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| Jennifer Beckstrand |
Tips
for Breaking Through Writer’s Block
Have you ever sat down to write and found you couldn’t come
up with a single creative thought? Have you ever reread your newly-written
chapter and said, “Wow, this is horrible?” When this happens to me, I fall to
my knees, lift my hands to the sky, and yell, “I should have been a brain
surgeon!”
When I started writing professionally, I realized something
I hadn’t expected to learn: Writing is hard work. Holding a finished book in my
hand is super fun. The actual writing part, where I sit in a lonely room with a
Jane Austen doll as my only company, can be exhausting.
New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson says, “Ignore
this thing they call writer’s block. Doctors don’t get doctor’s block, your
mechanic doesn’t get mechanic’s block. If you want to write great stories,
learn to write when you don’t feel like it. You have to write it poorly before
you can write it well. So just be willing to write bad stories in order to
learn to become better.”
The bottom line: Writing is hard work, but anyone, anyone, willing to do the work can
succeed.
So, when writer’s block (which technically doesn’t exist)
gets you down, here are a few helpful hints that have helped me get back in my
chair. (My knees get tired kneeling on the floor for long periods of time.)
Even if
all you manage to write is junk, write the junk. At
least you’ll be working on your keyboarding skills. Just getting words down
helps unstick the block, and you might even find that some of your ramblings
turn out pretty good.
Know
your characters. When I get stuck, it is often because I don’t
know how my characters would act, or I have forced them to react in ways not
consistent with who they are. Don’t squeeze your heroine into a box if she
won’t fit.
Don’t
write boring scenes. If you are
bored with a scene you are writing, then think of your poor readers and have
pity. Find another way to advance your plot. Never, ever put your readers to
sleep.
Don’t
force your plot into a direction it doesn’t want to go. If you
find yourself contriving plot points to make your story work, writer’s block is
a signal that you are about to make a huge mistake. Listen to that voice that’s
holding you back and change directions.
Put in
the time. Sit in the chair. Start typing. Don’t get up to check
if you turned off the iron. Don’t look to see if anyone has posted another cute
kitty picture on Facebook. Don’t call your mom and ask her for that recipe
you’ve been meaning to try. And don’t call your dentist and beg him to schedule
you for a root canal.
Don’t
forget to pray. Heavenly Father loves you. He wants you to
succeed. Ask for His help. It may not come in the form of 10,000 words a day or
an idea for the greatest novel ever written, but help will come. You might be
blessed with an extra 30 minutes to write or a really nice fan letter to keep
you going. Help will come. You can count on it.
But keep writing while you count.
Miriam's
Quilt
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| Miriam's Quilt |
Miriam Bontrager has loved Ephraim Neuenschwander for as
long as she can remember. As young teenagers they make a secret pact to wed
when they come of age. But when Miriam’s headstrong brother is arrested and her
sister is discovered with child, Ephraim decides that Miriam, with her
disgraced family ties, is not worthy of him. Heartbroken and shattered, Miriam
vows to never again trust her affection to anyone. But will she surrender her
heart when a man of simple faith and gentle ways shows her how to love again?
Of course Seth Lambright thinks Miriam Bontrager is pretty,
but she’s also too stuck-up to pay him any notice. That is, until she comes to
his stable after Ephraim’s devastating rejection. Spending time with Seth’s
horses gives Miriam comfort and helps her mend, but her presence nudges Seth
dangerously close to falling in love. Unable to ignore the way she tugs at his
heart, will he risk everything to show her that there is more to love than the
pain of bitter memories?
I grew up with a steady diet of William Shakespeare and Jane
Austen. After all that literary immersion, I naturally decided to get a degree
in mathematics, which came in handy when one of my six children needed help
with homework. After my fourth daughter was born, I started writing. By
juggling diaper changes, soccer games, music lessons, laundry, and two more
children, I finished my first manuscript—a Western—in just under fourteen
years.
I now write Amish romance. There are three Amish romances in the Forever After in Apple Lake Series. Kate’s Song, Rebecca’s Rose, and Miriam’s
Quilt are all available in stores and online. I recently signed with
Kensington Books to write another Amish romance series: The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill. I have four daughters, two
sons, three sons-in-law, and one adorable grandson. I live in the foothills of
the Wasatch Front with my husband and two sons still left at home.
We Just Celebrated Our 1,000th Post!
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| Celebrating Our 1,000th Post! |
