Day 19

"When in doubt, blow something up."
~ J. Michael Straczynski

So, day nineteen...and I'm still behind. Working on two side projects along with ANET so my word count goal can be reached. ANET only needs another 5000 words to meet goal for this month, I'm just...eh. I want to finish it. I do. I'm just not getting in the fairy tale headspace needed to write it.

I think I need to watch some fairy tale films. Or read a few favorite books. Or something. I don't really believe in writer's block. One can always write something even if that something is not what you were trying to write on. And that is a failure of headspace my friends. To write on a specific story I must be in the headspace that story is located in.

So, right now, if it says anything about me, I'm in the horror/urban headspace wherein dwell wizards, demons, strange cats and men with drinking problems. The one I need to be in is the land of alliterations, love and flippant fairy tale references.

It's a real problem. To get in and out of different headspaces, I usually read or watch a film that fits into the genre I'm writing. Of course, recently, I've been reading the fantastic Cal Leandros books by Rob Thurman, and these are not fairytale headspace books. Nope, these are horror/urban headspace books. Thus the cause of the effect.

Usually I would pull out Grimm's (which is state's away in my boxes of stuff), or watch the 10th Kingdom, to put me in the right state of mind again. Barring that, I'll have to find something else. Perhaps SyFy's Alice will do. It is a conundrum. And now that I'm through complaining...

If you do suffer from writer's block, or are trapped in the wrong headspace, try the following:

1. If writing on the computer, switch to writing by hand
2. Change your writing location (the physical one, not the one in the book)
3. Read
4. Watch some genre similar film/TV
5. Eat a cupcake
6. Make a cup of tea
7. Change your music selections
8. Take a trip. (Just to get out of the house for an hour or two)
9. Play with the dog/cat/child/spouse
10. Write

If in doubt, re-read what you've already written (aloud) and work it out by talking through it. Or acting through it. I've gotten through many a rough spot by attacking the couch with a broom.

It was a troll. And no one else was home.

Action scenes acted out with furniture and props should likely be done whilst no one else is around or they'll probably call the men in white coats.