by Children’s Book
Author Marilyn Kleiber
The words “writer’s
block’ strike terror in the hearts of every author. I suspect this fear is
induced by demanding editors and/or looming publishing deadlines.
As a writer, when you
write for pleasure, do you experience that nasty roadblock that prevents
ideas? Or do you sit in comfort at your word processor, happily immersed in
character and plot, ideas flowing fast and furiously?
I would like to
suggest you change your attitude about writer’s block and look upon it as
something of immeasurable benefit.
Let me explain.
The first time I
experienced writer’s block, the pressure of a deadline to produce a newsletter
for which I was to be paid a rather handsome amount, loomed on the horizon.
Instead of being productive, I sat in front of my computer, speechless. Of
course, my fingers and brain were speechless, not my mouth.
Doing nothing is
against my nature, and thus I discovered the boon of an occasional writer’s
block.
To attempt to get the
muse flowing, my first action commenced with alphabetizing my books -- all
sixteen shelves of them, I might add.
I sat down to write,
but after a half hour headed to the kitchen to make tea.
I have ten stacking
trays on my desk, holding a variety of projects on which I am working. After
tea, I tidied every single tray, dusted them, and stacked all the paperwork
back on the shelves with care.
Once more in front of
the computer ideas still refused to flow. I decided upon further action.
I removed everything
from my cork board, and replaced them, making sure all were perfectly lined up.
I even used a ruler to ensure the alignment was pristine.
Again I stared at my
blank screen, hoping for inspiration, but the only thing visible seemed to be
the annoying little memory jogger about unread e-mails.
I succumbed and
cleared 2,356 e-mails out of my inbox, prudently making electronic copies on
word documents of the ones I considered of some importance.
However, still no
inspiring words could I commit to screen.
I dusted every stick
of furniture in my office, swept the entire floor, and took the garbage out to
the garage.
In front of the screen
once more. Nothing.
I systematically lined
up every pen and pencil and arranged them according to the colors of the
rainbow.
Still nothing.
My stomach growled at
me for lunch, so I hustled out to the kitchen for sustenance. Seated at my
table, I digested my food and completed three sudoku puzzles.
No words flowed from
my keyboard to the screen, so I browsed through files on my computer and
discovered some amusing videos I had collected over the years.
I sent seventeen
e-mails to friends with videos attached.
In desperation, I
called a writer friend who had just sent her completed novel off to her editor.
I knew she would at least give me a a brief time to wail about my unfortunate
brain challenge.
A wise woman indeed,
she said, “If you don’t do the article tonight, you’ll lose the job and you
won’t get paid.”
OMG! She was right!
Without pause, I hung
up the phone and found my fingers flying over the keyboard. Extraordinary prose
flowed from my previously inert brain like gold from a Leprechaun’s cauldron.
To solve all
subsequent writer’s block challenges, I now have the following words posted on
a bright orange piece of paper, right above my computer screen.
“The Magic of
Inspiration!
My Words will Pay the
Rent and Buy the Food”
My Short Bio
As an author, Marilyn
has written articles for magazines and newspapers, edited newsletters and
published her first book - Short Tales From a Tall Person. In 2013,
she was one of the winners in the Alice Munro Short Story Contest. Marilyn has
a plethora of short stories and two novels in progress. While her full time
occupation is Acquisitions Editor for Sun Dragon Press, she teaches writing in
a variety of locations in Ontario, Canada. www.marilynkleiber.com
DID YOU SEE THIS?
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014
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