Some of this reminds me of something Laird Barron said in an interview about his writing. He talked about treating the environment as a character with its own feelings, actions, sense of other characters, patterns of behaviour towards them/itself and the wider world around it. Helpful practical tips thanks!
I am not sure that the best brunch and a bacon sandwich is an either/or option.
Great rundown on things to do when stuck! I’d add “random writing prompt drawn out of a bag” because it starts the flow of writing if nothing else (and might be worth hanging onto for later in the story).
Thank you for posting this... I'm currently "stuck" and I've tried location and ways of writing switcharoos... I didn't think about doing a deep character dive into the senses, or even writing mundane aspects of the character's day. Very helpful.
Thanks for this, Simon. Thoughtful and useful as always. Typed my name into the Meta pirated search and found an article of mine, and a colleague, had been used to train AI. Amazing. Thanks for that, too!
Great article! I just released a chapter Saturday morning that started as a blank page the week before. I began writing by describing the light hitting tables in a cafe (the irony)! All good tips, most of which I have employed almost automatically—because when you have to get it down you try everything.
Several of my books are in the LibGen generator, which sucks. So I used the Author Guild's template to send them a cease and desist message. Hopefully I can get some money when that class-action lawsuit thing goes forward...
Thanks for this. Saved it. There ARE useful tidbits on Substack. Got a question for you, Mr. Serializer, from an aspiring one. Is there somewhere on Substack where I can find its copyright poicy, procedures on how to link, and other such technical matters?
Thank you so much this. It’s going to upgrade my Substack experience immensely. Are Diana Gabaldon style sex scenes allowed on Substack? I used her how-to manual. Standards vary widely and I don’t want my first chapter to banned for obscenity.
Some of this reminds me of something Laird Barron said in an interview about his writing. He talked about treating the environment as a character with its own feelings, actions, sense of other characters, patterns of behaviour towards them/itself and the wider world around it. Helpful practical tips thanks!
I am not sure that the best brunch and a bacon sandwich is an either/or option.
Great rundown on things to do when stuck! I’d add “random writing prompt drawn out of a bag” because it starts the flow of writing if nothing else (and might be worth hanging onto for later in the story).
Thank you for posting this... I'm currently "stuck" and I've tried location and ways of writing switcharoos... I didn't think about doing a deep character dive into the senses, or even writing mundane aspects of the character's day. Very helpful.
I hope it helps! Good luck!
Some great tips here, Simon.
Thanks, James.
Thanks for this, saved for reference. I like the sensation technique. I've played with it in a few exercises and should probably use it more.
Lots of good tips to keep moving forward. Sometimes a nudge in the right direction is all that’s needed.
Thanks for the push to keep the words flowing.
Thanks for this, Simon. Thoughtful and useful as always. Typed my name into the Meta pirated search and found an article of mine, and a colleague, had been used to train AI. Amazing. Thanks for that, too!
Great article! A lot of helpful tips to get unstuck.
I mean, yeah, good tips.
Great article! I just released a chapter Saturday morning that started as a blank page the week before. I began writing by describing the light hitting tables in a cafe (the irony)! All good tips, most of which I have employed almost automatically—because when you have to get it down you try everything.
Several of my books are in the LibGen generator, which sucks. So I used the Author Guild's template to send them a cease and desist message. Hopefully I can get some money when that class-action lawsuit thing goes forward...
Thanks for this. Saved it. There ARE useful tidbits on Substack. Got a question for you, Mr. Serializer, from an aspiring one. Is there somewhere on Substack where I can find its copyright poicy, procedures on how to link, and other such technical matters?
Yup. You would have seen the T&Cs when signing up, but you can get to them at any time from the main account menu. https://substack.com/tos?utm_source=user-menu
Thank you so much this. It’s going to upgrade my Substack experience immensely. Are Diana Gabaldon style sex scenes allowed on Substack? I used her how-to manual. Standards vary widely and I don’t want my first chapter to banned for obscenity.
Hi! I’m actually not sure. Probably worth checking the T&Cs. And it will likely depend a lot on the specifics of what you write.