Hi, everyone. Dave’s post earlier in the week got me thinking about breaking the ice on your current work-in-progress. As a rule I tend to be pretty disciplined, and most writers are dedicated above and beyond the call of duty. But anyone can get burnt out.
So. Icebreakers. Techniques for overcoming a reluctance to sit down at the computer and write.
I think all these techniques relate to the key problem of being crushed under the weight of too great a goal.
You start off with small goals and as you cruise along – when the words of flowing – two hours becomes four hours, becomes six hours. When you are getting stronger it’s easier to keep adding weight. Yet sooner or later, those muscles give out: through illness, fatigue, overwork, whatever.
Pretty soon if you don’t meet that 4000k, or 6000k daily goal it seems like you are failing.
So as basic as it is (and I can probably hear people gritting their teeth), it’s a case of breaking down the big lump into small lumps. Hopefully nice little tasty, sweet lumps that keep you coming back to the nectar-fountain of creativity.
Dave’s icebreaker was to write 200 words. The beauty of less intimidating goals like this is that it is just enough to break through the creative deadlock. Nine times out of ten you will find that when the word target comes along you will be in the middle of a key scene, or a particular paragraph and want to continue to finish things off. Before you know it you’ve written 500 words, or even a thousand without breaking a sweat. The beauty of this is that the whole icebreaker is set up for you to over perform – and you cannot help but feel good about that.
The second key aspect of Dave’s icebreaker target was that he did it first. This might have been lost in the wordage, but I think it’s worth stressing. Writing is infinitely easier to break the ice on if it’s done as the very first activity in the day. Procrastination is a force that gathers in strength the more it is fed. The earlier in your day you can break through the hesitations and mental deadlock and restore the creative flow the better. It is then so much easier to come back to your work for another go later.
I personally tend to use time blocks rather than word targets. For me it’s 20 minutes. Since I usually write in 2hr blocks, this really seems like a walk in the park. Taking away the aspect of a word limit also frees me up to think about potential plot problems. It really works. The best thing about it is that when I take the pressure away like that I start to enjoy writing again.
What are your favourite icebreakers?
Cross-posted at chrismcmahons blog.
Mad Genius Club 
13 responses to “Icebreakers”
As I write, I skip a lot of scenes. I’ll put in
/// sword fight. So-and-so wounded. Desperate villian flees.
for filler, and so I can find it again. Then, when I can’t think of anything to write, I just search for the /// and start writing the sword fight. Just a few paragraphs, or a bit longer if they start talking during the fight. Or whatever the scene was that i didn’t feel like writing just then.
The downside is that I can’t just keep writing from that point. The rest is already written. But usually it gets me back into that story so I can jump to the end and go from there.
That’s a really useful technique. Thanks.
Ah nice one! I’m so sequential when I write I never would have thought of that.
My nightmare is losing one of them, and not finding until I double checking how everything looks on my Kindle.
My goal is one hour, or ninety minutes if I’m doing non-fiction with footnotes. I may skip scenes, I may pull something out of my “odds and sods” file, I may go through my master story list (darn you, continuity requirements!) and see if there are bits I need to fill in, but one hour of work. And it does not have to be the same thing for an hour, if an idea whaps me from behind and shrieks “hey, you at the keyboard! Write me!”
Cool. It’s amazing what can happen once you break the ice.
Freedom (for the Mac).
Sit down at computer. Wake it up. Take a few moments – literally just a few – so that the mail will download from the server, but don’t look at it yet.
Start up Freedom – for 120 min if possible, less if I have to leave the house.
This blocks Internet access (my biggest timewaster).
Now, go check the email – if there is ANYTHING so important that it can’t wait until I have MY time and get MY writing started, feel free to Restart the computer (which defeats Freedom), and take care of it. BUT, because it will consume several minutes to close everything down and Restart, I find myself ONLY using it for true emergencies – which rarely happen and usually come in by phone (exception was the email from the township telling me I had two weeks to pay the taxes or they were putting my house up for sale – stupid Hurricane Sandy somehow ate the check my bank sent them – confirmed).
ANYTHING else can wait. Really. The world will not end.
So now that I have my caffeine (Diet Coke), the only thing available is to do some work – after all, I made that commitment by blocking the internet, didn’t I? – and since random typings that may lead to a blog post or noting things down for the WIP or almost anything that gets my mind and fingers into typing will do, it doesn’t take long before I’m happily producing SOMETHING – since writing is truly what I want to do with my time. It can even be an exploration of why I’m finding it hard to get started, just as long as it occurs on the screen in front of me, in the form of typed words.
First thing in the morning, brief scan of email in case of emergencies, brief scan of headlines ditto, then nothing but work on WIP before commuting. Every day. Sometimes at night. Longer on weekends. My current goal is 8000 wds/week and I keep blowing past it.
I have a different problem. I’m a newbie (book 1 out 2 months ago, book 2 out in January coming). I can’t STOP writing. I’ve got a 9-5 job (and then some) and other work-like responsibilities, and the writing has taken over and is interfering with everything else. I’m enjoying myself way too much, it’s downright addictive.
My first drafts are near-final (write, then edit), so while the word count isn’t that high (700/hr) it accumulates quickly without a lot of deep revision needed. The last thing I want to do is disrespect the muse (I had no idea it would be so much fun), but seriously, does this tone down to something more civilized so I don’t get fired? Cuz I doubt I can write quickly enough to generate a compensatory income in time.
Hey, Karen. I think that’s a nice problem to have! Console yourself by thinking about us poor sods. Getting started is usually like pulling teeth for me & about 6 hrs a day is pretty much my limit for first drafting – longer for rewriting.
Congrats on the publications!
Eventually the pressure drops behind the burst dam of creativity, or something like that. My problem started when I publicly disrespected the Muse. Two years, might have been three, before she calmed down and got the spurs out of my flanks. Three finished novels plus about ten first drafts and a scatter of shorts. It was scary.
I’m even more of a beginner than you are. 🙂 First short published last January and first in print novella in an anthology coming out July 2013.
The balance of mental energies between the day job and dream career is a challenge for me. If you’ve figured it out, I’d love to know how.
I think that mental tussle is par for course I’m afraid:)
Sounds like a good approach. I find I can switch off from the internet and emails very easily. I kind of have the reverse problem – I have to force myself to go out and connect. Social media is a challenge:)