I’ve run into a particular type of writer’s block with many of my clients that I call “reader anticipation.” It means that the writer is so focused on anticipating what the reader wants, or how they will react, that they freeze up during the creative process and can’t move forward.
Monthly Archives
July 2014
One of the stickiest places for writers is when they want to move their characters from Point A to Point B in a story. Sometimes Point A and B are physical places. They might need to get their character from California to China. And sometimes A and B are two points in time, as when their character has to go from high school graduation to an end-of-the-summer scene.
These transitions can be tough for writers. Number one, because there isn’t a whole lot of emotional investment in the transition. It’s just a necessary part of moving the plot along. Number two, most writers tend to overwrite these transition scenes, trying to flesh them out when they don’t need to be fleshed.
How many times have you beaten yourself up for not doing more? And how much of the time do you disregard your small accomplishments because they’re not the big goal you promised yourself?
Have you noticed that when you bring this mindset to the writing of your novel you end up feeling tired, discouraged, and sometimes hopeless?