AM I EXPERIENCING WRITER’S BLOCK OR FEAR?

Writers will offer myriad explanations for why we’re not writing, some are very creative explanations (guilty), and we usually attribute a dry spell to writer’s block. While I used to believe writer’s block was a real thing, I no longer feel that way. Here’s my story about writer’s block and a few questions to ask ourselves that may help to get to the heart of the matter.

After completing the fifteenth chapter of my work in progress called THE LAMENTS, I feared I might be coming down with the dreaded writer’s block. What I felt at that time had never happened to me before and I wanted to distance myself from that “curse”. The only way to describe the experience was feeling muddle-headed, a bit lost, but still hopeful. I was at a difficult place in the story, right smack in the middle, which is a tough place. There were two distinct story paths I could follow at the time. I was literally at a fork in the road and wasn’t sure which direction to follow, so I stopped to think for a few days, which is always a good thing. It turned out I didn’t write for a week. Not good for me.

(My next blog post will be about dealing with middle of the story issues).

Now, sometimes writers need renewed inspiration. We’re not robots. Writing a book is a grueling, mentally-challenging endeavor, and the more passionate (obsessed) we are about our story, the more unforgiving and hard we are on ourselves. And, let’s not forget the guilt that sets in when we’re not writing; it’s awful. The stress almost takes on a human form–a dark presence that never leaves us; always hovering over our heads or looking over our shoulders, asking, “Why aren’t you writing?”

We’ve created wonderful and complex characters, we’ve given them life, and we’ve abandoned them, often at a crucial point in their personal stories. We wouldn’t do that to a friend, would we? No, we wouldn’t leave them hanging! Yet, we leave our characters hanging. Why does that happen?

Julia Cameron (a personal hero), the author of the seminal book on creativity, THE ARTIST’S WAY, encourages us to take weekly Author Dates to recharge our creative batteries. My Author Dates have included museum tours, strolling through a city garden, visiting my local flower nursery, sharing coffee with a family member or a good friend, and shopping for creative and fun writing supplies. I did all of the above during that difficult time. I also connected with fellow writers, who could relate to the dry spell I was experiencing. They encouraged and supported me to hang in there; it was only temporary, they said. Well, a week turned into two weeks without writing a damn thing. I was lost. I thought it might be time for a vacation, but I’d just returned from vacation! What was going on?

I then recognized what I was feeling; it was pure, unadulterated fear. So, I put on my counselor hat and asked myself these questions, hoping to ascertain what was really going on.

• Do I fear failure, judgment, too much exposure, or the fear of succeeding?
• Am I afraid of sitting with and thinking about the story, the characters, or possible endings because that takes away from valuable writing time?
• Should I rework my outline?
• Am I really a writer or a wannabe?
• Am I experiencing mental clutter, physical disorganization at home, or are there too many distractions in my life at the moment?
• Am I focusing too much on research and not on writing? (This does not pertain to writers of historical fiction or writers of nonfiction).
• Am I stressing about putting out a book a year for fear of losing readers or letting down my readers?
• Am I comparing my writing journey to other writer’s journeys?
• Is there a truth that needs saying or exploring in my novel, but I’m putting on the brakes for fear of hurting others or exposing myself?
• Do I believe my second book won’t be as well-received and successful as my first book?
• Is it true I can’t write today? Thank you to Bryon Katie, the fabulous creator of THE WORK.
• Am I afraid of acknowledging I’m lost and in need of a good editor’s help?

Each item has one thing in common–fear–and fear can stagnate or stop the writing momentum entirely for any writer at any time…IF you give in to the fear. I answered yes to many of those questions and I took action. I acknowledged my fear and sat at the writing chair once again.

Yes, I’m putting it back on us and placing us back in our writing chair–where we belong. Readers need you. I need a writing community, and we all need more good books. Sure, there are harried and frustrating days when I don’t meet my hoped-for word count goal, and there will be frustrating days when I know my writing certainly isn’t my best. But I give myself credit and a pat on the back for showing up at the writing desk–that’s key.

Do what you have to do to get back to your story, no matter what.

Thank you for your visit. I hope this blog post helps, and don’t give up!

Eleanor

ABOUT ELEANOR:

Puerto Rican-born Eleanor Parker Sapia is the author of the multi-award-winning novel, A Decent Woman, published by Winter Goose Publishing. Her best-selling debut novel, set in turn of the century Ponce, Puerto Rico, garnered Second Place for Best Latino Focused Fiction Book, English at the 2017 International Latino Book Award with Latino Literacy Now. The book was awarded an Honorable Mention for Best Historical Fiction, English at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards with Latino Literacy Now, and it was selected as a Book of the Month by Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club. Eleanor is featured in the anthology, Latina Authors and Their Muses.

A writer, artist, and poet, Eleanor is currently working on her second historical novel, The Laments, set in 1926 Puerto Rico. When Eleanor is not writing, she tends to her garden, travels, dreams of traveling, and tells herself she will walk El Camino de Santiago de Compostela a second time before her hips give out. Eleanor is the mother of two amazing adult children and currently lives in her adopted state of West Virginia.

BUY THE BOOK:

https://amzn.to/2WjgXuC

 

 

 

Create Memorable Characters, Not Caricatures

When I trained to become a counselor in Belgium, which seems like a lifetime ago, we were taught to check our emotional baggage at the door for the duration of our sessions. It was recommended we visualize placing a suitcase of our ‘stuff’ high on a shelf in the hope of entering clear-headed and open to receive. We were instructed to create a safe place for our clients, who came from diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and opinions.

I observed body language, tone of voice, mannerisms, and what people choose to share or not to share. I was conscious of not rushing or leading the sessions and found that with patience and time, a trust could be built. Sessions progressed, but only as far as the clients chose to go. It was a privilege to sit with clients and walk by their sides as they took their emotional journeys.

One lightbulb moment came during the writing of my first novel, A DECENT WOMAN–it was important to offer my characters the same courtesy, support, and patient attention I’d offered counseling clients in the past.

With that in mind, I created a brief outline and filled out 3×5 index cards for each character with their physical description, age, their back story, and a bit about their personalities; an in-depth character study. After my editor asked me to rewrite several chapters and add two chapters for clarity, the story changed slightly, and it followed that the characters also changed. It was then I wrote a detailed synopsis.

I followed the same basic technique with my work in progress, THE LAMENTS. I outlined the story and wrote a more detailed study of each character to include their weaknesses, deep fears, strengths, idiosyncrasies, physical ailments, and private goals. I included where they were born, who raised them, a bit about their childhood, and a deeper look into their personality traits. I created unique mannerisms, dislikes, likes, and what makes them tick. All that helped with writing natural dialogue, inner conflicts, and the resolutions if any. And since I’m a visual person, I found photographs from magazines to accompany the physical descriptions of each character and added them to the backs of the 3×5 index cards.

After ten chapters, certainly much earlier than with book one, I wrote a short synopsis and later, an eight-page synopsis that grew to ten pages. A week later, I reworked the outline and believe me, the studies of each character changed the interactions and at times, the story. I gave them a proper life and in my humble opinion, they are fully fleshed, complex, crazy, manipulative, lovable, adorable, and complicated characters. Heroes and heroines of their own private world.

You might think time spent thinking of each character is a waste of writing time, a cock-eyed approach, perhaps? Allow me to expand on this process: creating characters for a work of fiction is a fascinating process. Initially, I might have an idea of who they are, what their jobs are, and what they look like physically, but I don’t know how they’ll react to the other characters in the story, or how they’ll fare in the complicated, complex world I will build for them. Are they strong-willed, jealous-types, or haughty and arrogant, or empathic and kind-hearted? Are they good listeners, deep thinkers, or shallow individuals who can’t be counted on in a pinch? Are they honorable? Do they have deep integrity? A character’s deeper, more personal qualities aren’t always apparent until I begin writing the story. So the digging into a characters’ psyche is done before and during the writing to avoid writing flat, uninteresting characters and stories.

I don’t know about you, but as a reader, I lose interest if the character doesn’t ring “true” or seems too shallow throughout the story. We don’t always know a character well enough at the beginning of a story, and even if we think we’ve got them ‘pegged’ at the start, inevitably, disconcerting, interesting, and confusing facts can develop, which is key to good storytelling. Some facts may be downright distasteful or wonderfully surprising and both can be helpful to the story.

This writing technique tells your characters stories from their unique perspective.

You may have a different technique for creating interesting, memorable characters, and in that case, your comments are appreciated!

Happy writing and reading to you.

Eleanor

ABOUT ELEANOR:

Puerto Rican-born Eleanor Parker Sapia is the author of the multi-award-winning novel, A Decent Woman, published by Winter Goose Publishing. Her best-selling debut novel, set in turn of the century Ponce, Puerto Rico, garnered Second Place for Best Latino Focused Fiction Book, English at the 2017 International Latino Book Award with Latino Literacy Now. The book was awarded an Honorable Mention for Best Historical Fiction, English at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards with Latino Literacy Now. A Decent Woman was selected as a Book of the Month by Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club. Eleanor is featured in the anthology, Latina Authors and Their Muses, edited by Mayra Calvani.

A writer, artist, and poet, Eleanor is currently working on her second novel, The Laments, set in 1926 Puerto Rico. When Eleanor is not writing, she tends to her garden, travels, dreams of traveling, and tells herself she will walk El Camino de Santiago de Compostela a second time before her hips give out. Eleanor is the mother of two amazing adult children and currently lives in her adopted state of West Virginia.

BUY THE BOOK:

https://amzn.to/2WjgXuC