Hey everybody in the blogosphere, today I have a personal NaNoWriMo update and a bit of advice for all you WriMos out there. As of today, I am up to 18,964 words on my NaNoWriMo manuscript, 1208 of which were written this morning. I have written the end of my novel, now I have to go back and fill in the rest of the story. However, I have also written a part of the epilog that will give me the spark I need to Segway into another mystery with these characters.
My advice for you today is to take a preparation day for your story. I know you only have 30 days to reach the overall 50,000-word goal, in order to win NaNoWriMo. However, there are going to be some days when you can’t think of a word to write for your story. When this happens, it’s best just to use the writing session you had planned to do some brainstorming for your novel. By this I mean ask some questions and talk about plot ideas you have to help move your story forward. Once you do this, either later that night or even the next day, something will trigger your creative muse, and the spark will ignite into a flame once more.
Let me explain how this happened to me. Yesterday, I racked my brain to come up with something to write. I did all the usual stuff, listening to podcasts, finding sounds on my echo dot etc., but nothing seemed to work. However, I opened up my journal and began the process of brainstorming for my novel. I spoke to a friend who is like a sister to me and told her the ideas I had, then I wrote them down. I also wrote down some questions to stimulate my brain into a creative mode. Nothing happened.
What happened to get me writing today? Well, here’s what added fuel to my creative fire. I sat at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and drinking a cup of Starbuck’s Peppermint Mocha Latte coffee and “watching†an old episode of Perry Mason, when the idea for the ending chapter of my story just slapped me in the face. It seemed to say: “Write me! Write me now!â€. After I cleaned up my breakfast dishes and the coffee pot, I came back in my space and went straight to work. This inspiration carried me through the ending chapter and the epilog.
If you have a day where you just can’t think of anything to write for your story, that’s okay, because you have to give your brain a break once in a while. I personally recommend a brainstorming day like I took yesterday. It works wonders for your story and your characters will thank you for it.
Now, for you WriMos out there, what do you do to combat writers block? Do you take a brainstorming day, simply plow through the toughest part of your story, or do you give your brain a break? Share your writer’s block tips in the comments below.
Until next time, happy writing and may the muse be with you.