Writing slumps. We all get them from time to time. It is a weird state to be floating in, the constant worrying of when your writing will be done, or simply not knowing where to go next with the rest of the story. Sometimes that slump can last anywhere between hours to days, to sometimes even weeks. You feel like you're stuck, like there is nowhere for you to turn. But in my opinion, writing slumps are sometimes the best thing to happen to a writer. They allow one to step back, to admire and critique their work. To see how far they have been able to go with just a few words.
And here is the challenge, getting out of that slump. It's easy to fall into it, the trap of wordless wonder, but can prove quite a challenge to writers everywhere to get out of. Though, there are the popular methods of creating a music playlist, Pinterest board, or even making artwork of your story, sometimes they don't work. Sometimes, you just have to push through it, to write even when the words don't flow to you. And, more than half the time, those words will sound the choppiest (but don't fret, this is only your first draft. So there is no need to worry. There is always time to go back and fix it).
Go for a walk, read a book, smile, and scream at the top of your lungs because this is only the beginning. Your story will form and it will take flight within your mind, and soon, it will become everything that you will think about. You will see your story in every little piece of the world, you may even see your characters spying on you from time to time, wondering when the next chapter of their life will be written, lurking in the shadows, afraid to tell you their story.
That's another thing, letting your characters come to you with their story. I tell many people to not force the words out. But sometimes writing slumps will force the player's deck of cards.
I've tried to explain it to people, that I am not the one creating this story, rather the characters come to me and tell me what happened. Call me delusional, if you must, but that is another little shinning shard of being a writer, you know people that have never even walked the planes of this earth. You share their lives with the world beyond your head, you create something magnificent and magical. All the while talking to someone whose story has never seen the light of day.
As a writer, you are the crime scene, criminal, FBI personnel, police force, news station, private investigator, lawyer, court judge, attorney, and more. You are a unit moving as one, coherent piece. And it is beautiful.
But slumps... The slumps could be compared to a jam in the process, a misreading in the fine-print down at the very bottom of a page. It causes you to halt that investigation, to stop the running. It pauses the gears in that perfectly oiled machine of a brain.
And suddenly, all production of creation is lost to the mind's eye.
You just have to power through it. It's not the words that everyone likes to hear, but it's the truth. Even if you are stuck like a stick to mud, you just need to give it that final tug.
When that stick comes free, and the creation of thoughts and words start to flow again, they will come on stronger than ever, shinning freely within the sun's lovely gaze. Your mind will once again be free to wander the vast meadows of words and punctuations and pages. It will be beautiful, and you will once again be reminded of just how lovely your work is.
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To the chaos!
- Mercedes