Tags
dreams, drowning scenes, lack of sleep, magicians, stakes, water tank, write or die, writer's block, writing
I kind of wandered away from Write or Die a few months ago: it was fun, and then it was just stressful, like watching a magician in a straight jacket try to free herself and then pick a lock in one of those covered-in-dramatic-chains type water tanks. She starts out all slow and methodical, doing one thing at a time, but after a minute or two she’s moving faster, her face is tight, and you can tell the lack of air is starting to make her panic…
Okay, or maybe Amy just shouldn’t be drowning her characters before bedtime. I think that water tank thing was actually one of the dreams I had last night.
Anyway. I got stuck, or at least stuck in planning, as is my wont, and the notion of just writing as fast as I could without thinking about it lost its appeal. But I was starting to get that stuck feel again this morning, and dammit, I don’t want to be stuck anymore, so I jumped back on the bandwagon and went for a very modest goal.
That lovely red flashing screen that comes up whenever you pause for more than 5 seconds adds a nice feel of urgency to the matter that I’m often lacking: after all,this isn’t my paycheck (yet); it’s my… hobby. Pastime. Obsession, yes, but since I have to fit it around the rest of my life, it’s easy to forget that it’s important to keep writing. After all, nothing really happens in RL if I don’t write, except that I feel miserable and get very cranky after a few days.
But in Write or Die…well, stakes. Lovely stakes. 300 words in 12 minutes is very little, actually. I’m only proud because I’m really short on sleep.
I think I may try to start the morning this way. Smack the alarm, make the coffee, stumble to the computer, sit down, and spend the next 20 minutes writing under threat of death.
300 words in 12 minutes…good going.
I tried Write or Die a while back and it got me unstuck in my novel.
My brain must have a built-in write or die function. I don’t seem to be able to write in an evenly paced, methodical way. It’s always me cramming in a thousand words in half an hour. I don’t know…maybe it’s the panic of seeing a blank page. Congrats on the break-through!
Hey Jewel,
Yep, I think I’m officially unstuck again. For now. At least until next week.
(this time of year is my worst, productivity-wise. some weird writer’s version of SAD, I guess!)
“My brain must have a built-in write or die function. ”
Can I borrow your brain? Maybe just for a day or two? *bats eyes*
I’m going to try a modified version of write or die today as I edit my last two chapters! Especially when revising, I tend to just stare at the computer screen, overwhelmed by the mass of text already there
.
Good for you starting the day that way!
pickled punk
good luck, Nancy!
It certainly adds a sense of useful panic to the process.
I’ve never used Write or Die. It sounds like it could be especially useful for people stuck on first drafts. In a masochistic sorta way.
Pingback: Winter Sunday Stats #Final: The Last Sunday of Winter. « The Unfocused Life
Pingback: Friday. Finally. « The Unfocused Life