What to do when the blank screen gets the best of you

Every novel, article, or non-fiction book starts the same way. As a writer with an idea in their heads, staring at either a blank computer screen or piece of paper, and every time we want to write something new we are faced with that same blank screen. Sometimes the words flow, sometimes they don’t. So what do you do when the blank screen staring back at you gets the best of you?

I’ve heard a lot of different things about what to do to get the creative juices, and words, flowing when you’re stuck. Here are some of my favorites:

Edit: I really like this one because I love to edit. Before I start writing something new each day I go back an edit what I wrote yesterday. This gets me into my story again, reminds me what was going on when I left off, and what I’m hoping is coming next. It’s a good way to reconnect with my characters and get inside their heads again before I try to take them somewhere new.

Pray: Don’t just pray in your head though. Write or type out your prayer. Just let the words come as you think them. “Lord I don’t know where to start today” is a great place to begin. Tell God about your struggles; pour them onto the page. By the time you’re finished you may find your story comes to you.

Read: I write fiction so when I get stuck sometimes I turn to one of my favorite novels. I’m not really looking for ideas, I’m just trying to get my mind off of anything that is distracting me and step into a fictional world. By reading for twenty or so minutes I can relax and get into the right frame of mind to be creative instead of worrying about the kids, the bills, and everything else on my plate.

Skip the scene: A good friend of mine suggested this and I have found this is the one that works best for me. When I come up against a scene that just won’t come to me I skip it and I write one of the scenes that comes later in my novel. One that I have just had burning in my head for a while, one that I know how I want it to look. Once I get that one out of my head I can usually go back to the scene I was stuck on and bang that one out as well.

Do some more research: Sometimes I have a scene in my head that just isn’t ringing true. If I am really stuck I will go back and look at pictures of my settings, check my notes on my characters, even go online and double check some of my facts to make sure I have everything right. This helps me to get the scene straight and will usually help the words to flow.

Find an accountability partner: Having someone to challenge me with word counts and actually being checked on to see if I have accomplished those word counts helps to get me moving when I am stuck and just want to zone out of Facebook.

Most of the time one of these technique will get me moving on something I am stuck on. Sometimes I have to do more than one, such as edit and research, or read and pray. The key is not to get discouraged. Find one or a combination that works for you.

I had the pleasure of meeting Heather at a writing conference a few years back. The thing that strikes me the most about Heather is her wit and her dedication to balancing her writing and her family without making undue sacrifices that would result in the neglect of one or the other, all while striving to bring honor to her Lord. -Jen

Heather Kreke is an avid reader and hopes to inspire teens to seek God’s will for their lives through her writing. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two young daughters.  

The Honest Writer

“Hey, Jen! How are you doing?”

Would it be okay to say I’m overwhelmed, exhausted, lonely, and ready to cry?

“Pretty good. Just taking it a day at a time. You?”

It’s easy to fudge the truth when you know the person asking the question is doing so more out of courtesy than curiosity; in their mind they’ve already moved on to the next item on their to-do list. As writers, however, we don’t have that luxury. Our readers are investing one of their most precious commodities in us — time. When they read our words a kinship is formed that is like a real relationship, and when we take advantage of that we don’t just disappoint them, we break their trust in us. It’s no wonder there’s so much outrage when it’s revealed that a best-selling author has fabricated his memoir or lifted a large section of her book from another writer and claimed it as her own.

When I started this blog, the goal was to create a place to encourage other writers, and I’ve found it’s quite easy to put a big smile on a bad day and act as if all is well in my little world. Though there is nothing wrong with looking for the silver lining (in fact, I encourage it!), if I’m not honest with myself how can I be honest in my writing? Now I’m not advocating posting dark, depressing odes in a blog or moaning in status updates, some things are better left unsaid in public, but there is an ancient saying that has been one of my mottos since college: Homo sum. Humani ni a me allenum puto!

I am human. Nothing human can be alien to me. It was written by a slave centuries ago, but it’s as true today as it was then. We’re human. We experience the same emotions, we live through similar experiences.  Writers have good days and bad days the same as everyone else on this swirling dust mote. If I’m fake in my writing, it’s eventually going to catch up to me, and my readers being as smart as they are will call me (or in the case of my fiction, my character’s) bluff.

So, yes, lately it seems I have a little more on my plate than I can handle at times and there are moments I feel like I’m going to buckle under the pressure, but it’s teaching me to see things a bit differently. As I was driving home from work last night I started thinking about what is truly important to me; what it is I want to spend my time doing, and when it’s more than okay to say that dreaded little word “NO.”

I love writing. It’s something I want to spend the rest of my life doing in some form or another. I enjoy updating this blog as often as possible. I hope to have my book published someday soon, and after that, another. I love working in Youth Ministries. It’s something that fuels, challenges, and stretches me as an individual. But I don’t need to be a part of another committee or take on that extra editing project. The truth is, the more I weigh myself down with the “extra” stuff, the less time I have to enjoy the things that make me smile.

A wise friend recently told me that, while I’m doing better at it then days past, I need to stop trying to please everyone and start enjoying the life I want for myself. And that, friends, is exactly what I plan to do.

How about you? Do you ever feel like you take on too much and then feel guilty for putting your writing on the back burner (or worse, for making it your top priority)? What have you done, or are in the process of doing, to change that? I’d love to hear your thoughts. –Jen

The Missing “Scents”

I think smell is one of the five senses we tend to take most for granted, and yet it’s one we depend on more than we realize. It’s allergy season for me. The cottonwood trees are in full bloom and are filling the air with their own form of watery-eye, itch-inducing, fuzzy snow. Even with taking allergy meds it’s a miracle when I can breathe clearly through both nostrils at the same time.

Today happened to be one of those days. While Phillip and I were walking across the pedestrian bridge spanning the Rogue River, I noticed two distinct scents. They were so strong we joked that someone had stopped and sprayed two canisters filled with the particular smells just to catch people’s attention. (In truth, they come from two different trees growing along the river.) The first smell was sweet, a mix of floral and spice drops. It’s the perfume I attributed to the fabled gumdrop trees in the realm of Fancy. The other reminded me of my brothers’ soccer bags after a week of daily doubles.

Smell is also key to taste. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to differentiate the passion fruit from the rest of the flavors of the tea I ordered this morning. Everything just blends together obscurely. I know it’s there, I get a hint of the flavor, but it lacks the full body. And then there is the role it plays in creating memories. A whiff of cologne or body spray will bring to mind a friend or family member I haven’t seen in years. Vinegar reminds me of the summer my grandmother spilled a full bottle in her car. Finally, smell can alert us to danger long before we see or hear it, such as smoke, gas, or milk that has recently turned.

Why this long-winded talk of smell, you wonder? Well, I’ve been helping some friends with their writing projects over the past few months and I’ve noticed sight and sound has been abundant, but there has been little mention of the smells surrounding their characters. This made me take a closer look at some of the books I’ve been reading. Lo and behold, there it was: Sight. Sound. Touch. Taste. And Smell. Coupled with the past few weeks of limited breathing capabilities, I’ve become more aware of just how flat the world is without the sharp, sweet, sour, and gym-bag fumes permeating my environment. It’s one more thing I’m keeping in mind as I work through my own revisions.

The Return to Creativity

Between my day job and some additional editing jobs I’ve taken on over the past few months, I’ve noticed my personal writing has been increasingly pushed into the background. Especially where my book is concerned. At first it didn’t seem like that big a deal, but as the weeks passed I started to feel more and more disconnected. Even my daytime daydreams seemed to be fading into the deep recesses of my mind. There has been more than one occasion when I’ve worried I lost the key to my imagination and wondered if I’d be able to find it again.

Yesterday, however, I found myself inexplicably caught up for a few moments and couldn’t wait to get home, slip into a tank top and yoga pants, strip off my makeup, and jump onto my bed with my laptop. When it comes to writing, I’ve found the most effective spot is in my room. I’m comfortable, I’m less apt to be distracted by any clutter in the kitchen or videos and books in the living room, and the face I present to the world — the editor — has been completely banned from this place.

Here I am free to be creative, to express my most heartfelt thoughts. This is my sanctuary.

At first I was a bit concerned I’d have trouble getting started because it had been so long since I’d last opened one of my chapters, but it turns out I needn’t have worried. Everything else in my life was forgotten: bills, upcoming tasks, a close friend’s imminent move across country…they all faded into the distance as I slipped easily from this world into the realm of Fancy. And in that moment I felt more content than I have in a while.

I didn’t realize how much I missed my characters or how big a part of my life they have become. It was as if no time had elapsed at all as we moved together from one page to the next...and the next. Before I knew it, my Lego Darth Vader alarm clock (go ahead and laugh) was telling me two hours had passed. After expressing my surprise, Bobblehead Han Solo (a gift my aforementioned friend gave me earlier this year) seemed to give me that cocky grin he’s so famous for and ask, “What kept you so long?”

Needless to say, I was quick to promise him and the others I wouldn’t let it happen again anytime soon.