Step Outside

So the pesky writer’s block has struck again, huh? You look to your writerly friends to help and you hear the same things. And why do you hear the same things BECAUSE THEY ARE THE SAME THINGS YOU JUST TOLD THEM!! Ugh! Round and round the mayberry bush we go just to wind up in the same position you started. So you grin and tell them thanks for their support, then go home and stare at the same page you were stuck on. It sits there…mocking you. Yeah, it’s wagging its paper tongue at you or if you prefer (for you more digital folk) it’s making that noise the pigs make on Angry Birds when you don’t take them out.

Your next step is to opening your latest writing mag or head to your favorite blog *ahem* and see what they say about the BLOCK. What do they say? Yeah, same thing. Grrr. The only thing you can do now is press on and hope that it fades sooner rather than later. It better because those voices and those oinking pigs are getting mighty loud.

But are you really out of options?

I mean this is the digital age. You can reach out and touch anyone. So why not step out of your comfort zone a bit. Trust me; it’s not that scary out here. You already have writer friends and friends who love words in general. However what if you were to think about your writing and getting around that pesky block like an artist?

Okay, pick up your jaws. Yes, try talking to an artist or someone who is way out of your field, directors or architects, heck even a chef. We are all artists if you think about whether it be with words or paints and markers or a slab of beef. You see we all hit our blocks no matter what creative medium you partake of. Trying to look outside of what you normally do can open up new possibilities as how to attack that troublesome foe, the BLOCK.

I’ve been fortunate to have a creative family, my sister most of all. She is an artist so she loves to bring me into her world….and I love every minute of it. Seeing the difference in line thickness and paint styles brings me as much joy as finding a new word or seeing my characters come to life. It makes me look at my sciences and worlds differently. When I start writing I can see those lines when I describe my characters, I can see them better. It helps me picture them clearer and how they would look when they move. I begin to think about what body types would work for my more extraordinary people or what colors would make a new pop right off the page.

Even in my day job I work around food. Those aromas constantly tickling my nose I get a better sense of smell to include in my tales. Or I can get the rhythm of knives as they hit the wooden blocks. Mmm….it’s rather seductive when you let those senses open up and take them all in. you can look at this world differently, thus your created world of words better.

If you have a block, find your way around it. And your way around it may just be to traipse into someone else’s world….or at least that helps me sometimes. LOL Write on you lovely folks!!