hello again guys,

 Music to write by: “Bleed Together” by Soundgarden

Alright, so I’m having a lot of difficulty with a story I’m putting together for Mike Turner’s A New Century of Swords & Sorcery Anthology by Flying Pen Press. I have to admit, in terms of short fiction, sci-fi comes much easier to me than fantasy. Nevertheless I was invited to submit and I very much respect Mike, so I decided to give it a shot.

After much thinking, an idea started to gel and I began to write. At one point I was even patting myself on the back about how clever I was. Then… whammo! Blocked. Full-on colon-wrecking writing constipation. What did I do to uh… get the story out?  Well, a couple of things:

 1) remind myself that I’m a professional and I have a deadline. In your real-life job (mine’s writing accounting software), you can’t just tell your boss you didn’t finish your project on time. That’s a good way to get your walking papers. No, you buckle down and finish the damn job on time. That’s right, I said it.  Force yourself. Forget all that BS about your “muse” and just spew stuff out.

2) Write a shitty first draft (darn, this blog is up to a PG rating now, I really gotta mind the language). Just spew out the story and don’t worry about what works and what doesn’t. Having trouble moving your hero from one encounter to the next? Skip the troubling bits. Come back to them. But keep writing. Crappy writing is better than no writing, at least if you’re on the first draft.

3) Brainstorm. Talk out your problems with your writing group. I’m part of the Spec 24 writing group (yes, we named it. We’re geekers), and it really helps to bounce ideas off them.

4) Don’t get distracted. Unplug the TV, keep internet explorer closed, send the kids next door… whatever. Stare at that damn screen until something appears on it. Believe me. If you stare long enough, you’ll write something, even if it’s just to relieve your own boredom.

5) Finally, I’ll share some advice given to me by Joe Cooke at Norwescon. Joe believes we all have a “well of creativity” that we draw from for inspiration. In order to refill his well, Joe goes for long walks in the park. I hear Stephen King does this as well.  Me? Well, I suppose a little fresh air couldn’t hurt, but I live in Vancouver, so odds are it’s pouring out, and my apartment is sooooo comfortable….

 Anyways, that’s it for now. Hopefully I’ve been helpful. Next time, I’ll report on my experiences at NorWesCon. It was my first con, and boy was it an experience.  Until then…. chowder!