help for the writer's block?

[crimsonblue]

I've been working on my first novel-- novella, actually-- and I'm stuck. I finished the manu abouta month ago, but since haven't been able to force myself to start the editing and refining process. Any advice on how to make myself work on it?

[bridgit]

1. open the file and get busy

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. My dad used to listen to classical music to overcome writer's block...

He wrote articles for a couple of encyclopedia yearbooks, so it probably helped that he had a deadline. He enjoyed a number of different styles of music, but he always felt that classical music helped him focus.

[edbermac]

3. Run amuck through a hotel with an axe.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

[petronius]

4. Just go in there for 15 minutes - see what happens...

I find that little commitments (15 minutes, work on one page) tend to balloon (in a good way) into a lot of progress. Promise yourself to do something tiny each day, and you'll end up doing more than you think...

[Writer]

5. Here's what I would try:

Take a pen and a notepad (preferably a legal-sized notepad) and start writing. Do not put down the pen until you have filled every inch of every line with words. Do not pause to think and do NOT edit yourself as you write; take whatever comes to mind - even if it's incoherent - and write it down. (If you think "My motherfucker sucks my goddamn fucking walking picture") then so be it.

Do this each morning until the gears start turning again.

The best of luck.

~Writer~