To hear it from some, there is an intelligent force that blocks the ability of a writer to get word on paper (or screen… whatever). They must do battle with this being in order to record their tales, swords clashing and blades flashing. To get the simplest phrase to be recorded, a fight must ensue.

There is no such thing as “writer’s block.”

I’ve had it… but it doesn’t exist. The reality is that it is “story block”. Trying to write a story that isn’t there, or make the story something it doesn’t want to be is what blocks me up. I had a GREAT story (I thought so, anyway). I had planned it to be a novel. I thought that 100k words would be a breeze. Not so much. I could add a bunch of useless filler, but the story wasn’t there. I think I got to 30k. Honestly, I’d have to look. I spent almost a year trying to find the rest of that story.

The problem was that the story was complete. I actually had two like that. They are now two novellas in Grafton. There are four stories in the book. The two about Gunny were going to be books, but I didn’t want to add a bunch of junk to the stories just to puff them up.

But sometimes, there is a blockage. I’ll know that the story isn’t “done” but not where it needs to go.

I will put it aside. I’ll give it space to breathe. I did it with those two stories from Grafton, but also from New Life (which as I write this is going out to beta readers… again). I wrote half of it. I knew there was more, but couldn’t find it with both hands and a flashlight.

At this moment I have at least five novels started. Three of them are well on their way. When I slam against a wall writing one, I jump to another. I have written entire books while waiting for the idea to spark the rest of one that was “almost done.”

If you are writing, don’t give up. Try to stick with something… don’t put too many irons in the fire, but don’t be afraid to step away from one of them. Let it age. Then, go back in a few days/weeks/months and read what you have. Adjust it as needed, and then take off again on it.

Part 1 – Intro and a mention of NaNoWriMo. I also showed one of the possible story arcs. Exposition. Inciting Incident, Rising Action/Progressive Complications, Dilemma, Climax, Denouement. This isn’t written in stone, but it is a good start.

Part 2 – Organization. If you are going to write a good story, you need to be organized about it. Most of the issues I have dealt with have been self-inflicted, and the result of a lack of organization. Knowing the characters, locations and plot elements, and keeping them straight and consistent comes down to organization.

Part 3 – All about Exposition… Inciting Incident… Rising Action/Progressive Complications. We covered them a little in the story arc, but here is a little more…

Part 4 – Same game as last time, but Dilemma… Climax… Denouement. Again, more detail about these plot elements.

Part 5 – Pantser v Plotter. I have wanted to plan each of my books beforehand, but I keep reverting to writing by the seat of my pants. I’m going to stick with my plan this time… I hope.

Part 6 – Worldbuilding is a thing, even if you aren’t writing Lord of the Rings. Even “real world” fiction needs a place, and whether you are creating a fictional town or writing about fictional happenings in your own corner of the world, it will be described and laid out for the reader.

Part 7 – Creating characters is THE most important thing we need to do as writers. Just like people, most characters are complicated. They have different and changing motivations. Power, love, money, sex, acceptance. But, be very careful cultivating too much of your character from people you know. Mix it up a little.

Part 8 – If you are going to write a book, you have to write. The most common thing I see in writer groups is people that plan a book for a decade, but never write more than a few words.

Part 9 – Edit that bad boy. Once you get the manuscript, don’t be afraid to take the axe to it. Fit it.

Part 10 – Get readers. Nope… not the ones that are paying for the book, but the ones that will read it and pick it apart for you. Hopefully for free. Beta readers are your friends, even when they aren’t. Embrace the criticism.

First up is The Prodigy. It is a sports related story, talking about a kid dedicated to making it in pro sports, doing whatever it takes to get better. But he finds out that he can’t quite get there alone.

Next up is “the story”… Almost all of my friends know it. It is a true story, and was even funnier. In fact, that whole trip has become a series of stories that may one day be written. The movie would be epic. Hopefully you’ll get a kick out of what happened in The Fog.

This one talks about disillusionment and the meaning of beauty. Three dates, none of them good… at least not anything worth pursuing. Model Relationship.

Finally, another fiction contest entry. It Comes In the Fog is my attempt at horror. I went for the unseen horror.

Beta Readers.

Warm up the network. You need to find people to read your story and give HONEST feedback. If they are any good, they WILL find mistakes. Probably a lot of them. You will likely slap yourself in the head and wonder what you were thinking. Me, too.

Here are a few things that you will need to keep in mind for your Beta Reading heroes.

• Friends and family are great, but they need to be able to give HONEST feedback
• You can have professional readers do it
• Acquaintances are a good option… they are more likely to be honest with you
• Don’t pin YOUR story on the feedback of any one person
• Pick people that enjoy reading and read a lot
• Embrace the criticism… thank them for finding the weaknesses and shortcomings of your story

Don’t enlist everyone. Keep a few strong beta readers in reserve… especially in the beginning. When you get back the feedback, be open to making changes. Adjust those story arcs and character growth curves. Fix those typos. Change the needed elements around to fit their improved patterns.

After you make those changes, read it as a whole and get ready to start the process again. You need to get your newly re-perfected manuscript into the hands of Beta Readers again. New ones would be better… although, some of your originals would be alright.

Now you get to edit.

I always loved seeing the instructions for carving a duck from a block of wood. It is two simple steps.

Get a block of wood.

Remove everything that isn’t a duck.

That is editing. You have a manuscript, and you need to polish it, add to it and cut from it until you have a novel. In addition to fixing the typos and dumb mistakes, you need to find the errors and omission. you need to hunt out the unneeded passages. Verify that it makes sense. Check for anachronisms.

When I wrote my first book, I had something completely different in mind. It took a few chapters for me to realize my characters had a different story in mind. As i continued to write, the real (final) story came out. But, when I edited the book, there were little pieces of a story that didn’t exist that had remained. I called them artifacts. They had to be hunted out. Characters needed different growth curves. Events needed to be adjusted. The parts of the block that weren’t a duck needed to go away.

The cool thing is that when you are done, you are only partway through the process. You will need to do it at least a couple of times. Better get comfortable with your story.

Honestly, this is where most people stop.

Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim…

They fail to fire. Never mind adjusting aim and firing again.

The first thing you likely need to do is set a realistic goal. NaNoWriMo is a good opportunity to do just that. They give as a basic goal 50,000 words in 30 days. Being realistic, since it is the month of Thanksgiving, we might call it 25 days. So, 2,000 words a day for almost a month.

As a goal, that is certainly something that one can hit. I’m by means a typist. I use two fingers and a thumb. I can’t type without looking at the keyboard. I have to form the words in my mind in order to get them on the screen. I make mistakes. Constantly.

If I can type 2,000 words a day, anyone can… assuming they have something to type on.

Here’s a secret, I don’t type 2000 words every day. Often, I will type 6,000 or even 10,000 words at a sitting. Other days, I might only type 1,000… or maybe zero. But, on my first two efforts *written one after the other) resulted in almost 200,000 words in two months. I edited out 30,000 words and turned that manuscript into my first two books. I didn’t type every day.

I would say that it was less about talent than the desire to tell a story, and the willingness to stick it out.

And in order to finish the next step, you also need that willingness to stick it out and finish the story. Sometimes it will flow like blood after a battle. Other times you will fight harder than you think possible to get the next sentence to form.

There are a few things you CAN do.

If you have outlined your story and know where it is going, if part of it sticks, move to another part. Perhaps the obstacle that is blocking you will be worked out. You might just have needed the chang e of perspective to see your way clear.

The thing you need to NOT do is find reasons to delay working on it. Don’t reorganize your space for the 16th time. Don’t fret over the fact that you haven’t found “the perfect _____” that will fix everything.

If you must… read a book. Honestly, you should be reading books anyway. They will expand you understanding of your niche (if reading in your niche) and increase your vocabulary and help you see how to better write. Read the masters. Read the unknowns. Read the classics. Read brand new authors.