I just had one. Or actually, three. You see, I've been working on a scene for three days. My characters won't cooperate and do what they should. And they bored me to tears. So after investing hours and hours trying to get them to do what I wanted, I pitched the entire thing. I'm going to have to try something else. But I have no idea what. Nor do I have any scenes that come after it that are sufficiently crystallized for me to just skip ahead and write them.
Since I am feeling demoralized, I'll ask you: What do you do when you have a bad writing day?
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Oddly enough, when I'm feeling a bit blue and disorganized, I visit all my friend's blogs and catch up with their news. Usually someone has some good news or a funny post.
Also, I take showers. Lots of good ideas seem to percolate in the shower (plus I can't hear the kids screaming over the water!) LOL
When I have a bad writing day I read. Sometimes for me, reading a good book I love helps get my juices flowing again as I see what works with the book and maybe even helps me figure out why I'm so stuck with mine.
Reading is good, like Beverley said. It usually gets me jazzed about writing again.
That or it makes me feel guilty about not writing. Oops. ;)
My super-effective method for dealing with bad writing days is not to write.
For everything except my job, which is a constant source of never-ending shame and guilt, there is no guilt for not doing something when it's just not there.
This doesn't work for everyone, but I'm way more productive when I don't push myself. I just don't push, y'know? And when I do push, I tend to be sub-par.
See the job, once again.
Generally, I procrastinate with Law & Order or critting a CP until I've squirreled away so much time that I shame myself into writing. (Sometimes this is a matter of hours, other times it's a matter of days... or worse.)
That said, for me there's a difference between not feeling like writing anything, and "not feeling" what I *am* writing. If I can make myself write, I do. If I can't make myself go there, I give me time.
Hmm. I used to hate it when people said this, but now I'm a believer. You just have to write through it. Maybe you'll be churning out nothing but junk for a few days, but somewhere in the dreck will be something worth keeping. And then, at the end of those few days, you'll have something rather than nothing.
If your characters won't do what you want them to do, maybe they're trying to tell you something. What do *they* want to do? Maybe it's time to think FanLit and just bust out of the mold with something crazy. Okay, so your next chapter must include a buckle, a horse, and the phrase "I wasn't expecting that."
Have fun!
I keep writing. I don't stop to rethink, second-guess, or wonder if it sucks, if I'm barking up the wrong tree. I can fix things in revision.
I can't fix something I never finish.
I like to read, like has been suggested, or write on paper. But you know that! Still, I say it repeatedly because it works :-)
Heard of you on Erica's site and saw this - so in T.J. Style, just had to answer.
Call me the old salt, but the first thing to do is relax. Just sit there and go - it's not working - fine. It's not working.
Take a night to come down and deal with the emotions. Let them have their way - it's a part of writing.
Here's the trick - if it isn't working, normally it is because something is off. Duh. Consider what is wrong in the scene - is it dragging, is the logic off, what's the specific problem. Then, once you think you figured it out, go back to the last crisis or conflict point and shoot off six tangents from that point. These are all avenues the characters can take. Feel through each tangent. You may want to try a blank page write on a few of them that spark your interest.
This is the best way of coming away from a bad writing day with real insight.
T.J.
Yes, showers are idea-nirvana!!! Wish I knew why. I need to be better about not forcing myself to write when I'm not feeling it. Though, if I write crap I can usually make it into something less craptastic. Take the Glorious scene Jacqueline and Erica helped me de-crapify this morning (yes, that's a word). I still need to write it, but it's there.
I think.
Darcy
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