Keeping it Fresh...

So you've been working on The Novel of the Century and cruising forward full-steam--and you're pausing every five minutes to review and rub your hands together in fiendish glee, because you know this is going to be great--and then...PLUNK.

You hit a wall. Or you get in a funk. Or you have "life" happen and lose your stride.

This happens to every writer. Books don't "write themselves." They get written by humans who are flawed, impatient, imperfect, and well...human.

So, once you've hit the wall or "sunk into a funk" (heh heh, say that five times real fast) how can you get out of it, or get over it, and get back into Fabulous Writer Mode?

The answer is simple: Time.

Take some time from the manuscript. Do things that inspire you--listen to music, watch films, take in a Broadway show, read the works of others, and THEN, go back, and see it with fresh eyes.

The difference will be amazing. You will fall in love with it all over again (nine times out of ten) or you'll be able to push through that wall and go for it. Fresh eyes really make all the difference.

Try it next time you find your writing stuck or stifled, or worse, completely stopped.

Time works. Give it a try.