31-Mar-2007
The Guaranteed, Money-Back Cure
for Writer's Block
(Some restrictions apply, check fine print for details.)
Author Olin Miller remarked: Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.
We're not sure we'd make that exception.
Writing a mystery is a combination of imagination, research, luck, perserverance, patience, and the willingness to do battle with the debilitating condition that strikes all authors: the dreaded writer's block. It's that moment when you know you can never write another word, not even a supermarket shopping list. The muse is gone, flown the coop, gone anywhere except where you are. It's all over, done, finished. No writer is immune.
Is there anything that can be done to cure this dreadful affliction? Here are some tips to mitigate the disease and shorten its duration.
Big shots are little shots that just keep shooting (Christopher Morley). Even though you are sure that you couldn't possibly compose a sentence that has both a noun and verb, let alone one that captures anyone's attention, fire up the computer and keep writing. Waiting patiently for writer's block to disappear inevitably results in too much time whining about your fate. It's not productive, it's demoralizing and ...
Sometimes there's pearls among the swine. Or put another way, even material that wouldn't qualify for a third grade composition, can sometimes yield a nugget or two of pure gold. Or if not gold, at least a jumping off point that is worth salvaging. But if you write nothing, then you have nothing.
Move on, move up, or move out. Stop trying to make the muse visit that particular scene that has been trying your soul for days. Stories don't have to be written chronologically. J.K. Rowling wrote the final scene of the Harry Potter series before the first book was even published. Writing what feels comfortable may lend a clue how to write what is troubling you.
Keep it Short. Sometimes closing the book file for an afternoon and writing a short story can give you a shot of writer's adrenalin, a sense of accomplishment, and remind you why you love writing.
Following our own advice, we're buckling down to write Murder Takes the Cake, the exciting, funny, mystifying sequel to Murder Off the Books, as well as a new short story featuring our madcap psychic detective Brianna Sullivan. Stay tuned!
All our best wishes for a mystery-loving March.
Evelyn David
