Ep 191 Beating Writer's Block

Pencils&Lipstick podcast · Jul 24, 2023

Transcript

Welcome to the Pencils & Lipstick Podcast, a weekly podcast for writers. Grab a cup of coffee, perhaps some paper and pen, and enjoy an interview with an author, a chat with a writing tool creator, perhaps a conversation with an editor or other publishing expert, as well as Kat's thoughts on writing and her own creative journey. You'll laugh, you'll cry, well, hopefully not actually cry, but you will probably learn some things. And I hope you'll be inspired to write because, as I always say, you have a story. You should write it down. This is Pencils and Lipstick. Hello, welcome back everyone to Pencils and Lipstick. This is episode 191 of the podcast, and today we're going to be talking about ways that you can get rid of writer's block, or at least try to overcome it. I have quite a few points and quite a few things that you can try that I think you'll probably find at least one or two that will work for you.

Writer's block can be a real pain for a writer. And it was sent to me as an email. Somebody asked me about it. So I thought, you know, I answered them, but then I thought, well, this would be a great episode topic for the podcast as well. Before we go into the podcast, I want to just let you know that we'll probably be, we are going to be streamlining the podcast process quite a bit. We're going to be focusing more on the video type. I know that's not necessarily a podcast. I that people have so many big little definitions for things. So we are over on YouTube, in case you didn't know, we are putting out little shorts on social media or even on TikTok, although I'm not as consistent with that over on TikTok as I should be,

but we are going to keep trying, right? This is what we do. So as far as audio goes, we will still be on the same platforms as before. or you will just not get the musical intro as you do right now. But it's just one of those things that we have to do. The podcast is awesome. I really love it, but it is a money spender, not a money maker. So when that's all right, we got things like that in our lives, I enjoy doing it. I will still be having interviews. It will just be a little bit more streamlined and yeah. So hopefully the sound will not drop off too much. I got some different things. I will be the one doing it at this point. Laura has been lovely as a replacement. I yeah, it's just, it's honestly just money. So we're just gonna be streamlining a bit. So if you like watching videos, you can find us over on YouTube. In fact, you can find me sitting in Spain right now in a rather bland room because I don't wanna show you the mess behind me. So there's nothing interesting to see.

Before we get into the interview as well, I want to let you know that I had an interview with Lisa Shaughnessy over on her website, the Writers Retreat Sampler. And I talked all about the Toledo Writers Retreat that is coming up that I am going to, I'm putting together with Marcy Renee. It's called the Write With Us Writing Retreats in Spain. We have one in September. It's pretty much closed at this point. There are only so many people that we can admit, but we're going to have more another one in April. We're going to do it in Segavia and we'll have another one until later next year at the beginning of October. So if you want to know more about that stuff and want to figure out when I'm on other people's things, like I will be on Daniel David Wallace's summit this summer and fall as well. So if you want to see me on those different summits and listen to those interviews, you should join my writer's list. Because if you're on my writer's list, you would have already known all about this stuff. And you can find the link below in the show notes if you're listening to audio or right below in the YouTube area there. YouTube doesn't really let you click links, you have to like, copy paste it, which is annoying. But whatever, you can find it there. And so yeah, if get all my writers newsletter, you get different topics than usually different topics than what is on the podcast. Sometimes it's a little bit of the same, but we'll also be shutting down the podcast website. Not that you know that it's there because you all never go there. So anyway, we'll probably be shutting that one down as well. Other than that, nothing really is going to change. I'm going to keep interviewing people, but we're going to sort of focus on the visual a lot. I'm going to have a web designer who specializes in making web pages for authors come in. And you're probably going to want to watch that on video. Although I'm sure the audio will be helpful as well, but we will stay on the audio, the podcast platform. So if you are on an app listening to this right now, please subscribe. You'll still get, you know, every Monday at will, they'll just automatically download for you. If you could review the podcast, that would be awesome. We had a couple of new reviews come in, which is just fun to see.

And if you guys want to be interviewed on the show, if you think you would be a good fit, I just want to go over a couple of the, I'm thinking in Spanish right now, like the guidelines, I guess, that we go for the show, especially as we're heading, we're finishing up the fourth year within a month and a half or so, and we're going into the fifth year. So if you are an author and you think you, you know, you want to talk about your books for this show, for Pencils & Lipstick, you have to have published at least three books. There are other podcasts, other video interviews where you can go to, and if you need help trying to find them, I can help you try to find them.

Amadeci has one called Turning Readers Into Writers. It's a YouTube interview place, but I'm not so much focused on the beginning, and I know that we're all really excited with our first book, which I think is great. It's just that this is really focused on the craft of writing and publishing and marketing, and you don't really know all those things with the first book. Now, I think the only exception to that would be if you just blow it out of the water with your first book, like you just do everything perfectly and just amazingly well. Maybe you're like a marketing genius and you want to come on and share how you did that. I would probably consider that for sure. So you could get ahold of me at writeyourlifeatcaldwell .com. If you are somebody who does something, a service or has created a product for writers to make writer's lives easier, whether it's a software, or a product, or a course, you have a higher chance of getting on than a writer who's just published one book. So that's kind of a weird, vague guideline, I guess. And honestly, even with the three books, I sort of put that as a guideline there. It's really about authors who want to come in and talk about sort of their journey, their process and the journey and the successes that they have found, right? So you might be a little bit confused if you've been listening for a long time. In the first couple of years,

I did bring on people who had just written one book, but we are sort of shifting that a bit. I really want to give people new things to hear about. A lot of indie authors need to learn about marketing and selling. And so we definitely want to hear from you if you are just like blowing it out of the water on ads or marketing in a different way or anything like that, that we definitely want to hear about. And just in general, that usually comes with the more books published. Right. Um, but again, if you're like doing an amazing job with one book, hit me up, we'll see, we can talk, we can always talk. Um, and even if I say no, doesn't mean that we don't, we can't be friends, right? So let's get into, you know, breaking down writer's block. I think this is a great topic to talk about in the summertime when we're sort of inundated with family and friends and traveling and going to the pool every day or taking your kids to the park or just like, or just kids at home all the time. And you're probably,

your mind's probably just going a million miles a minute. So writer's block can definitely, definitely happen. It can happen a lot of times when you've been away from your work for a while, which can happen in the summer, right? Or it can happen when you've really pushed yourself to work a lot and you just haven't given yourself time to just like think of the whole story, or it can just happen out of the blue, right?

So the first thing that I want to say is If writer's block happens, take a break. And I have talked about this in so many different interviews in so many different ways, but walking is an awesome thing for you to do. Like it is scientifically proven that walking is great for your brain and not only your brain, but your creative brain. Some of the most creative people in the world were walkers and they would solve their problems while walking. One of my favorite books in the world is Rest by, oh man, Alex Sejong Won. I think that is, but I think I also might be getting that wrong. Let's look this up. It is the best book ever because it talks about walking and resting and how you can stimulate your creative brain so that you can finish your work. All right, It is Rest, Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Segjun Kim Ping. That is really hard for me to say. I'm very sorry if I didn't pronounce that correctly. I will have the link in the show notes. How's that? Rest, Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. You can find that on Amazon.

It's an amazing book. So take a break, take a walk. If you are writing and you're in front of your computer and you're like, no, Kat, I don't wanna get up and take a walk. I just sat down. I just told my family to leave me alone. And yet I still don't know what to write. All right. Fine. Be stubborn. All right. So jump ahead in your story. One of my favorite things. And in fact, one, I just told a writer this, this past week is jump ahead. He was stuck in his story. He sort of had like all these characters coming in and had their backstory, you know, lining up and then you just got stuck.

And I said, jump ahead to either the climax or the ending. And not only that, but write it two or three times in a different way. Whether it's a different point of view, whether it's from, you know, using a different character to do things or just completely different. The climax is really important in your story and the ending is really important in your story. So if you are stuck wherever you are, jump ahead, write out the climax, or write out the ending, but write it in two to three separate ways. And give yourself the freedom that that doesn't have to end up being the climax or the ending. It's like for real. Now I have done this before and I found an amazing ending for my book Crossing Thamoda. I'm really happy with that ending and that is like what I visualize as I write the book to finish it, that's the place that I want to finish it at. So that's why this is helpful, because if you get the climax and you do find the thing that you want to have happen, even the written out part, you know, needs to be changed or edited or sort of just redone in general, you have the idea, you have the seed, and that is where you're going to write to, like towards, right? Okay. Number three, pretend you've never read your work before. I've never done this before, but I saw it, I think on masterclass .com or something like that.

And I just thought it was interesting. I think this would be a really difficult thing to do for certain brains. Like my brain, I'm not sure I could trick myself into thinking, but you know, like if you print it out or if you make even your draft into an ebook and send it to your Kindle, a lot of authors do that. And that way, you know, you can sort of read through it. I feel like the Kindle would work better,

you know, because you can almost trick your brain into thinking that you're reading another book. And, you know, then you just sort of allow yourself to get immersed in the story and you'll probably find like, ooh, what's going to happen next? You know how you always sort of try to jump ahead of the characters of the books you're reading? So I think that's the idea behind this. All right, number four is write something else. Just go on and write something else. Not everyone agrees with this idea. I always have a couple of things in the works and I wouldn't necessarily say start a new novel, but write a short story, write a poem, write a flash fiction, pick out a random photo and try to make up a story about it. I really like short stories. I think they're really cool.

You can practice your story craft with short stories, hitting all the points that you need to hit. So yeah, write a short story. It doesn't have to be fiction. Like write a memory about your childhood and see if you can make it into a short story that has a climax and an ending. And then it's something fun to share with your readers. And the next one is create a deadline for yourself. So visualize yourself as a professional writer, or somebody who's full -time writing who is only gonna get paid if this deadline is hit. You are, you know, in that time of Fitzgerald or whoever that you admire in the classics and you're sweating and you're gonna stay up all night, you know, like come hell or high water.

So visualize this deadline and write towards that deadline. This is tricking your brain a little bit, right? but it will also probably cause you to overwrite just FYI. But that's okay too. You if you just like visualize that deadline, I gotta get this done, I gotta get it done, I gotta get it done. And something will probably happen at that point. The next one, I think we're on number six.

Get crafty, do something else creative, do a puzzle. Puzzles are awesome for just letting your brain relax. Oh, that's not even what I wanted to say. Get crafty. Get out your paint, your glue, and draw out your characters or your plot map, or make a diagram of the relationships in your book, but not with words. Do it with stickers and glitter and markers and crayons

and have fun and allow yourself to be immersed in that. and you'll probably find that you're just sort of going along with the story in a whole different way at that point. The next one is do something that requires no real quote unquote thinking. And I have puzzle in this one or even more mundane, shower or clean your kitchen or fold your clothes. Now puzzle, I think is in this, although all you puzzlers are going to get mad that I call that mundane, but really just like shuts down your brain, right? Like you're so focused on finding that same blue. It turns out it's not the same blue because it's shadowed and the way that the puzzle is cut, it doesn't look the same.

You're so focused on something else that you're kind of shutting down that like pressure in your head to figure out the story. Showering, cleaning up, folding clothes, that's also kind of the same thing. You're focused on something else. And a lot of times you will get ideas that will just come to you all of a sudden, and you're like, that's so easy. And you just needed to like shut down that other part of the brain. Another idea is to free write for 30 minutes or try writing, you know, sort of free writing with a writing prompt. This is a really good way to just find a different thing to write about, right? So, we kind of talked about this with writing something else, but if you're so stuck that you can't even find an idea for a short story, just free write. Find some prompts. There's tons of prompts out there. Storyaday .org has lots and lots of prompts. I have a short prompt course that's free. It comes to your email. Lots of people have prompts. Or if you like to free write, just set the timer and write about whatever. Sit on a park bench and describe all the people. and just get it out, just get out some words on the page. Now, this other one is interesting because I hadn't thought of this before, but this next one is write for 10 minutes about everything that you did that day. And if you can't fill the 10 minutes, then that week or that summer, this summer, or this month, or your life, for goodness sakes, if 10 minutes starts being really, really long. But the point of it is not the words. The point of it is to notice what distracts you while you do it. So do you pick up the nail polish bottle while you're writing because you can't think? Do you pick up the empty box? I like picking up all the things around me. Do you pick up your phone? Does your computer have notifications still on, even if they're silent, like do they show up in the corner? Do people call you? Is the cat meowing? is the outside too loud, whatever it is, notice what distracted you and then set about to rid your area of those distractions. Interesting, right?

Next point is talk to a friend, but better yet, talk to a writer friend. Talk about your stories, have an exchange time in which you are not really looking for feedback, but you just need someone to tell your story to, and then you agree to hear about their story. I guarantee you, you will figure something out. You will, something will come to you. Now, I listened to Shonda Rhimes talk about writer's block. And this next point is from her. Shonda Rhimes says that when writer's block used to come to her, it was crippling. And so she just started to refuse to believe it existed. Like she literally told herself over and over again, writer's block does not exist. So it's impossible that you have it right now. I know that's kind of crazy, right?

But, but she claims that it works. She also says that she starts writing something else. So my point above is like stamped and approved by Shonda Rhimes. I mean, what else could be better than that? So yeah, trick yourself into believing that writer's block doesn't exist. And so you are not blocked. You are a writer and you're going to keep going. Now this next one, try dictating. That's kind of like talking to a friend, but dictating as many of you probably have heard me say, I like taking walks now since I can't run

and just talking through my characters or talking from the point of view of a different character. that the book's not in their point of view. And just sort of, I don't know, say like, what would she say? What did she do after that scene and just sort of dictating it out? And it's interesting because it's not a dictation in the sense that I expect it to go word for word back onto Scrivener. It's a dictation of just like rehashing the characters or again, picking them up, you know, maybe through the eyes of a different character and just sort of having fun with it. You know, writing that out might feel like work, whereas dictating it while I'm getting some exercise just feels like more fun, so. My next point is to just sit down and write, even if it's crap. And anyone who likes to be very concise in writing isn't going to like that point. I'm an overwriter, as you know, and I am trying to not be an overwriter, but there are times where you just need to write, even if it's crap. Like, I don't know how many times, days in my life, where I force myself, especially during the school year, not in the summer,

to write five times a week. And a lot of times it's crap, y 'all. Like really, it thrown out. but it's just writing. You're still putting words on there. You're still trying to figure something out. And there's always something that comes out of it. And set a time of day and stick to it and write even if it's crap. And I can't even tell you how many quotes there are from writers on the internet who are like a writer is somebody who sits down and writes whether it's crap or not. I don't think they say it like that,

but there's a lot of writers who basically say that. This is, you know, some of us might sort of see it as a hobby, but the reality is most of us want to see our work published. And so you have to treat it as a job in some way. So you're just going to have to write. But really, if writer's block is really, really, really bothering you, sit in a comfy chair and read a book like not on the craft of writing. Read a book that will just take you away. whatever your favorite genre is, pick it up. Maybe you're rereading a book that you love. Maybe it's a book that you just really, you know, we're going to use as a victory book for having finished your manuscript. Just pick it up and read it and give yourself a break and have some fun. You can also change the music that you listen to while writing. And if you don't listen to music, you can add music to your area while you're writing. I don't listen to music. I know Carissa Andrews listens to like, it's not even music,

it's like a monotone tone. You could try that as well. But yeah, you know, change it up. Either change the music or add music or maybe shut off the music. Something that could be fun instead of picking up a book is watch a fun film. I especially love finding short films that people have made, and especially I think they win like the Cannes Festival, short films, some people are super creative at these short tiny films

and just enjoying somebody else's creativity can really get your brain moving and you're just like, oh, that's so awesome. I wanna write a story like that too. Get up from your desk. Even if you are the person who's like, no, this is my time to write. Okay, fine. Get up from your desk. Don't let anybody, you know, make eye contact with you and go get something to drink. Um, get an elixir to drink, like maybe a cayenne pepper, lemon, honey elixir, you know, wake you up. Um, I also like coffee or a tea, get something cozy, you know, close your eyes, sort of run around, whatever, and go out there and go back to your desk. Um, other than that, if you really, you're like, you don't have to be at your desk or even like, even if you're in your office, you could do this too. You could exercise or you can meditate. So I'm crap at meditation, but I'm trying so we can all try meditating. There's a couple of different YouTube videos that are free that help you meditate, um, exercise, like do some jumbie jacks, uh, pushups, uh, high knees, I don't know, work on that core. Again, it's something that will sort of like move your hormones around, get your energy level up, and that will probably shift your brain thinking a little bit more. Also, last point, and this is a shout out to all the writers out there, whether you are writing blocked or not,

eat something nutritious. Yes, eat something nutritious. Your brain needs to be fed by nutrients. And I know when we are frustrated with ourselves or we are just anxious as humans, many, many, many of us reach for the salty crappy snack or the sugary crappy snack. I am just as guilty as anybody else, but realize that your brain, your creative brain and your body need nutrients. And so get up and eat something nutritious, even if it's like avocado toast or tomato toast, like we have Spanish in our family.

So a slice of toast with some olive oil and slices of tomatoes with a little pinch of salt is probably the best thing ever in the whole world. I'm telling you, do it. If you want something sweeter, cut up some fruit, even add a little bit of whipped cream to it maybe, or some Greek yogurt, eat something nutritious, add some pumpkin seeds, oof, or some pecan nuts maybe. Feed your brain, feed your body, right? So these are all my ideas for helping you break writer's block. I hope that you can find one of them and that they work, you know, one of them works for you. If the first one doesn't work, try the next one.

The truth is you are a writer. You have a story within you and you can finish it. So before we go out and into the sunset or to the pool or wherever you're going, I want to encourage you that writer's block is completely normal, but you can finish your book. You can keep going, um, and you can overcome writer's block. So, I will see you next week. ♪

Hey, you're still listening. Since you are, could you do me a favor and head over to the app that you're listening to this episode on and hit the subscribe button, and then rate and review the show? It would really help the Pencils and Lipstick podcast get out into the world. And if you're enjoying the podcast, well, then there might be more people out there who would enjoy it as well. If you want to find out more about me, you can head over to katcaldwell .com. I have my story over there, my books, my interactive journals, my one -on -one coaching information, and information on my creative writing community membership group. If you're looking to write a book or you are a writer and you just want to find out more about how to write, how to publish, how to format, how to market, and all the things that go into being an author these days, check out the membership group. There is a 14 free day trial that you can try it out, get into the masterminds, find out all the goodies that we are talking about in the group. I would love to see you there.

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