♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦
Topic #312
We talked about the tools we use for our blogs awhile back.
How about for your writing in general? What are your favorite tools?
Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.
My most important tool for writing is my critical thinking skills. Without this ability, which is a learned skill obtained over my higher education, I don’t believe that my books would be as well written. Critical thinking helps you form a more rich experience. It helps you ask questions that your readers may ask before they can even ask them, thus helping you reach details that make the experience of your story that much better.
Some people might think that critical thinking is something to pan. They associate it with political ideologies and some such. Maybe it is divided along those lines, but that implies that education and the important skill of thinking critically as well as independently is inherently sided. Well, if it is, then perhaps the side that doesn’t use it or abhors it is lacking something important which they should reflect on… Yeah, I know. They abhor critical thinking, then they’re not going to reflect on that! (laughter ensues.)
The kind of critical thinking I am talking about may lead to more thorough examinations of personal beliefs, but in writing fiction it hovers around being able to see the full puzzle not just the pieces scattered across the table. Extrapolation is imperative to writing. It’s so important that not being able to extrapolate could see a project end before the story is complete. Meaning, you set it aside unable to finish.
Does that help those with writer’s block? It should. Maybe the reason you’re blocked is because you lost site of the path and aren’t able to extrapolate the details needed to continue down the correct path. Obvious when stated as such? It may not be for some. Writer’s block is debilitating for some authors. The reframing of what they experience could be key to how they find their way out.
Are you starting to see why this is one of my most important tools? Of course my word processing program is foremost. That is what allows me to get it all written down. But other than the mechanical aspects, critical thinking is the most necessary tool for my work.
So, if you find yourself suffering a block, break out this tool. Go back over what you have and look for what might be missing. Your brain is probably on full stop because you forgot to cover something important to the overall story. Your block will lift when you find that. At least, that is the result I have had. That’s why I go for walks, review what I’ve put down so far, rewrite what I’ve done so far, and take a breath and rest.
Your muse hasn’t abandoned you. Give it a try! Sometimes, when I have critically examined my story, I find I am just dealing with anxiety or depression, which is sapping my energy and making it hard to do my work to the best of my ability. In order to protect my story as well as myself, I think my brain closes shop. Blocks aren’t a bad thing until they drag on for too long.
Remember, taking a rest is as important as getting words on paper. Slow down. Stop holding yourself to arbitrary expectations set by the internet and other authors who think this is the way. Your art is yours. How you produce it is part of your style. Writing X number of words per day is a stupid rule that doesn’t apply to everyone. If you think it’s going to make you a better writer while you’re not learning better writing, let me tell you–it’s not. Rest. Take care of yourself to get those creative juices going again. Do your writing on your terms. Critically examine that story.
In the end, your art and style are yours. Don’t compare yourself to others, only to the you of yesterday.
Find out what other tools the writers on our hop utilize by clicking on their links below!
I have done that-gone back and edited earlier parts of the book when I have a block. It skakes loose my brain.
It’s so helpful!
People often forget that time is an important tool. Stepping away can be just as valuable as burning the midnight oil in the creative process. Patience and distraction all alow the well to fill up again.
Exactly! 🙂 We gotta fill the well.
Yes, a rest is as good as a break for sure.
Yes! It definitely is.