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What is Nicholas's Remedy for Writer's Block?
When I'm blocked, it's nearly always because -- sub-consciously
-- I know I've made a mistake either with character development, structure,
or story. It's as if my mind tells me that I'm wrong somehow, and that I'd
better stop because I'm heading in the wrong direction. Thus, I find myself
writing more slowly until I simply can't write anymore -- a classic case
of writer's block. In a situation like that, I quit trying to press forward
and instead ponder the book, or I begin to edit the previously written sections.
I might go through everything I've already written a hundred times, tweaking
and changing little things, as if I'm trying to find my way through a darkened
room. And little by little, I find those errors. Once they're corrected,
I find that I can then begin writing new material.
The problem, however, is that I seldom know what I did wrong. I know it's
wrong, but not where, what, why, how or when. Thus, I make changes and change
them back. . . it can be a long process, but it always eventually works out.
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