our manuscripts again and again, polishing until the prose gleams. This is what being a writer is all about. We set goals with the intention of keeping them. We establish our finish line and push ourselves to cross it. We know that to establish a career in writing means doing the work.

"Writing is the hardest work in the world. I have been a bricklayer and a truck driver, and I tell you -- as if you haven't been told a million times already -- that writing is harder. Lonelier. And nobler and more enriching." - Harlan Ellison

This next quote is a heady reminder to me…

"The only difference between a writer and someone who wants to be a writer is discipline." --Ayelet Waldman

We need to apply that Butt-Glue, Do the Work, and Take Action to make our dreams (and our books) come alive.

Remember:

"The greatest masterpieces were once only pigments on a palette." --Henry S. Hoskins

Let's Spring Into Action! Here's to another awesome week bursting with potential!

--Chiron O'Keefe
Also featured at Pop Culture Divas

Breaking Through the Wall

"I have a love-hate relationship with the writing life. I wouldn't wish to have any other kind of life…and on the other hand, I wish it were easier. And it never is. The reward comes sentence by sentence. The reward comes in the unexpected inspiration. The reward comes from creating a character who lives and breathes and is perfectly real. But such effort it takes to attain the reward! I would never have believed it would take such effort."-Journal of a Novel, December 15, 1997, Elizabeth George, Write Away

"I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done." --Steven Wright

The idea of being a writer would appear to be a glorious, magical journey, akin to traipsing through a field of daisies on a spring day. Blowing bubbles, twirling under the clouds and then… inspiration strikes and with a wave of our hands, the novel appears before us like a rainbow in the sky.

Or… we spend hours, days, months, years, pounding away at the keyboard, pounding away at the wall lodged in our thick skull as we struggle in vain to reach that novel tucked deep within our souls.

The writer's life ain't easy. Moving past the proverbial Writer's Block is as much fun as a root canal. And at least that has a time limit!

"We conquer, not in any brilliant fashion, we conquer by continuing." --George Matheson

When writers hit a wall, the greatest idea in the world won't help. We need more. We need to break through and we're not sure how to do it. This is our personal Dark Night of the Soul—when we need to push onward down that rocky path despite the lack of light.

And how exactly do we do that? First thing we need is to examine exactly what writer's block is.

To my mind it's a two-parter. The outer symptom is that we're feeling stuck. We're stumped because we've reached an impasse and don't *see* what comes next. The inner cause for this symptom though is often simply fear. Fear that the next sentence will be mediocre. Fear that as we type, the words will turn to gibberish. Fear that unless we are struck with a brilliant spark of inspiration we can't write.

Inspiration is lovely but it's perspiration that counts. Many writers will admit that their most inspired moments turn out after reflection to be just so-so. While the prose that seemed humdrum while slogging through a slow day actually turned out pretty darn good.

A friend came to visit James Joyce one day and found the great man sprawled across his writing desk in a posture of utter despair.

“James, what’s wrong?” the friend asked. “Is it the work?”

Joyce indicated assent without even raising his head to look at his friend. Of course it was the work; isn’t it always?

“How many words did you get today?” the friend pursued.

Joyce (still in despair, still sprawled facedown on his desk): “Seven.”

“Seven? But James… that’s good, at least for you.”

“Yes,” Joyce said, finally looking up. “I suppose it is… but I don’t know what order they go in!”

From On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

There are two things one can do with writer's block. One is step away. Take a breather. Live life for a while and take the pressure off.

Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. --Meg Chittenden

Sitting cooped up with nothing but our imagination and our writing tools can be crazy-making after all. We may just need something to jar us out of our slump, to give us fresh perspective, to help us reawaken the delight within our souls.

I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels. — Ernest Gaines

For me, it's music. When I pull away and listen to a favorite tune, I feel transported and rejuvenated. For my friend Cathy, a stroll through the fragrant redwoods gives her a lift and brings her a sense of joy and comfort. Maybe for you it's repotting a plant or hitting a garage sale, repainting the living room or getting a massage. Hmmm… sign me up for that last one!

That's step one. But it doesn't get us writing again. What can we do to actually GET back to the process of writing once more?

The answer is simple, frustrating, annoying and obvious.

Write.

The Pulitzer Prize winning poet Stephen Spender said, "The best thing is to write anything, anything at all that comes into your mind, until gradually there is a calm and creative day."

We're training our mind to respond to our hand movements. Whether it's typing or scribbling long-hand on legal pad, our brain is geared up to associate the mental process of writing with the physical process. Now, sometimes the block is resolved by the foray away from writing. We come back and just *know*. And sometimes money does magically appear on the front lawn (I joke but once I looked out my kitchen window andactudally did see a twenty dollar bill fluttering down to the ground!).

The real test though is in the writing. Which is rather a pisser. *heh-heh* To think the problem and the solution might just be the same!

"People on the outside think there's something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn't like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that's all there is to it." ---Harlan Ellison

So you sit down and write. If you're stuck with a scene, you tell yourself that you will come up with six possible ways the scene could go. The choices can be totally wacky, unbelievable and implausible.

Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." --Lewis Carroll from Alice in Wonderland.

This is where we need to realize that writing is both a linear and creative process. When we're stuck and we keep trying to approach the scene with a linear perspective, we find our self pushing against the wall.

"You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created." --Albert Einstein

The above quote applies to writer's block as well. Which is why a change of scenery often unblocks the mind. By letting go of the linear, logical, rational perspective and just writing those six implausible scenes, you are freeing your mind from the constraints. You're giving your creative self permission to color outside the lines. You know what this can do?

How about… Free You As A Writer. Or… Awaken the spontaneous brilliance that leaves your jaw gaping and your skin tingling. *wink*

While Writer's Block is often simply fear dressed up as procrastination, it's also an amazing opportunity. It's almost as if our soul is whispering, "This particular path is okay but there's another close by that's so incredible you'll feel transported." You may be "stuck" but in truth there could be a touch of intuition that *knows* there's an alternate idea that's so freaking cool it'll blow your mind.

Dude.

So… Go for it. Take those breaks and then get back to work. Listen to the music within your soul, take a deep breath and Play. Dream up impossible scenarios and tell yourself that anything goes. Give yourself permission to color outside the lines and you might just find yourself dancing in Wonderland.

"If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow." --- Louis L’Amour

Let's make this a spectacular week, everyone! We're approaching spring and all its glory. Let's give the stories that dance in our heart freedom to spill out on the pages. We can do it. Why? Because we're writers, that's why!

So tell me, how have you 'broken through the wall'? What methods do you use to move past writer's block?

Smiles,
Chiron O'Keefe

Also featured at Pop Culture Divas!