Jordan Deen

Another question from my wise and wonderful 'Myspace' friends.

Jordan-  I'm halfway through my novel and I've hit a serious road block!  How can I get past it and back to writing?

Great question!

Every writer is different.  Many will tell you to walk away from the novel and come back to it in a week, some will tell you to sit down and write through it, others will tell you it will pass.

First, let me say this process starts around 8pm because my motivation and inspiration usually comes late in the evening.  It's not unusual for me to be writing until 1 or 2am.

I will grab my largest, favorite coffee mug from the cabinet, fill it to the brim with flavored tea, and curl up in the quietest room in my house (usually my bedroom or the corner seat of my couch).  I pull out my laptop and read through the entire section of what I've already written on the work in progress.  I let my imagination wander in the story with the characters.  I visualize them in their daily lives, their interactions with parents, friends, etc. and let the story go from there.  I think it's important to wrap yourself in your character's worlds to accurately portray how they would handle a situation and get their mannerisms down.

As an example, when writing Benches I literarily cried my way through one of the fight scenes that is from Lauren's perspective.  I connected to her and her fear so much that the fight scared me so bad I was shaking.  But, that connection with her and being able to see the events through her eyes made it real for me and allowed me to write out the scene like a sixteen-year-old terrified of her decision and filled with regret. 

I find reading through what I've already written in the story "resets" me and allows me to feel the emotions I've already had and reconnect with the characters I know and love so much. 

This may not work for everyone, but it works for me.  Writing a novel is difficult and takes a lot of dedication, but it's more than worth it to put that last word on the page.

Hope this helps!

Carpe Noctem-

Jordan~