Guest Post

As promised, my friend Heidi Nicole Bird has published her first novel, "Through the Paper Wall."  It was released on Valentines Day.  I've had a chance to read the first couple of chapters, and really thoroughly enjoyed the story.  And now, a Character sketch from her book:

Jesse (main character)

Jesse was born in San Diego and grew up as an only child. From the very first time he stepped onto a beach he knew it was where he belonged. When he started Kindergarten he attended a class that met just off the beach, which enhanced his love for the sand and ocean waves even more. In Kindergarten he met Spencer, who became his best friend, and soon the two of them were inseparable.

Jesse grew up with a very comfortable life, going to school with his best friends, taking surfing lessons, and taking advantage of everything San Diego has to offer. His father had a steady job, but it was really his mother’s well-known prowess as a chef that helped the family live so comfortably. Growing up in a large and spacious house and having the beach only seconds away, Jesse came to believe that his world was perfect and that he couldn’t be happier.

Things changed right before Jesse’s twelfth birthday though, when his mother passed away quickly due to illness. Jesse’s world was turned upside down, but with his friends by his side he was able to go on living, even though Dad was much more distant. On the eve of Jesse’s thirteenth birthday, his Dad announced that they were moving to Oklahoma because they needed change. Eventually Jesse’s theory was proved right – they moved so Dad could date Jessica, a girl he had dated in high school.

Newly thirteen years old, Jesse finds himself in a new place he never could have imagined. No beach, no sand, not even a lake – Just miles and miles of sage brush and dirt. Forced to leave behind everything he had ever known, including his friends, Jesse grudgingly accepts his new home in Oklahoma, but only after he makes a new friend and they make a discovery that changes both of their lives forever. 

Outwitting Steve

Note:  And no, this is not my friend Steve, or my friends Son Steve.  :)

You've hit a dead end.  You wrack your brain figuring out how the heck you've gotten to this suddenly insurmountable barrier; one that not even Superman could leap, or Spidey climb!
Now you're stuck, and feeling trapped, you are in almost physical pain, and you cannot see a way out.
You can either see it two ways; as a positive or as a negative.  Pessimistically "Oh woe is me!  I'll never be able to write again!" Or as a positive, "Why am I blocked?  What are the muses/writing God's/esses trying to tell me?"
Sometimes that is all writers block is.  What am I supposed to be looking at?  What am I supposed to be learning?  Or is this just my brain telling me to take a break?  Usually it is the last thing when I get it.  And yes, I do get it.

Ways of getting through that wall, or taking it down rather.

I.  Making Friends with Your Block.

Asking it what it wants?  Call it Steve if you want ("Over the Hedge" Reference BTW).
Seriously, ask it why it is there?  Ask for the reason it has chosen to spring up at this time?  My blocks are usually a sign my mind is rebelling.  It's having a temper tantrum of Katie Kaboom proportions (cartoon reference)
I'm ADD as well, so I have a very short attention-Squirrel-Oh where was I?  Ok-shiny-oh right, SPAN.  Which makes my brain even more unruly sometimes.
I have a hard time making a set schedule, or even deadlines (which adds to the writers block, and I love to wave at them while they pass by).  ahem.

Which leads to...

II.  Writing Warm Ups.

Writing is an exercise, and much like running, requires stretching the correct muscles.  A good way to even stop a block from even forming in the first place, is writing practices, consult Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bone," for more info.  Ten minute writing sprints in which you just keep your pen moving across the page without censoring, or editing.  Going with first thoughts, going for the jugular.  Taking no prisoners!
Doing a couple of these before you start your "Real Writing," can help your mind focus better, and I find my writing flows better.
Handwriting your practices is also good as it uses a different part of the brain.  Also I recommend using a notebook, cheapo spirals are good.  Once you have filled one, re-read what you have written in practice, highlighting what you liked, what was most powerful.  These can be whole paragraphs, sentences, or even words.  These can become prompts or ideas for future projects.  You can also move these to a catalog (I suggest a spreadsheet) which has references to where they came from, i.e. May 2010 notebook, date, and which prompt it is from.
If you choose to go route 1, then I recommend "Writing from the Inside Out!  Transforming your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within," by Dennis Palumbo, MA, MFT, C 2000 by Wiley & Sons.  Dennis Calumbo wrote screenplays for "My Favorite Year," and numerous other TV shows and pilots; as well as the novel, "City Wars."  What is great about this is he works with creative people/writers.
If you go with 2, than either Natalie Goldberg's, "Writing Down the Bones," and "Wild Mind," are excellent.  And also "Outwitting Writers Block,' by Jenna Glatzer is also really well done.
Whatever method you choose, good luck, and let me know how you get around/through/over/or under your writers blocks!
        Jack Heffron, also has some writing prompt books, and also look at Writers Digests Writing Prompts.   There are a ton of prompt books out there, and check your local library for any of the above.
                                                Happy Writing!

PROCRASTINATION STATION

Before I get to my blog, I wanted to make an announcement.  I have my first Guest on February 20th.  More details to follow...



Procrastination is the act of avoiding an unpleasant task.  At least that is my definition of the word.  I've created an art form out of it!  I guess I was just born with a genetic predisposition for this.
When you procrastinate, you pretend anything and everything is more important than the task which must be done!  The usual culprits of procrastination:  Gaming, Television, housework (Yes, I've done that to avoid something more unpleasant).  Another way of procrastinating, is to go off on tangents.  There have been many times when I have been researching for something, and something catches my eye, and I am looking at  that new stuff.  You use the following rationale for keeping after the new piece of information, saying, "I can use this later on."  But, of course, you don't.
So ways of getting around this "Affliction."   I make a schedule, or a "To do" list.  I just got this long horizontal tablet with each day of the week written on it, with a box under each day.  At the top right it says, "Things to avoid," which is really cute.
But what I did was to make a to do list and then divvie it up during the week, so that it is more manageable for me.  I use games to reward myself (though they also fall under procrastination warnings category as well).
Though when you boil it all down, you still have to make yourself avoid the pitfalls.  Deadlines do help as well.  That way you have more push to finish what you need to.