That’s the question I found myself asking when it was time to start this blog: What do I write about? Fortunately, that’s a question all authors face at some point, so we’ll get into it below.
In life news, last weekend was a busy one but this weekend looks to be some fun work coming up. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Drawing from the Well
This week, I finished this editing round of another arc. It feels good to check things off the list. Still a lot to go on this, but progress is progress.
Page 126/276
64,295/144,638 Words
Filling the Well
I finished 3 books this week. Two of them were for work: Hack Your Bureaucracy and Selling with a Servant Heart. Both were good but I enjoyed the latter more. In fiction, I finished Through the Ever Night, the sequel to Under the Never Sky, and started Into the Still Blue, the conclusion of that trilogy. There is a fourth book out there, but it’s more of a side-sequel for a supporting character. And it’s not available on Hoopla, so this will likely be it for me with this series. I’m still enjoying it, but I’m ready for something new.
52/105 for #ProjectBookworm2023
In other news, the Winds of Sanctuary experience buff is up in WoW so lots of people are leveling alts, which is the best it’s been in a long time as far as overall UX. And I watched Les Miserables for the second time and this time, I got it. I totally understand the hype behind this play and movie and I’m obsessed with it now. My wife is pleased. 🙂
Well Chat
So what do you do when you don’t know what to write about? This is a common problem for authors. That first book, short story, poem, or other has been brewing for so long that you can’t imagine a world without that story in your body. And then you get it out. It leaves a void behind. You start to question if you could ever write anything again. And then you ask that fateful question:
What do I write about?
For me, this hasn’t been a problem as far as novels yet because I dreamt up an entire series. Right now, it’s more like where do I go next. Shorter forms, though, like this blog, bring me to this inevitable question. It brought me to this question today too. By now, you’re asking when I’ll get to the point.
There are a few ways you can get through the doldrums of writing. One of them is to think about the next moment of awesome. This was one of the first things I wrote about when I started my blog. It’s my favorite part of a story. That can get me excited about choreographing and experiencing that moment through writing it and drive me to write to it. It also gives me a destination. From there, I can find the waypoints in the story. After that, it’s just connecting the dots.
Another way is to think about what the character is doing or wants in a given scene and ask what they would do next. This can come across as a little touchy-feely for some people, but if you get in the head of your characters, you can find some good stuff in there. You start asking what YOU would do in that situation and if it fits with your character’s…well, character. Then that answers the question of how they would react and respond and you’re off to the races.
A last suggestion is stream of consciousness writing. Don’t worry about writing within the story, just write. Do this in a separate place. Write by hand. It’ll slow you down and let your thoughts run ahead of your hands. Whatever’s bothering you, get it out. Whichever ways you’re exploring taking the story, follow them. If you’re stressed about something in you’re real life, burn through the emotions with this exercise. By getting out of the way of your conscious mind, your let your subconscious come to the surface. Believe it or not, you’ve probably been chewing on whatever plot problem you’re tackling in your sleep. You already know the answer, you just have to go find it. Stream of consciousness writing is like that.
And if none of these work, go write somethin else. Find a writing prompt online or in a book your son gave you for Christmas and just write on that for a while. It’ll get the pipes flowing again and engage that creative side of your brain so you can write about your true project. And if THAT doesn’t work, go do something physical. Take a walk. Do yoga. Work out. Swim. Bike. Play with your kids in the yard. Whatever it takes to get the blood flowing, do it. You’ll bring blood and oxygen to your brain and give you subconscious more time to chew.
That’s everything I’ve got for this week. Be well and good luck writing.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG