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June 2004
Now that the
warm weather has hit, for most of us anyway, the desire to
be outside doing things can be overwhelming and our writing
begins to suffer. Have you ever noticed that when you get
sidetracked from your writing, how hard it is to get back
into the mood when you know there are other things you need
to do? Or worse yet, you are in the mood but can’t get any
of the words to come out?
What can you do? How can you fix this? I
won’t say there is an easy fix, which would insult both your
and my own intelligence. Because we all know that every day
life can interfere with our writing. But there are ways that
you can ease it, and make it a little easier to not get to
the point of getting out of the habit.
One way is to carry a tape recorder with
you, when the words come out, speak them into the recorder.
This can be a little embarrassing if you are out around a
bunch of people, especially if by chance you are writing a
novel that involves a murder! Or maybe you have a hard time
formulating the words to speak them. You are more fluent on
paper than vocally. Or you have a speech impediment that
frustrates you and you just can’t face the idea of speaking
into the recorder, even if you are alone. What can you do
then?
A small tablet comes in handy here.
Scribble down as much as you can, maybe just keywords in
fewer detailed areas. The ideas, places, people . .
.anything you see and experience can be written here for
later use in your writing. And you won’t have to worry as
much about losing what you are working on out of your mind
because of the inability to stay at the computer.
But maybe the pad is not quite for you.
The PDA’s they make now can be a very invaluable tool to the
writer. Not only can you keep your contact information of
the writing world in it, plus your appointments (we can’t
miss that important book signing!) But it also has a notepad
section that you can write the information just like the
writing tablet, except without the paper trail. You can also
download word processing tools for it! How’s that for
service for the writer?
It is frustrating to not be able to be
near the computer, even if you are compelled to be out away
from it. The time away gives you the opportunity to refresh
yourself. Perhaps refresh details of how people interact and
speak. Or give you refreshers on the details of nature or
city life. Remember that textures are very important in your
story to convey to your readers. The wind can also blow
those "cobwebs" out of your mind to allow a fresh
perspective on what you are writing.
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