by Sandra Gillhouse

Created on: November 29, 2010

Writers block starts with too little fiber in your diet. Okay not really, but a nice bowl of cereal to start the day can't hurt right. But I regress, the truth is that writers often get stuck simply because they hate to read their own honesty. They're afraid that if they let loose and show their dirty selves someone will be offended. We all prefer to think of ourselves as the friendly neighbor Mr. Rogers would invite over for a nice chat. And the wearisome writers block, my friend, is why writing can be such a difficult career choice.  

Early in our writing efforts we hold back and try to rein in the reality, but then one day, when we finally put aside the Brady-bunch script, and write the hell out of things we suddenly start to hear that yearned for writer’s voice. As we, all know this mysterious voice is the key to getting stuff published.

Of course, I can, one hundred percent guarantee that yes, if you show your naked self someone, somewhere will be offended. However, here lies the rub if you don’t you will never find that voice. It truly does live on that nudist page. And without your own voice you will keep getting stuck.

 Naturally, you don’t have to publish every word you write, the point is to start peeling off the waxy covering, all those years of school coated you with, so you can spread your wings and fly.

 You might try spending a small part of your writing time just ranting before you begin your novel chapters. Or as I have tried, take one of your characters and muddy them up a bit before you put them back in the story. This helps a lot when I’m in a dry spell (I work them off in a separate file in case I want to delete the whole thing later without messing up chapters) to unblock and get me writing again. Occasionally I like to take an older piece and re-work it with rougher edges. If it’s an already published piece, I'll save the file as previously worded, and the newly written file for possible publication later.

Another good exercise in freestyle is to push it through a flash fiction piece. Get your story all down on paper first then reduce the redundancy until you have a nice tight harmony going through the paragraphs. Finally read it with an eye on the truth; be brutal, rid the piece of anything that sounds rehearsed or cliché or (gulp) too nice. Once you’re satisfied, with it pass it on to someone you trust to critique. Flash fiction is so short they often will read it on the spot, so watch their face, follow their eyes, and listen to their comments. Even if they think, the thing is disgusting you can bet they read every word.

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