Sometimes the words don’t come.
Most of the time I love writing.
The words flow. The characters cooperate. The outline soars, and all is well.
Then there are the other days.
Characters argue with each other – and with you, the author – and not in a productive “let’s-create-more-conflict” kind of way.
The blinking cursor mocks you with its steady, rhythmic “Write. Write. Write. Write.”
Even the outline laughs at you.
Yep.
I’ve been staring at the Black Hole of Not Writing for a couple of weeks now.
I think I finally figured my way out.
I’ve been writing my sequel to Choosing Justice, and I’m thrilled with the way things started! I had set a daily word count goal, and I’d met it for more than 3 weeks. It was a bold goal, considering my full-time job and things at home. But I was nailing it.
Until the migraine. And the ear infections. And the general feeling of “YUCK.” And all this happened the day AFTER I came to a spot in my outline that needed a fix. You see, early on the the rough draft I’d had Ike Maxwell do something important that I had actually plugged into the outline where I found myself now.
(I’ve been writing mostly in chapter order this time) So what I moved to chapter 8 had originally been slated for chapter 24. Now that I was ready for chapter 23, my outline needed to be fixed, and I had no idea what to put there!
Normally, that would not be a problem for me. I write out of order all the time. I often have scenes/chapters swirling around in my head, so I’ll jot them down to make them behave. Then I fine tune them when I get to them.
This time, I skipped chapter 23 and moved on. But it was like chaining an enormous anchor to my keyboard. I got nowhere!
I would sit and play through different scenarios in my head, but nothing seemed to work. And eventually I just began to avoid my keyboard altogether.
Well, the fix is in. Chapter 23 no longer has me in its crosshairs. I am liberated from the gravitational pull of the Black Hole of Not Writing. I managed to generate new conflict for Ike that directly plays against his actions in chapter 8, and I’ve moved on.
Action Plan: If you’re looking for my Bible Journaling, I invite you to follow 13Prayers on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll be posting there primarily this month.
Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. I spent time praying for you.
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