Not to extensively wade into the arena of recent newsworthy events, it is sufficient to say that most red-blooded sentient mammals might just be experiencing more than the usual amount of stress right now. And as a writer, currently wrestling with the unfinished first draft of a sequel novel, I could say I’m not just having a bit of writer’s block but rather a bit of writer’s paralysis.
So, I thought I’d write down a few thoughts on this topic and maybe share.
“Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”
― Charles Bukowski
And, for anyone out there who has written a sequel, that in itself comes with its own challenges.
“Sometimes you shouldn’t be too consistent. Recognize that the world you’re writing for is not the one you wrote for originally.” ― Ellen Kushner
I found this quote about writing sequels, and it did resonate with me. The sequel I’m working on is the fourth book in the New Orleans Paranormal Mystery Series. This book follows: Gravier’s Bookshop, The Hotel Mandolin, and The House at Pritchard Place. Each book in this series focuses primarily on a member of the Breslin family, a New Orleans extended family, whose members all have varying degrees of psychic abilities. The novel I’m currently working on spotlights Jared Breslin, the youngest member, around nineteen, and is told primarily, though not extensively through his eyes.
Each book is a different paranormal adventure, often varying in tempo and style, and structure as well. As Ellen Kushner indicated in her quote, the world of the sequel is different from the one of the previous books. Playing with perspective with these different characters does create a different world view and consequently a different world.
“The world as we see it is only the world as we see it. Others may see it differently.”
— Albert Einstein
But coming back to my original point and dilemma, how does one get past writer’s block/paralysis?
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London
Good advice from Mr. London, but sometimes even finding that club feels like a monumental effort, though essential, without question. For me, long walks are helpful, writing in a different space, sometimes on a different medium (Notebooks can still be handy), a little meditation, reading someone else’s book. . . The list goes on and on.
“I don’t sit around waiting for passion to strike me. I keep working steadily, because I believe it is our privilege as humans to keep making things. Most of all, I keep working because I trust that creativity is always trying to find me, even when I have lost sight of it.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is right, of course. Nothing beats having a work schedule for writing. I think writing is sometimes mistaken for a creative pastime or hobby that is flexible rather than being an actual job.
But the problem right now is unique, though maybe not as unique as one might think. Throughout history, writers have carried on through challenging and sometimes horrific circumstances. Through wars and humanitarian catastrophes, they’ve continued to endure and chronicle and create.
Where focus goes, energy flows ― Tony Robbins
I actually find this quote helpful. It is true. If we focus on the stress of things, of current events, or even our own lives, then the energy we have goes there. But if we manage to focus on our goals, writing or other projects, then that is where our energy goes, into creation rather than dissipating into stress.
I don’t know if this is helpful to anyone, but I do thank you for letting me bend your ear for a moment.
And now I’ll get back to work.
Evelyn Klebert 