Dealing With Writer's Block #HawaiiFictionWriters

Members of Hawaii Fiction Writers meet at Aina Haina Library on the first Saturday of each month with discussions arranged and led by author Michael Little. The latest meeting focused on the topic of writer's block. More than a few attending writers have suffered this affliction - regardless of age or depth of experience. Each shared their means of dealing with the phenomenon and most confessed that they have suffered through dry spells where the words would not surface.

However, everyone agreed with one member's contribution of

author Jodi Picoult's saying:

"You can edit a poorly written page; but you can't edit a blank page."

The bottom line is that putting thoughts to paper automatically labels you a writer, the author of your thoughts. Whether you choose to share your efforts with others, through printed publication or other means, has no bearing on your status as a writer. Following Picoult's mantra, putting thoughts and words on paper to edit later, is excellent advice for any author who suffers from writer's block. More on the subject can be read here at Melissa Donovan's blog site:

You Can't Edit a Blank Page | Writing Forward

Stephen King says authors should read for four hours each day and write for four hours each day. Others say you cannot have good output without good input. Researching a topic and reading the work of other authors often alleviates writer's block by shifting the anxiety of "needing to produce" to a more relaxed atmosphere of entertainment and gathering new information. 

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the Writer's block

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J is for JUSTIFIABLY EQUAL TO HOLMES?

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at
illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write.
Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.



J is for JUSTIFIABLY EQUAL TO HOLMES?

 

Could my title for today's post be more cryptic? (I'll explain below.) Matching posts to alphabet letters sometime feels like trying to strike a Kama Sutra pose, lots of angling.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the 33rd book on my list of 71 books to read by October, 2016. Setting goals is another of those fun activities that writers enjoy.

 

During the writing process, my goal's outline looks something like this:

1. Write 2k words per day
2. Do not edit while writing
3. When falling short on words, reset goal to catch up tomorrow 

My latest reading goal, on the other hand, is much more fun. By setting the goal  to read 71 books in 12 months, I've given myself permission to spend a lot of time reading for enjoyment. The second part of this goal, to "write a review" for each book, helps me to keep writing without running out of ideas.

You won't experience writer's block if you have

several different writing projects in the works.

 

When you're at a loss for words with the novel, skip over to the book review project or the next blog post; or write a poem.

The title of this post refers to Mary Russell, a character in The Beekeeper's Apprentice. The author created Russell with the brain power and deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes. I believe the novel proves that Russell is justifiably equal to Holmes. Have you read the book? If so, would you more likely give a negative or an affirmative answer to the "J" question?

 

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King

(my review for Goodreads)

Laurie R. King is scheduled to be Toastmaster at the 2017 Left Coast Crime Conference: Honolulu Havoc. During a discussion about the conference and the author, a library assistant at Makiki Community Library in Honolulu recommended The Beekeeper’s Apprentice to me. I was hooked by the “Editor’s Preface” in which King sets an inviting stage. 

The Preface gives the reader an opportunity to transition from the preconceived idea of reading the author’s story to the delightful idea of immersing ones’ self in an early 20^th century memoir. I was eager to suspend disbelief and enjoy the tale as experienced by narrator and co-protagonist, Mary Russell, during her formative years. That those formative years were spent under the tutelage of none other than the inimitable Mr. Sherlock Holmes only emphasizes the sheer pleasure presented to the reader. 

The opening sentence of the synopsis explains the book’s title:

“In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees

when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs.” 

 

The book’s contents are labeled Books One, Two, Three, and Four. The stories cover several years of Mary’s early life and describe her interaction with Mr. Holmes. They collaborate on several cases, including a through-line investigation, after he discovers and is impressed with the intellect of the fifteen-year-old “gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned girl.” 

The feistiness of this young lady, along with her eccentric thoughts, mode of dress, and sympathetic history, endeared Mary Russell to me from the first chapter. The author’s ability to incite reaction from the reader with succinct emotional description and colorful passages had me laughing, frowning, and cringing in turns.

 

In my opinion, reading such a well-written book as The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is a better learning experience for a writer than participating in a creative writing course. And more fun!

 

Writer's Block and Interviews from a Goodfella's Angle

My “G” for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge was Gangsters and Goodfellas. The opening line stated: “They proudly answered to the name of mobster, hoodlum, or wiseguy.”

The ‘goodfella’ proudest to carry the name was Henry Hill. He took the distinction to unusual heights and didn’t end up in prison for his many illegal dealings. Instead, he spent years in (and out of) federal witness protection program, the award for helping to incarcerate his fellow goodfellas.

A fun question I ask other authors is: If Paris is not an option, then where would you most like to spend your time writing and why? In the case of Henry Hill, he exchanged thirty years with the Luchese mafia family in his native New York for the protection program. This gave him the opportunity to write in Topanga, California; Seattle, Washington; Cincinnati, Ohio; Omaha, Nebraska; Butte, Montana; and Independence, Kentucky. While I would never choose Omaha as an ideal location for writing, Topanga and Butte have an exotic ring.

Mr. Hill avoided a long prison sentence after his arrest on drug-trafficking charges. Apparently, the stress of possibly getting “wacked” by his associates didn’t give him writer’s block, though. He wrote several books, including one that offers a tour of notorious mobster haunts in New York. In his cookbook, he cites the difficulty of finding authentic Sicilian ingredients in the aforementioned locations.

There was the occasional distraction to Mr. Hill’s new writing career, to which other authors might (okay, probably not) relate, such as being expelled from the witness protection program for misbehavior such as drug possession.

His numerous interviews were likely beneficial to the marketing of his books. He said he never killed anybody but knew, literally, where many of the bodies were buried. While emulation is encouraged for new authors, in this case, paraphrasing is recommended.

Like many writers, Mr. Hill first tried his hand at other occupations. In his case, it was most notably running numbers, hijacking trucks, and dealing cocaine. In the years between 1980 and his death in June, 2012, a hair-trigger temper and drug usage kept him from a normal life. He did, however, enjoy one simple pleasure. Also like many other writers, he never missed an episode of The Sopranos.