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I read posts sometimes about writers getting a case of the dreaded Writer's Block, any writer's worst nightmare. Speaking from experience- there's nothing worse than falling out of "the flow." My problem doesn't seem to be writer's block so much, but a beginning block... I'll get into that in a bit. The problem most writer's seem to have is determining something to write about- a topic. I have the opposite problem. Bob Dylan, in his old song, Maggie's Farm had a line... "I gotta head full of ideas that are driving me insane"... this is my problem. Not so much what to write about, but which to write about... But I still get stuck.
I guess I should explain that I write the "old fashioned" way- with notebook and pen. The Night Gods II, for example, filled up 4 notebooks (70 pages each, both sides) or 560 pages of handwritten text. In the morning (usually around 3:00 AM) I get my coffee, put on Charlie Chan with my headphones and sit down to write. Staying with the Night Gods as an example... each chapter has a scenario, or plotline. I have no idea what it will be when I sit down to write.
The last chapter, Kyle, took place in the US and when I began to write it I had no idea where it would go. So, here's what I do... I pick up my pen and write a sentence or two (they don't have to be good- you can change them later) for direction... Just an inkling of an idea. Then I put down my notebook and have some coffee and watch the adventures of Charlie, et.al.. Pretty soon, something else will occur to me and I write it down too- remember, these are ideas, not a finished product- a running outline, if you will. Before I know it, I'm back into the flow. The "Magic Pen" takes over and the story begins to write itself. Now I'm not claiming to be any great writer, mind you- but I have found something that works.
I've tried to write using a computer and that just doesn't seem to work for me. For nonfiction, it's ok- but for fiction, especially dialogue, it just doesn't work for me. I've tried it and the dialogue comes out wooden and stiff sounding- like an academic study rather than a conversation. One story (my first fiction on Steemit) was so bad, I scrapped it after a few chapters. When I type the chapters in, I expand on them and do my edit. Having the storyline written down first to work from- as crude as it may be- just seems to work best.
I hope this has been useful. Like I said, I'm certainly no William Faulkner or Stephen King, but I love to write. I know that every writer is different and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Admittedly, my way is a lot more work, not to mention time consuming- but look at my output.
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