So you have writer’s block, now what?
If you have been following my social media lately, you will have noticed that there isn’t much going on right now. Unfortunately, I will not be publishing my next Piper book in December.
I have writer’s block.
Sometimes, writer’s block can happen, especially when certain life circumstances come into play like having a baby. My husband and I welcomed our first child back in April of this year and it has been a whirlwind experience. An absolute blessing, but my writing has suffered because of it and I’ve had no inspiration to start the next Piper book.
I needed to fall in love with writing again. So here are some things I have trying to help me get back into the grove of writing:
Every day, I try to do at least one little writing exercise. I don’t always get to it, but I try.
I found some helpful prompts to get me going courtesy of Katri Soikkeli. There are prompts like a gnome living in your kitchen, or an alien pretending to be a human. Things I would otherwise never write about so it’s interesting to challenge myself and see what comes out.
I’ve always had a journal pretty much since I was a kid. I love journaling and just spending a few minutes every day writing something in my journal is a writing exercise.
READ. Obvious right? If you want to learn how to be a better writer, you have to read—a lot. Francine Prose (a perfect last name) wrote her book, Reading Like a Writer, and it is still one of the best books I’ve ever read. I have been trying to read a least 1-2 books a month. Ideally, I would love to read a book a week but I can’t with my schedule.
I’ll admit, it’s hard some days to dedicate that time needed for writing. Especially if you have a full-time job or a kid. I am not in a position quite yet to quit my day job and focus solely on writing, but that is the ultimate goal.
Set yourself small goals that you can achieve every day like:
Try at least one writing exercise, whether that be a prompt or journaling.
Read a few pages of your current book.
Wherever you are in your writing journey, know that it is a journey, not a competition.