Identifying a Loss of Momentum vs. Writer’s Block

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Some days, we sit down to write and the words won’t come. Are we blocked? Maybe not.

Even before the pandemic and quarantine intruded into life, I’d hit a patch in my writing where I wasn’t getting much done. I’d just finished a major revision, so this wasn’t unexpected—I usually need a break after a draft is done—but it dragged on longer than usual. Every time I sat down to write, I couldn’t.

I wasn’t blocked, I knew that. I just didn’t have any urge to write even though I knew I should be writing. I’ve been writing long enough that I knew the difference, but not every writer has realized yet that just because you have trouble writing, doesn’t mean something is wrong.

Not Being Able to Write Doesn’t Always Mean You Have Writer’s Block

We get tired. We get stressed. We have insane things going on in the world that sap our energy. These things can easily make it difficult if not impossible to write. And thankfully, it’s temporary.

A Three-Step Plan for Returning to a Partially Finished Manuscript

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Getting back to an old manuscript after a break is often harder than starting one anew.

Last week, I sent my new manuscript off to my agent (yay!). This was a bit trickier than usual, because I’ve been juggling two projects—revising this manuscript while drafting another. They’re completely different markets and genres (an adult science fiction and a middle grade fantasy) so there’s no cross-contamination of ideas or styles, but it did mean that after I received feedback on the adult novel, I had to give it most of my attention to meet my due date.

That left my poor little first draft languishing for two months while I revised the other manuscript. And after two months of ignoring it, it’s a little tough to just dive back in and start writing again.

Being away from a writing project for a while kills your momentum for that project.

Follow Me to the Playground! The Merry-Go-Round Way of Writing

By Tiffany Reisz

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Common "wisdom" says writers should write every day, but that's not always feasible (or even accurate). Tiffany Reisz takes the podium today to share why keeping momentum going is more important that writing every day. 

Tiffany Reisz is the USA Today bestselling author of The Red, an NPR Best Book of 2017. She has written over twenty novels that have been published in over a dozen languages and twenty countries. Her books have won a Lambda Award, a RITA®Award, and two RT Editor’s Choice Awards. She is married to New York Times bestselling author Andrew Shaffer (Hope Never Dies). They live in Lexington, Kentucky with their two cats. The cats are not writers.

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Take it away Tiffany...