Between the 15th and the 18th; I wrote a minimum of 5,300 words per day, with my peak at ~8,800 split between two writing sessions. Now, those numbers sound absolutely colossal, and they are. But in a way, I've been subtly thinking about the original book. It hasn't been my primary focus like my debut, but once I figured it out, I knew exactly what I wanted to write.
It's really that simple. When we face writer's block for a specific story, we need to take a step back, shelf the idea for now, and let it sift through the mind while a different, more concurrent project exists. Because of my extensive focus on my debut, I almost forgot how to create a first draft, but luckily I didn't! Every time we discover a new process, we do something different. Some people say you need to 'write the idea while it's still fresh’, and sometimes that works. Other times, obsessing over smaller details can get you stuck, as it did me.
Now that I'm writing, unleashing my inner story in a novel format, I've just been trying to get words onto a page. Ideas, plots, the hardest thing to do is to write without judging yourself afterward. It's easy to make something, go "That can be better", and that'll ruin your writing process because you'll keep starting over. I did this for the second book before I started legitimately writing the second. Some of my ideas are terrible now, but that's just because I've just put them on paper. An idea is like a diamond; pulled out of the ground, it's coarse, and maybe not the prettiest to look at. However, with extensive cutting and care, with trimming and polishing, you get a diamond so shiny it belongs in a museum.
After I finish the first draft of my second novel, I'm going to let it sit for three months before I look at it again. I get to look at it with a fresh perspective, edit how I see fit, and redefine smaller details. Depending on how creative I'm feeling, I might create a different book in that waiting process, juggle between them, and such is the life of a writer. We're all in different spots in our writing journey, and it's good to take everything that's said with a grain of salt.
Yesterday, I went out of my comfort zone and met people I've never seen before in my life. We met up at a library, talked briefly at the beginning about our projects, wrote for 75 minutes, then talked afterwards. I met a new acquaintance who had the same scientific/historical realism that I admired, so we exchanged Instagram handles. Through the lens of progress, of networking, it was absolutely worth it to connect and meet with like-minded people.
To say I've done everything originally on my own would be incorrect. As writers, we constantly bounce our ideas around with other people. It's like greasing an otherwise static chain; the chain doesn't move as fast when you pull it as is. But with the extra support from the grease, the chain pulls much faster. The same is true of people and ideas. Unfortunately, I did not have a writing group with my debut novel, only having my beta reader to bounce ideas off of. Nevertheless, I completed it to the fullest extent, and you can too, even if by yourself.
There are many ways around writer's block, and it's easy to panic when you have it. In my experience, I've found that panicking makes it worse since you keep thinking about the novelization from a stuck point of view. One of the best feelings is when a long streak of writer's block is finally released and you unleash a plethora of ideas that you had originally intended for your story. If I'm already a quarter of the way to the magic 100,000 words in writing after just four days, I think it's possible that our blocked ideas percolate the longest. Subtle thoughts to them, no matter how small, add subconsciously. That makes it possible to write that much, I've found. Enjoy what you write, make sure of that, always.
The final ingredient to success is consuming other media. This one sounds like a natural "duh", but it's not so simple. If you're writing a story that takes place in the early 2000s, watch a show that takes place then. Study that time period; see what happened; we have the records for each year like a great list on Wikipedia down to the specific days. Even if you have a fantasy story, think about what medieval-level technology might exist. It's always a guideline as well, not a rule!
Thanks everyone for tuning in! If all goes well, I'll start consistently posting to Instagram within the next week. I've got some excellent ideas I'd like to share as far as that goes. Have a great Friday and holiday. Let me know how your projects are going!
Until we meet again,
Dustin