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Shadow in the Sea

Readers will return to Windwaithe Island once again. When sixteen-year-old Sadelyn Hanson washes up on the shores of Windwaithe Island, her beauty and the strange marks on her wrist make superstitious locals suspect she is a mermaid. Feigning amnesia, Sade hides a far worse secret: she was sailing to her own murder trial when she was thrown overboard by the real killer, the cunning and cruel Captain Westwood.

Sade's quiet effort to rebuild her life on the island is threatened when she meets an actual young merman. Unable to speak his language, Sade still longs for the warm companionship he offers, despite the locals' dire legends about merfolk and their dark magic. But her confused feelings for the impossible boy become the least of her problems when Captain Westwood's ship docks at Windwaithe. With nowhere to escape, Sade must trust in the one person who doesn't fear the merfolk. A woman who had dealings with them herself—years ago

Friday, October 9, 2009

Writer's Block

I've been struggling with a certain scene in one of the books I'm currently working on, for quite some time now. It got so bad I had to skip the whole chapter and move on so it wouldn't stop the flow of the rest of the book. So a few nights ago it suddenly came to me, like a light from above, exactly what I had to do to make the chapter work. With some major reworking of the scene, I was soon off and running again. There is nothing like overcoming writer's block to make your whole life seem just a little brighter. I've never been able to understand why ideas can flow so easily one week, and the next, my mind is a veritable creative drought. Thankfully, the rains always seem to come eventually if I just let the scene simmer on the back burner long enough. What makes this miraculous transformation happen? I have no clue. Is it karma? Those vitamin supplements I've been taking? Or does God finally take pity on me and give me a little push in the right direction? Possibly a combination of all of the above.

I recently read an article about writer's block. They asked a bunch of writer's to list the things they do to get over their blocks. Eating hoards of chocolate, dancing around the living room, and taking long naps were all methods listed. For me, when writer's block strikes and I start to feel myself panicking, I skip the whole scene and start writing at some other point in the book that sounds more exciting to me. Or I temporarily jump to another story completely. It is not uncommon for me to be working on two or three stories simultaneously at any given time. My manuscripts in progress often resemble streets ridden with potholes. (Or should I say--plot holes.) Whole chapters can be missing in action for months (or in extreme cases, years) on end. This is one of the reasons I won't let people read my manuscripts until they are completely finished.

So how about you writer's out there in Blogland? When writer's block strikes, what do you do? I'd love to know.

4 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

Hummmm movies and music help me. 'Cause for a moment I get to be somewhere else.

Ki-o-TEE said...

I hate it when writer's block hits. :P I've been having that problem with the current story I'm working on. So what I'll do usually is either jump to another part, like you were saying, and just start writing what I know will happen, or put it aside and work on a short story. I also find that when I listen to music, watch a good movie or tv show, or read a book, my mind will be loosened up a little and I can think better for what I want my story to entail.

I actually found this quote while going through some writing magazines last week: "When I am stuck...I jump ahead in the story and write a scene I know will take place." --Michael A. Banks from 'Break through writer's block.' Some stories I'm able to write straight through, and some I write jumping around a bunch. I find I have to know the end of the story to make the rest work, so also when I'm stuck, I'll work on the ending if I haven't all ready, or at least map out how it's going to be.

Good luck, hope that writer's block will leave you be!

Raspberry said...

That's exactly what happens to me. I have multiple plots going at once - but am currently writing 4. Why? Because I get stuck. :) In plot holes. :)
I find telling the stories out loud helps. Particularly to an 18 month old, because they just jabber back and play with blocks, and so they're not really listening. :)

Jordan Perryman said...

Hi, I wasnt sure how to contact you but I would really like to review your novel, Forbidden Sea, on my blog. My e-mail is jmoose09@gmail.com. I look forward to hear from you.

Thanks
Jordan


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