Susan’s answer to “How do you deal with writer’s block?” > Likes and Comments
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Delightful answer, I LOVE it!
I wish we could like comments. I feel rude not having the final say. lol.
A really good topic and one without an easy answer as all writers have such varied approaches to their craft. I don't get writer's block per se, but I have varying degrees of productive writing. There will be sessions that 'sing' and I can move easily through the day's output. Other times, it can be tough to get through 300 words. I've trained myself not to fret about the 300-word days, chalking them up to a momentary lack of inspiration, as it were.
I'm curious, Susan, when you say you don't plot your books. Do you mean you don't do any story planning ahead of time, or is it just cursory? I find this really fascinating because no two writers have the same approach. Some have extremely detailed plans before ever beginning a draft. Others fly by the seat of their pants. I find I'm somewhat in between. I outline to some degree, but also improvise a lot as I go. The outline gives me a rough idea and then my subconscious fills in the details.
Hey Jason, thank you for the question.
I think my writing practice is like Stephen King's. I remember him saying that the one book he plotted was terrible. So I'm a panster to the enth degree.
With Deadly Messengers, my latest book I had no story at all. All I thought was that I wanted to write a story and get in the heads of many bad people. There are actually five different killers' perspectives in my book. That idea came to me two days before I started the book. So I just start with a scene and go.
I find that this way the book and the characters develop organically and feels like I am running behind the characters watching what they do. Each chapter is written a bit like a short story so I know I have to have a mini-conclusion, like a cliffhanger. This keeps people hooked, I think, and continuing to read when they don't want. I know I love books like that.
So at each step of the way, it becomes logical to think, okay what happens next. As the book builds, I start realising what could possibly happen further along. I never know the ending of the book. So if I don't know the ending, I figure probably the reader may not know the ending, which is the best kind of book, I feel.
However, this is a risk and it is also very scary, because yes, I could get stopped at some point. However, I've learned that if I give life to the characters and trust them and myself, somehow the story always works out. It's a very magical thing. In fact, a lot of times something I've written early on I need later on, but didn't know it when I wrote it. It's very strange.
Of course, the first draft is awful, even the 2nd draft is not flash. It takes many passes, along with an editor (usually 5 before it's ready for people to read). I'm very tough on my stories. They have to seem logical and the character's have to stay real and not too many happenstances are allowed to occur. I'm also a film and book reviewer, so I've seen and read a lot of stories. Once I've seen something I can't use it, because I don't want to copy anyone. Still, hopefully, I find a way to bring something fresh to the story or genre.
You are right, don't be hard on yourself if you can't get much done. I write to a schedule, so to finish a draft in 30 to 40 days I have to write x amount of words a day and I have a spreadsheet that keeps a tally. So even if I am stuck or not feeling it or falling asleep I try and keep at it because I like to stay on track. Deadly Messengers took me 27 days to draft. I think its better to get even rubbish on the page and just keep moving the story forward. At least then you have something to edit.
Above all, I just believe you need to love the whole process, and I've certainly come to that point. It takes a bit of writing to get there, but those who do keep writing I think usually find that place.
I couldn't agree more about loving the process. There was not one minute of writing my memoir that I disliked, including all the revisions and the stages of development the manuscript went through. I even loved the formatting, and fortunately I know Adobe InDesign well enough to have done the print edition myself.
Non-fiction is obviously a different animal from fiction, but memoirs do have some elements in common with fiction and that is honing the story and giving it a theme and a continuity. When I began sifting through the material that would make it into the book, I had to consider that a particular event or story might not be relevant to the whole. During the rewriting/revision process, I even ripped out entire chapters that just didn't work for the piece.
The other similar element in memoirs (or, at least, mine) was dialogue. In order for the story I lived through to come alive, I had to recreate conversations and discussion I had with my students more than 20 years ago. Obviously I couldn't remember verbatim the entirely of actual discussions, so I had to piece them together and record them so that they were accurate, but also not interminably dull. That took a lot of work to get right.
The real value I got from writing my first book is how to do it. It also gave me enough confidence to move into fiction in my next books, which is what I've always wanted to write, anyway. I love being able to tell myself: "You have the right to write the worst rubbish ever in the first draft." That removes so much pressure to perform, knowing that anything that stinks in a first draft can either be fixed or removed. There's no shame in deleting bad writing. :-)
Yes, so true on the writing rubbish. Even when the entire book is ready for readers, I just tell myself it's just another rubbish book like a lot of rubbish books and that's okay. The next one will be better. Luckily a lot of people seem to be connecting with Deadly Messengers, so maybe it's not so rubbish. lol.
Very interesting on the memoirs but seems a good way to think about any book you want others to read. My golden rule, rip out anything that is dull and doesn't relate to moving the story along.
Yes, so true on the writing rubbish. Even when the entire book is ready for readers, I just tell myself it's just another rubbish book like a lot of rubbish books and that's okay. The next one will be better. Luckily a lot of people seem to be connecting with Deadly Messengers, so maybe it's not so rubbish. lol.
Very interesting on the memoirs but seems a good way to think about any book you want others to read. My golden rule, rip out anything that is dull and doesn't relate to moving the story along.
It took me 20 years to finally realise I could write about the experiences I lived through (the urging of my sister and partner over the years helped), and then it was a matter of just getting down to it. Some memoir writers make the mistake of thinking the genre is the same thing as an autobiography. It isn't. In many ways, it has more in common with a novel. The key difference, however, is scope. An autobiography typically chronicles an entire life, whereas a memoir is usually a relevant slice of it, which, in my case, was a year.
Finally, a memoir is usually NOT a scholarly work, whereas many autobios are. I remember getting 'advice' from an old co-worker that I should attempt to curry interest in my book from one of the uni presses because SURELY I was appealing to an audience of intellectuals. I thanked him graciously for the advice, but didn't follow it. I'm much more interested in the general public and in reaching people who enjoy learning something about other parts of the world, much like I did when I set out on my adventure.
Well I always find it best to stick with your gut instinct. Good for you, Jason. :)
I wish we could LIKE individual comments, too. Please know that you're not ever being rude.
Wow, my mind is blown that you wrote the rough draft of Deadly Messengers in less than a month!!
FANTASTIC discussion, guys!! I really enjoyed it and took in a lot of valuable information.:)
Thanks Dustin. Yes, once you've written a book quickly, you learn how to do it. I'm not kidding. Here is a link to how to write a book quickly. It's a blog post I did on this subject. You might enjoy it ... http://www.susanmaywriter.com/2014/11... I usually do write quite a bit by just grabbing moments here and there. You can't be fussy where you are when you write or when.
You're welcome.:) Thank you so much, you are full of interesting and insightful blogs! I still need to read the one on short stories! Very true, we must seize the moment.
Okay, so I know I've told you this before, but you are truly an inspiration to me, and reading your blog on writing quickly has only inspired me more.:) Thank you very, very much! I cannot express how much your words mean to me. And you're totally right: we're all full of excuses and our fears are merely the lies we tell ourselves. By the way, which spreadsheet program do you use and do you recommend it? I'm thinking this is definitely the way to go. I'd been jotting down my daily word count longhand, but the other way is probably better.
Dustin, that is so kind of you to say that. I try and help where I can. You know pay it forward.
Now the link to my spreadsheet is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndernoqkupl...
Also, I found this site that looks quite interesting. I haven't tried it myself because I have my spreadsheet, but see what you think. http://pacemaker.press
The best advice I can give you, though, is read, write, repeat. It's the only way.
Here's a question for you, Susan: why write quickly? I'm curious, not because I want to write faster myself, but just to get a sense for your reasoning.
I took about a year to write a first draft of 100,000 words, then took a month off before diving into revisions. In total I spent two years on it, with the final draft clocking in at a bit more than 81,000 words. Part of the reason for the amount of time I took was because I had a day job, and so a writing session for me was over my lunch hour, but also I tend to prefer a bit of a slower burn.
I wonder if it's the genre you write in that favours quicker writing, or if it's just your preferred method.
Jason, I think I shall answer that on a different question thread of its own if that's okay. But, hey, great question.
Jason, I think I shall answer that on a different question thread of its own if that's okay. But, hey, great question.
Actually Jason, I can't work out how to post a question to myself. Can you post that question in Ask the Author for me, please? Thanks.
I'm only being honest. It's all I CAN be.
Thank you for the link. I'll certainly look into it!
I'll check out the other one, as well, and tell you what I think.:)
See, that's my only dilemma. I rarely am able to concentrate on what I'm reading. This has been going on since last December. Hence, the reason why I've only read six books so far this year. I know what King has to say in On Writing: "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write." Also, "Read a lot and write a lot."
Does this mean I'm doomed not to write?
Okay, cool, I downloaded Dropbox. I can also use this for your e-book, correct?
Yes, Dustin, you can. I love Dropbox. I can access my work from anywhere and its safe from being lost because it's on multiple devices. And I do agree with Mr. King ... reading is a subliminal enjoyable way of infusing writing skills into your brain. I read quite a lot considering how busy I am, usually between 45 to 50 books a year.
Okay, cool. This is all totally new to me, so I'm still learning. Dropbox seems really cool, though, and applicable to all sorts of things. I agree with King, too. He usually is right, isn't he?:) I won't give up trying to read. I can't. It's part of who I am. I just can't understand why I can't seem to focus.. Even with lighter books, it's a struggle, though it is easier than the dense tomes that I tend to gravitate towards. If you have any suggestions, please pass them my way! Wow, forty-five, fifty books a year is quite respectable.:)
I did a bit of browsing at pacemaker.com, but not a whole lot. I like the looks of it, though. I'd do some more research soon. Question: how do I access the spreadsheet via Dropbox?
The spreadsheet should be there when you click on the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndernoqkupl...
When I fist clicked on it, the spreadsheet appeared, but then it asked for the program to be downloaded, which I did, of course, but I don't know how to get back to it. I'm still looking into Pacemaker. I'll keep you posted!
It's just a microsoft XL spreadsheet, open XL and it might show you as a recent. If not, download again and check where your downloads go.
Actually, I was using a thirty day free trial of Microsoft Office, which has since expired, so I'm using Word online now. I'm not sure that Excel is included. I seem to be leaning more towards Pacemaker, but I'll let you know.
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Aug 12, 2015 12:56PM
Delightful answer, I LOVE it!
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I wish we could like comments. I feel rude not having the final say. lol.
A really good topic and one without an easy answer as all writers have such varied approaches to their craft. I don't get writer's block per se, but I have varying degrees of productive writing. There will be sessions that 'sing' and I can move easily through the day's output. Other times, it can be tough to get through 300 words. I've trained myself not to fret about the 300-word days, chalking them up to a momentary lack of inspiration, as it were.I'm curious, Susan, when you say you don't plot your books. Do you mean you don't do any story planning ahead of time, or is it just cursory? I find this really fascinating because no two writers have the same approach. Some have extremely detailed plans before ever beginning a draft. Others fly by the seat of their pants. I find I'm somewhat in between. I outline to some degree, but also improvise a lot as I go. The outline gives me a rough idea and then my subconscious fills in the details.
Hey Jason, thank you for the question.I think my writing practice is like Stephen King's. I remember him saying that the one book he plotted was terrible. So I'm a panster to the enth degree.
With Deadly Messengers, my latest book I had no story at all. All I thought was that I wanted to write a story and get in the heads of many bad people. There are actually five different killers' perspectives in my book. That idea came to me two days before I started the book. So I just start with a scene and go.
I find that this way the book and the characters develop organically and feels like I am running behind the characters watching what they do. Each chapter is written a bit like a short story so I know I have to have a mini-conclusion, like a cliffhanger. This keeps people hooked, I think, and continuing to read when they don't want. I know I love books like that.
So at each step of the way, it becomes logical to think, okay what happens next. As the book builds, I start realising what could possibly happen further along. I never know the ending of the book. So if I don't know the ending, I figure probably the reader may not know the ending, which is the best kind of book, I feel.
However, this is a risk and it is also very scary, because yes, I could get stopped at some point. However, I've learned that if I give life to the characters and trust them and myself, somehow the story always works out. It's a very magical thing. In fact, a lot of times something I've written early on I need later on, but didn't know it when I wrote it. It's very strange.
Of course, the first draft is awful, even the 2nd draft is not flash. It takes many passes, along with an editor (usually 5 before it's ready for people to read). I'm very tough on my stories. They have to seem logical and the character's have to stay real and not too many happenstances are allowed to occur. I'm also a film and book reviewer, so I've seen and read a lot of stories. Once I've seen something I can't use it, because I don't want to copy anyone. Still, hopefully, I find a way to bring something fresh to the story or genre.
You are right, don't be hard on yourself if you can't get much done. I write to a schedule, so to finish a draft in 30 to 40 days I have to write x amount of words a day and I have a spreadsheet that keeps a tally. So even if I am stuck or not feeling it or falling asleep I try and keep at it because I like to stay on track. Deadly Messengers took me 27 days to draft. I think its better to get even rubbish on the page and just keep moving the story forward. At least then you have something to edit.
Above all, I just believe you need to love the whole process, and I've certainly come to that point. It takes a bit of writing to get there, but those who do keep writing I think usually find that place.
I couldn't agree more about loving the process. There was not one minute of writing my memoir that I disliked, including all the revisions and the stages of development the manuscript went through. I even loved the formatting, and fortunately I know Adobe InDesign well enough to have done the print edition myself. Non-fiction is obviously a different animal from fiction, but memoirs do have some elements in common with fiction and that is honing the story and giving it a theme and a continuity. When I began sifting through the material that would make it into the book, I had to consider that a particular event or story might not be relevant to the whole. During the rewriting/revision process, I even ripped out entire chapters that just didn't work for the piece.
The other similar element in memoirs (or, at least, mine) was dialogue. In order for the story I lived through to come alive, I had to recreate conversations and discussion I had with my students more than 20 years ago. Obviously I couldn't remember verbatim the entirely of actual discussions, so I had to piece them together and record them so that they were accurate, but also not interminably dull. That took a lot of work to get right.
The real value I got from writing my first book is how to do it. It also gave me enough confidence to move into fiction in my next books, which is what I've always wanted to write, anyway. I love being able to tell myself: "You have the right to write the worst rubbish ever in the first draft." That removes so much pressure to perform, knowing that anything that stinks in a first draft can either be fixed or removed. There's no shame in deleting bad writing. :-)
Yes, so true on the writing rubbish. Even when the entire book is ready for readers, I just tell myself it's just another rubbish book like a lot of rubbish books and that's okay. The next one will be better. Luckily a lot of people seem to be connecting with Deadly Messengers, so maybe it's not so rubbish. lol. Very interesting on the memoirs but seems a good way to think about any book you want others to read. My golden rule, rip out anything that is dull and doesn't relate to moving the story along.
Yes, so true on the writing rubbish. Even when the entire book is ready for readers, I just tell myself it's just another rubbish book like a lot of rubbish books and that's okay. The next one will be better. Luckily a lot of people seem to be connecting with Deadly Messengers, so maybe it's not so rubbish. lol. Very interesting on the memoirs but seems a good way to think about any book you want others to read. My golden rule, rip out anything that is dull and doesn't relate to moving the story along.
It took me 20 years to finally realise I could write about the experiences I lived through (the urging of my sister and partner over the years helped), and then it was a matter of just getting down to it. Some memoir writers make the mistake of thinking the genre is the same thing as an autobiography. It isn't. In many ways, it has more in common with a novel. The key difference, however, is scope. An autobiography typically chronicles an entire life, whereas a memoir is usually a relevant slice of it, which, in my case, was a year. Finally, a memoir is usually NOT a scholarly work, whereas many autobios are. I remember getting 'advice' from an old co-worker that I should attempt to curry interest in my book from one of the uni presses because SURELY I was appealing to an audience of intellectuals. I thanked him graciously for the advice, but didn't follow it. I'm much more interested in the general public and in reaching people who enjoy learning something about other parts of the world, much like I did when I set out on my adventure.
Well I always find it best to stick with your gut instinct. Good for you, Jason. :)
I wish we could LIKE individual comments, too. Please know that you're not ever being rude.
Wow, my mind is blown that you wrote the rough draft of Deadly Messengers in less than a month!!
FANTASTIC discussion, guys!! I really enjoyed it and took in a lot of valuable information.:)
Thanks Dustin. Yes, once you've written a book quickly, you learn how to do it. I'm not kidding. Here is a link to how to write a book quickly. It's a blog post I did on this subject. You might enjoy it ... http://www.susanmaywriter.com/2014/11... I usually do write quite a bit by just grabbing moments here and there. You can't be fussy where you are when you write or when.
You're welcome.:) Thank you so much, you are full of interesting and insightful blogs! I still need to read the one on short stories! Very true, we must seize the moment.
Okay, so I know I've told you this before, but you are truly an inspiration to me, and reading your blog on writing quickly has only inspired me more.:) Thank you very, very much! I cannot express how much your words mean to me. And you're totally right: we're all full of excuses and our fears are merely the lies we tell ourselves. By the way, which spreadsheet program do you use and do you recommend it? I'm thinking this is definitely the way to go. I'd been jotting down my daily word count longhand, but the other way is probably better.
Dustin, that is so kind of you to say that. I try and help where I can. You know pay it forward. Now the link to my spreadsheet is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndernoqkupl...
Also, I found this site that looks quite interesting. I haven't tried it myself because I have my spreadsheet, but see what you think. http://pacemaker.press
The best advice I can give you, though, is read, write, repeat. It's the only way.
Here's a question for you, Susan: why write quickly? I'm curious, not because I want to write faster myself, but just to get a sense for your reasoning.I took about a year to write a first draft of 100,000 words, then took a month off before diving into revisions. In total I spent two years on it, with the final draft clocking in at a bit more than 81,000 words. Part of the reason for the amount of time I took was because I had a day job, and so a writing session for me was over my lunch hour, but also I tend to prefer a bit of a slower burn.
I wonder if it's the genre you write in that favours quicker writing, or if it's just your preferred method.
Jason, I think I shall answer that on a different question thread of its own if that's okay. But, hey, great question.
Jason, I think I shall answer that on a different question thread of its own if that's okay. But, hey, great question.
Actually Jason, I can't work out how to post a question to myself. Can you post that question in Ask the Author for me, please? Thanks.
I'm only being honest. It's all I CAN be.Thank you for the link. I'll certainly look into it!
I'll check out the other one, as well, and tell you what I think.:)
See, that's my only dilemma. I rarely am able to concentrate on what I'm reading. This has been going on since last December. Hence, the reason why I've only read six books so far this year. I know what King has to say in On Writing: "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write." Also, "Read a lot and write a lot."
Does this mean I'm doomed not to write?
Okay, cool, I downloaded Dropbox. I can also use this for your e-book, correct?
Yes, Dustin, you can. I love Dropbox. I can access my work from anywhere and its safe from being lost because it's on multiple devices. And I do agree with Mr. King ... reading is a subliminal enjoyable way of infusing writing skills into your brain. I read quite a lot considering how busy I am, usually between 45 to 50 books a year.
Okay, cool. This is all totally new to me, so I'm still learning. Dropbox seems really cool, though, and applicable to all sorts of things. I agree with King, too. He usually is right, isn't he?:) I won't give up trying to read. I can't. It's part of who I am. I just can't understand why I can't seem to focus.. Even with lighter books, it's a struggle, though it is easier than the dense tomes that I tend to gravitate towards. If you have any suggestions, please pass them my way! Wow, forty-five, fifty books a year is quite respectable.:)
I did a bit of browsing at pacemaker.com, but not a whole lot. I like the looks of it, though. I'd do some more research soon. Question: how do I access the spreadsheet via Dropbox?
The spreadsheet should be there when you click on the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndernoqkupl...
When I fist clicked on it, the spreadsheet appeared, but then it asked for the program to be downloaded, which I did, of course, but I don't know how to get back to it. I'm still looking into Pacemaker. I'll keep you posted!
It's just a microsoft XL spreadsheet, open XL and it might show you as a recent. If not, download again and check where your downloads go.
Actually, I was using a thirty day free trial of Microsoft Office, which has since expired, so I'm using Word online now. I'm not sure that Excel is included. I seem to be leaning more towards Pacemaker, but I'll let you know.
