Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A Case of the Mondays

Or at least a six pack.

We set up our home office this week. My husband did an amazing job putting it together and I love it. Computer, printer, slide-out tray for keyboard, phone, back-up hard drive, ergonomic chair, coffee...

I should be writing up a storm but I screeched to a halt Sunday night. To be fair, I had been writing up a storm until that point, and then I got to the halfway mark of my revision and felt like I'd wandered over to the edge of a plot cliff.

Each option presents new problems.

I'm driving myself crazy so I've decided to stop thinking about it for a few days and see if my brain will come up with a solution when I'm not actively pursuing one.

Have you reached an impasse in your writing recently? What did you do to overcome it?

6 comments:

  1. I have reached an impasse! I'm trying to decide if my main character on new manuscript shoudl have a little sister...good points and bad points to both options...I think I'm leaning towards yes with the sister.

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  2. You are wise to step back. Sometimes we become too close to our novel. A few days away can give us fresh eyes to view the pacing, the character interactions, and plot holes big enough to drive an 18 wheeler through that we somehow had missed before.

    Reading selections from my favorite authors always seems to re-fire my muse. You have those writers I'm sure. The ones that sparked the desire to create worlds as they did.

    Reading from my favorite poets also helps. Going back to my research volumes and flipping through the ear-marked pages spark memories of what they had whispered to do. And in the flurry of actually writing my novel, I had forgotten those murmurs.

    Hope this helps in some small way. Come visit my blog, WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS, if you're of a mind and have the time, Roland

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  3. Anita, I say go with your gut. Hope it works out! :)

    Roland, thanks for your thoughts; beautifully put.

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  4. Love OFFICE SPACE. :)

    My answers or ideas usually come to me when I'm doing mindless stuff. Showering, vacuuming, walking dogs, driving open highways, etc.

    That stuff always seems to work.
    Glad you love your new office. :)

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  5. Hi Karen, I agree, sometimes I get my best ideas when I'm just going about my day, i.e. on the freeway or while riding my bike. Thanks for the reminder.

    Glad you enjoyed the OFFICE SPACE reference :)

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  6. Sometimes I have to just step away and hope for a revelation. It happens... occasionally. Other times I just brainstorm until I come up with something that will work--even if it isn't great. I revise so many times that eventually everything feels good.

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