Sunday, June 28, 2009

Let your I.E. DIE

Is murder okay if you're just killing that voice in your head? Kathleen Y'Barbo, an author of more than 3o published works, thinks so.
Inside each writer, just to the left of the creativity spot and wedged tight against the spot where logic meets magic, is another sort of editor. This editor is mean, nasty, critical, opinionated, and the worst enemy your manuscript ever had. Okay, some of you may have met a few human ones who display these characteristics as well. I assure you, however, there is not a single editor alive – or no longer with us – who can do more harm to your writing than I. E., aka. your Internal Editor.
She goes on to describe the I.E. and some of its more diabolical friends: the Research Junkie, the Perfectionist, and the Squiggly Red Line.

So, who is your writing nemesis? Mine is the Snoozing Lullaby, the one who says I can sleep in for just a few minutes more, and all I'd be losing is my time to write. He's been winning the battle this past week, but I'm in the mood to spill some blood, at least of the imaginary kind.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Hemingway on Writer's Block

Check out this idea from Ernest Hemingway on combating writer's block:
The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck. Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.
(quote from Ernest Hemingway on Writing, courtesy of WriteToDone and Lifehacker)

I've tried that a few times, stopping mid-sentence a few times. The only problem I've seen with it is I forget how I wanted to continue the sentence. I'm debating about even making some notes to myself on where I'm headed.

What do you do to keep the words flowing?