Friday, November 19, 2010

Getting Unstuck

I'm working on a story that doesn't want to come together quite yet. The ideas keep piling up, intruding on what's written, moving the story in directions I hadn't seen when I first started. In other words, I've got a massive mess on my hands.

When I feel like a story is beginning to overwhelm me I turn to some of my writing books for advice. In this case it was "How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction" which was published by Writer's Digest Books. The book is one of the first I bought. Whole sections are underlined, there's notes in the margins and paper clips hold together the sections that are falling apart and threatening to disappear. But every time I open the book I discover something new, something that helps me move my story along.

Last night I found this passage which I find both comforting and powerful:

"Thus, it is not only the call to self that motivates the storytellers; it is also the spirit that took David out to meet Goliath - the urge to issue a challenge to something beyond themselves, which may be more horrifying than they can bear, and then to return intact." --Katherine Ramsland

How about you? Do you have a favorite writing book, or quote? What gets you through the tough patches when you're writing?

7 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I'm struggling with a story called "Scritch, Scritch, Scritch." Since it is somewhat Poe inspired, i'm planning on trying to reread some Poe this weekend in hopes of getting some help. as for my favorite book on writing, I'd have to name my own book. :) Write With fire was a kind of place to put information that I wanted to get together in one place for my own work. I actually refer to it quite a lot.

Al Tucher said...

When my sister was working on her dissertation, a friend gave her a sign to post at eye level as she sat at her computer:

"Something is better than nothing."

In other words, instead of waiting for perfection, get something down where you can poke it with a stick. If it doesn't work, try a different something.

This advice has often helped me when I had nothing on the screen.

sandra seamans said...

Yes, reading other authors is a good way to get unstuck, Charles. Though I don't know if I'd trust my own advice :)

I love that sign, Al!

G. B. Miller said...

Mother Nature.

Really.

Usually when I get stuck (which is quite often it seems), going out on walks (be it for fun, or for my weekend errands) gives me enough space and time to think about what I'm stuck on and how migh I become unstuck in the process.

sandra seamans said...

Yes, walking is always good for letting the mind go, G. Showers work as well, I've found. I think it all boils down to letting yourself step away from the project until you can look at from a differnt angle.

Kathleen A. Ryan said...

Hi Sandra,

I know it's been attributed to several writers, but I've come to really appreciate this quote: "You can't edit a blank page." I love this one, too, from Madeleine L’Engle: “Don’t think. Write. We think before we write a story, and afterward, but during the writing we listen.”

sandra seamans said...

Good quotes, Kathleen! I have the blank page one taped to my monitor, too, but I've never heard the L'Engle quote. Thanks for passing it along!