A Penny for your Thoughts: Write Your Ass Off!

Whatever you do, don’t give up

Honestly, there are days where I try to write and end up editing. And that’s okay! It means I’m still working towards a goal: finishing a story. The latest in the Ms. Fix-It Series is giving me some issues. I had wanted it written and completed to go out by now, but unfortunately, Ria seems to have a stubborn streak about her and is so embarrassed about her story that she’s having trouble sharing it.

These things happen, and I’m going to continue working with her to get the story told the way it needs to be told. I won’t be skipping onto the next story or another series or anything like that. I’ll go for a walk and listen to podcasts or an audiobook to help spur this story in the rear.

Do something else

Yes, if you’re having this issue, do something else. Get an adult coloring book with curse words to help work out that frustration you’re feeling. Paint a room or a canvas. Watch four different movies in a row. (Recently, I watched Gods of Egypt, Spy, The Giver, Brave, and I can’t remember the other movie I watched for some reason – maybe overwhelmed with great movies?) and I recommend all of them for entertainment purposes.

Try writing in a new location

Recently I earned some extra cash for being healthy (Go me!) and literally spent it on an Asus Chromebook fifteen minutes after opening the envelope. I’ve never spent money so fast in my entire life. Normally, I wouldn’t have done that sort of crazy thing, but I’d been looking at smaller laptops with good battery power for quite a while. I do like the little Chromebook. It’s awesome for taking to the park or Panera or somewhere else to write. (I don’t recommend writing at Applebee’s as they stuck me at a tiny table (because it was just me) in a high traffic area.)

Getting out and about is absolutely the best. However, before you go out and buy a Chromebook, know right now that if you don’t use Google Docs exclusively, you’re going to want to either shift your documents over there or you’ll always want some form of internet connection. I love Word Online and I use it all the time (I’m using it right now to write this post and when I boot up my Toshiba later, it’ll sync to the folder on that laptop.) for all of my writing purposes.

When I go to the park I tend to either a) copy and paste the story from OneDrive to GoogleDrive in order to continue what I’m working on or b) I work on something completely different. If I’m having issues with a story, sometimes I’ll start over from the beginning (if it’s short like the Fix-It Fast Series Stories are).

Hard Labor

Another thing you can do is go outside and tend to your yard. Pull weeds, trim the bushes, plant new green things to grow. Talk to the characters in your head while you do this. Find out why they won’t tell you their story.
Change the furniture in a room around. Clean out a closet. Volunteer to help build houses for the less fortunate. Work in a community garden. Get out of the house and do something. Go to the gym and try out a new machine.

Keep Writing

The only person that can keep you from writing is you. Don’t let yourself get in the way. Don’t let that inner voice tell you that you can’t, that you aren’t good enough. Use that voice to your advantage. Put that feeling into your character and see what they do to fight that feeling. Even if the words you’re putting out there isn’t the story you’re trying to write, it may help you clear the clutter in your mind and heart to get to that story.

Read and/or Listen

Try listening to an audiobook even if you can’t stand audiobooks. I have been enjoying the Big Book of Submission narrated by Rose Caraway. I can’t get enough of her voice reading naughty stories full of sex, love, and bondage. Try listening to your favorite book in audio form.

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4 Comments

  1. If I’m having trouble starting something then I go into planning mode. Usually once I have a plan in place I’m able to work that through into a story. The trouble with that is, when I’m in planning mode I go over the top. It means that what should have been a 300 word story becomes 3,000…

    1. Hmmm, where did you comment on this post from? I had to free it from the spam-monster. lol.

      My plans usually end up being “oh, wow that’s a great idea…” typetypetype like a maniac to get as much down as I can and then read through it to see what works and what came out of left field. I have some other stuff planned out more than that, but for super short, nah.

      Also, regarding word count, there’s an author who states that a story is done when a story is done. Maybe yours wasn’t done at 300 words. 😉

      1. I commented straight through your blog. This one is going through the reply option on my notifications so let’s see what works 🙂

        I am a definite planner. I plan so much before I write it would make your eyes water. Except, yeah, for anything under 1,000 words generally I’ll just get stuck in, otherwise planning makes it much longer.

        I don’t really think there’s a better way though. There aren’t really any rules when it comes to writing, are there? You just do what comes naturally and what works for you!

        1. This one ended up in spam too… this is getting weird. I’m going to have to find a way to whitelist you.

          True, writing is unique to the one doing the writing! Which is why there are so many websites about writing advice. Do this according to one, don’t do that according to another. Kind of like “Don’t kill your main character!” and yet there are many books, tv shows, etc that do just that, more than once…. 😀

          I love that you plan. I’m sure I’d enjoy watching you plan a story out. I can see you now, thinking about it, but not too hard, just letting it kind of float there as you type out the initial idea and then continue moving on about how it’s going to work and which direction the characters are going to leap.

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