We've all heard of writer's block, right? That blank, empty page that seems impossible to fill. Well, I may not have writer's block but I think I've developed writer's crawl. Where I seem to only have a few paragraphs of writing that comes out of me lately. And those seep out at an agonizingly slow pace.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm still feeling out this story or if I'm just not feeling the story. Those are two very different things.
Feeling out the story is like walking through a dark room where you can vaguely sort out the furniture but nothing is sharply defined and you have to bump into somethings before you can find your way out. That necessitates going slowly.
Feeling the story is something else entirely. It's that burning need to tell the story. You understand the characters, the motivations, the idea and the story seeps inside your head and when the words come out its a flow because you just get it. The room is completely lit and you see everything clearly. You can walk through it without bumping into one darn thing.
So when I've got writer's crawl I'm trying to figure out if I'm just figuring out the story or if I'm not into the story. I really hope it's the former because I love this idea and I think I'll love these characters. If I could just write more than a few sentences at a time on it!
Well, I'll have some uninterrupted train travel time tomorrow and Tuesday. If I can't move from crawling to a brisk walk then I'll really start worrying.
Oh yes, I feel like I have a serious case of writer's crawl which is extremely unfortunate since I'm trying to do NaNo! I did manage a few sprints today, though, so maybe the key to curing The Crawl is to just keep staring at that blank screen? Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you too, Anna! I guess I should appreciate that I'm getting a few paragraphs at a time done. It is better than nothing! Keep at it - I'm sure we'll both get to the end no matter how painful!
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