A poem and a short fic in one day?

OMG I've actually been productive. Don't die on me now. ;) I kicked the day off to a start with The lion and the wolf; a bittersweet poem about mis-matched couples. I took that momentum and carried through with The Blackout; a short piece of rom-com fic in 100 words that was written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge. And I'm still considered writing another scene for my current project, a romance with both supernatural and crime-related action elements.

In other news I have given Crazy Thoughts a complete over haul.  How is the new look?

The dangers of free writing

In free-writing the idea is to write whatever comes to mind. The benefits of this is it ignores inhibitions and one is less likely to think about the value of what one is writing so it frees up the ability to produce a quantity of words in a short time frame. When this the goal then it is a quick way to succeed. However, every time I free write I always regret looking over what I have written as the quality becomes more inconsistent and the prose disjointed as I go on. This is where it as advantageous to have a plan or goal in mind for the section you are planning to write.

I am not even 2000 words into my novel challenge, and I am already annoyed with the quality of what I have written. It is nothing a complete rewrite won't cure. But when considering a drastic action with a section of prose one always needs to consider if it is even worth it. I am almost considering a restart with new idea. Problem is my mental energy is just too sapped.

Current word count: 1830

Coping with writer's block

The first thing that happens when I attempt to start work on an assignment or project is that my brain has a minor freeze as to how to go about writing it.  Because of this I've had to come up with several techniques in order to combat writer's block.

1) Ease off the coffee.  Contrary to common belief, caffeine does not help you get work done.  Caffeine is a  stimulant.  To a degree it will make you brain work faster, however after a certain point it will actually over-stimulate you.  This will mean you will be easily distracted from your task and fidget/pace incessantly.  This is not a frame of mind in which anyone can work.  This is why it is important to limit you caffeine intake.

2)  Fruits, vegetables and seafood.  It is incredibly important o have a healthy diet.  A good diet will impact on your overall health.  Better health will mean that you are better able to cope with long periods of study as you will be able to work longer with reduced exhaustion.  Fish and vegetables contain several nutrients that are vital to the production of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. This will improve concentration and ability to use and retain information.

3) Water.  Drinking plenty of water has many health benefits.  I have devoted an entire article to this earlier.  Water will improve concentration and will support the brain function.  Goes without saying that this is incredibly important.

4)  Exercise.  It is important to have a health amount of exercise in your lifestyle.  It also will stimulate your ability to think by increasing blood flow to the brain and encouraging the production of endorphins - neurochemicals important to brain function and reduction of stress.

If making these changes to your lifestyle doesn't help  there are a few only solutions that might work.

5) Meditation.  Clearing you mind and relaxing can sometimes remove the anxiety/stress that is stopping you from getting the words out that you need.  Try some simple breathing exercises - get yourself into a comfortable position and focus on counting your breaths.  Just breath.  Alternatively, you can try visualisation exercises; pick a favourite scene and slowly build up details until you have the whole picture in your mind.  Imagine yourself walking around the scene picking up objects and sensing them - touch smell ect.  This will relax your body will building up your ability to focus.

6) Free writing.  Open a notepad or word document and start writing.  It doesn't matter what you write. In fact don't focus on what you are writing.  Just let the words flow out.  At some point, you will be hit by inspiration and and begin to write on the topic you were blocked on in the first place.

7)  Structured questions.  If you already have a good idea of what you want to say but are having trouble getting this down on paper, begin asking yourself structured questions.  Eg  I need to introduce an an article for my assignment.  I will ask myself questions like 'what is the article?', 'Who was it written by?', 'When was it written?', 'What is it about?', 'What do I need to do with it?' ect. This can be adapted for writing scenes for novels.  Ask yourselves questions like 'What is going on in the scene?', 'Where is it set?', 'Who is in this scene?', 'How are the dressed?' ect.  After you have devised and answered these question you will have enough information to write this into a paragraph/chapter.