{"id":2536,"date":"2022-09-01T10:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2022-09-01T10:00:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T10:00:51","slug":"writers-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/?p=2536","title":{"rendered":"Writers\u2019 Block"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Writer’s block by Leonid Pasternak <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Open any writers\u2019 magazine and somewhere in its pages there\u2019ll be a reference to writer\u2019s block. Writers frequently refer to it in their blogs and at every writers\u2019 conference, even if there is no specific related subject on the programme, you\u2019ll hear writers\u2019 block in one of its many forms discussed over meals or coffee. The internet is teeming with articles and videos on how to overcome the dreaded syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some writers deny that it exists at all. I suppose it depends on how you define writers\u2019 block. Put simply, to quote Sean Glatch, \u201cit\u2019s a desire to write, and an inability to do so.\u201d It can manifest itself in so many ways \u2013 lack of motivation \u2013 lack of creativity \u2013 lack of inspiration \u2013 out of ideas on how to carry on \u2013 self-doubt. It\u2019s something even the great writers have faced at some point including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Herman Melville, Harper Lee, Scott Fitsgerald and Stephen King. I\u2019m obviously in good company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In several of my blog posts this year, I have bemoaned the fact that my life has been so busy that I have not had time to write. Up to a point that is true, but we all know that writers have to MAKE time to write. I seem to have lost that urgency to put pen to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t have an idea for this year\u2019s book \u2013 another Fiona Mason mystery set in Paris and the surrounding area. I had my victim, several suspects and had committed several scenes to paper and composed a great many more in my head. The trouble was I just couldn\u2019t whip up the enthusiasm to get on with it. I lacked the spark \u2013 that compulsion \u2013 to commit and not let myself get distracted by other things. Sometimes a series can run out of steam. I\u2019m not saying there will never be another Fiona Mason. At the very least, I need to tie up a few ends. But that is for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I came back from my Greenland cruise with ideas for a completely new series. It wasn\u2019t so much the places we visited but the cruise setting that appealed to me. I\u2019m not a plotter, but I do have the set up and the main characters clearly in my head plus the first chapter and the discovery of the body written. All I need now is the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are off on holiday in October which I intend to use as a research trip for the next Harry and Aunt Jessica adventure. Plus, I have two cruises lined up for early next year that I will need to prepare for, but I\u2019m keeping my fingers crossed. Anything can happen as I know from past experience. Just over a year ago, I began a completely new series set in the 1960s. I had a great set up plus a set of characters and even wrote the first few chapters. But again, the fire began to fade.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m hoping that telling everyone about my plans will force me to get on with it if only to save face. Even during my frenetic periods getting ready for a cruise, I’m determined to write something every week if only to fan the flames so to speak. Keep your fingers crossed for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open any writers\u2019 magazine and somewhere in its pages there\u2019ll be a reference to writer\u2019s block. Writers frequently refer to it in their blogs and at every writers\u2019 conference, even if there is no specific related subject on the programme, you\u2019ll hear writers\u2019 block in one of its many forms discussed over meals or coffee. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general-interest","category-writing","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2543,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions\/2543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.judithcranswick.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}