Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? If you are, you're around a week into your novel, and your inspiration is flagging.
The wall is the point at which you think you're writing the wrong novel.
Amazingly, the wall can seem like fresh inspiration.
ALL novels hit the wall sooner or later. A "better idea" isn't. You'll hit the wall with that idea too.
Here are some tips to give your inspiration a swift kick up the derriere, so that you can complete your novel (whether it's NaNoWriMo or not) in style.
Thank the voice, and make a note of the idea it brought you. Tell it that you'll work on its "idea" next, after you complete this novel.
Now, ask the voice, because it's the part of your creative self which specializes in ideas, for fresh ideas for wonderful scenes for this novel. Tell the voice that the scenes can be for the setup, the middle portion, or the final quarter of your novel. You don't care.
Ideas for new scenes will come to you.
Add the ideas where they fit. If you're not sure, put the ideas into a "unplaced scenes" folder. Scrivener, if you're using the app, makes creating folders easy.
You can often break through the wall by changing the way you write.
When you "sketch write" you write your scenes in all dialogue, or jot notes for them. Tell yourself you're just playing around, you're not really writing anything at all.
Oddly enough, when you tell yourself that you're not writing, you're playing, your resistance dissolves. It's a trick, and it works.
The wall gifts you with clarity on all the holes in your plot, as well as insights into problems with your characters.
Don't panic. Although the voice can be brutal, it's helpful too, as long as you don't dissolve into a puddle of tears and despair.
Since the voice tends to toss ideas at you, ask for an idea for a subplot.
Subplots are fun to write. They also make your novel richer.
… whatever your genre and main plot, a subplot can add a needed change of pace. Shakespeare often added humorous scenes to his tragedies. When there's too much gloom and doom, you need a contrast so that readers appreciate the next horror scene.
If you refuse to stop writing when you hit the wall, you'll discover that you'll tap into fresh inspiration and will power through your novel.
Use the above tips to regain your enthusiasm.
When you're writing fiction, how much dialogue do you need? a student in a recent class asked.
Dialogue happens in scenes, so pacing might be your first consideration. Scenes heavy in dialogue read quickly, so you might avoid writing three or more chatty scenes in a row.
A psychological thriller might have less dialogue than a romance novel, or a mystery, for example, because the psychological thriller is concerned with characters' state of mind: their thoughts.
Most importantly however, think about your readers' entertainment.
Entertainment trumps all other considerations.
Scene setting: is it clear who the viewpoint character is, and why he's there?
I like writing dialogue, so if a scene's flagging, I'll kick it along by adding dialogue, or spicing up the dialogue — anything to add entertainment value.
How much dialogue? is always a matter of style. You're the boss; it's your style for that novel.
The first time I read Robert B. Parker's Western novel Appaloosa, I was struck by the amount of dialogue: that's Robert B. Parker's style.
As we've said, novels with lots of dialogue read more quickly than novels with extensive narrative. Done well, these novels are page-turners. Unfortunately, if the dialogue's done badly, readers won't finish the novel.
Let's look at some tips to help you to write better dialogue.
When I write scenes, I write the first sentence, and the last sentence of the scene. I also write down what effect I want from the scene.
When you write "business" — the action part of the scene, description and other narrative — with the dialogue, your dialogue can fade into the background. You pay less attention to it.
Try writing your dialogue first: your readers will pay more attention to it than to anything else in the scene, so you should too.
Basically, avoid repetition. Nuke repetitions when you find them.
If you've spent three paragraphs describing the sun setting when you open the scene, avoid the sunset as a topic in your dialogue.
Time management is challenging for writers because you can't manage your time, per se. Everyone has the same 24 hours. You can only manage yourself.
Let's say that you want to become a successful indie author — but you know that writing books takes time. Depressed yet? That's OK, because not only do most people have more time than they imagine, they can achieve more, no matter how limited their time.
However, you need to make a decision.
It's true, sadly. Even full-time writers moan that they have "no time." Your life will eat your writing time if you allow it.
You have a decision to make: how badly do you want to write? If writing is important to you, your writing comes first. Schedule your writing time, then rejig everything else to fit.
Let's look at our time management tips for authors who are convinced that they have no time.
Here's the thing. Myths about writing abound. Many are completely incorrect; others are only partially incorrect. Few are true — and even the myths which are true are only true for some authors.
Which myths are holding you back? You may not know, because a myth can be completely unconscious, and nevertheless control your writing.
There are as many myths as there are writers.
My point: you believe things which are untrue for you, and you're unconscious of your harmful beliefs.
Wait for ideas to come to you. You'll be shocked at the notions you have which cripple your ability to achieve your writing goals.
Of course, many of your personal myths involve notions about what YOU need to write: "an hour of uninterrupted time", etc.
Dictation is faster than writing, especially once you get used to it. In the beginning, you'll feel uncomfortable — persist.
Modern computers include voice recognition software. Read the Help files for your machine, and start talking.
Nuance produces Dragon voice recognition software; it's worth the expense if you're making money from your words.
I gave you some tips on how to make dictation work for you here.
Everything you want, or don't want, is a preference.
If you can become consciously aware of your preferences, and realize that they're only preferences, you'll write more, no matter how little time you have.
Let's look at some common preferences.
Perhaps you wish that your partner and children would do more of the household chores. That's a preference. Tell them that your preferences have changed, and that you've drawn up a list of chores for each of them so that you have more time to write.