Surviving A Block - Part 2

Last time, I discussed the first four actions that you should take when you hit a block.  Here is the last four.

Improvise

When altering your story to fix the problem, it might be a good idea to improvise.  Change the roles around a bit.  For example, you could change the irritating little sidekick (that you hated anyway) into the villain’s grunt that frees the hero from the tar by accident, instead of creating an all new character.  Come up with as many different solutions as possible and consider swapping roles or adding new dimension to a character (if you were to give the villain’s daughter a crush on the hero, you can save him from the tar that way).  Find alternate uses for things.

Value Living

Value the story you want to tell.  Don’t just change the ending so that it can fix your problem.  It does not help you to write a story that you don’t want to write.  Keep in mind the things that you want to say with this story, or the ending you want to have.  This may seem in conflict with Vanquishing Fear and Panic, but it is simply the flip side of the same coin.  There is a fine line, so make sure you stay in the middle.

Act Like the Natives

Do what other writers do to get past blocks.  Take a walk or a shower, play a musical instrument or listen to calm music.  Whatever works for you (if you don’t have anything like that, try out other people’s methods to see if they work for you).  Walking is scientifically suggested to improve your creative ability, and talking to other people and getting their ideas is also a great way of loosening your creative muscles.

Live by Your Wits, But for Now, Learn Basic Skills

Know your craft.  Know all the moving parts of a story.  Learn the basic skills before you get in a situation like this one.  Furthermore, know what you want from your story.  If you don’t, you’ll just stumble around endlessly, changing one thing after the other.  Get the necessary skills for your particular story.  The things you’ll need (such as how to place fake clues etc. in a mystery novel) to complete your story.  Do this before you start the story.  You don’t want to have a hundred pages of text that you later find shouldn’t have been there.  When you’re in the midst of a block, go with your gut, but for now, learn basic skills.

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Surviving A Block - Part 1

I don’t like using the term writer’s block (mostly because of the stigma attached to it), but I’m going to use it here, with an explanation of what it means to me.  A block is when you get somewhere with the story that you’re stuck and you can’t figure out how to continue.

Here is a guide to surviving in such a situation, inspired by the U.S. Army Field Manual 3-05.70 Survival, but changed to fit this situation.

Size Up the Situation

When you first encounter a block, you need to figure out what is causing it.  Orson Scott Card said that writer’s block is your mind’s way of letting you know there is something wrong with your story.  First, you must identify the problem.  If you don’t know what your protagonist should do next, your character doesn’t have a clear enough goal for the story/chapter/scene.  If you don’t know how your protagonist will escape the boiling tar pit, you might have put him in the wrong situation (or you just need to think more).  Figure out what the problem is so that you can address it.  If it is a problem that will need you to change something to fix it, continue with the rest of the steps.

Use All Your Senses, Undue Haste Makes Waste

When you’ve identified the problem, don’t take the easy way out just to get on with the story.  This could simply lead to more problems in the future.  Most blocks will be the result of a problem earlier on in the story, so you can’t fix only the one problem and expect things to go smoothly.  Don’t rush into it and make sure you think everything through.  The same applies to Sizing the Situation Up in the first place.  Don’t jump to conclusions, rather make certain.

Remember Where You Are

Ensure that you are aware of your location in the story when you want to make changes.  Know what has happened and what still has to happen.  Figure out what things will need to change in your previous pages/notes/flashcards in order to accommodate these new developments.  If the new changes severs a thread that would have led to a plot point further on, you either need a new solution or you need to change that point as well.  (Note: It is advised that (unless you’re still in the planning stages) you should make only notes of the changes that need to occur in earlier parts and only fix them later.)

Vanquish Fear and Panic

It is important that you do not cling to certain aspects that are hindering your story.  Don’t be afraid to change things or cut out great moments.  In most cases, your story will turn out better.  If not, you can always add it back in.  (Make a file with all the parts that you cut, instead of just deleting them.)  Fear of changing things can also make you procrastinate, which will push your target of finishing a story on by some time.  Set fear aside and do what needs to be done.

(This came out longer than I expected, so I’m splitting it up into two parts.)

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