writing time

Encouragement Pages-09/13/2019: Inside The Story Machine

*Note: This concept will be discussed on The Writers’ Block podcast on 9/26. This podcast can be found wherever you get your podcasts, see the end of the post to get all info!

I had an English professor, Dr. Karen Kalenevitch, who gave us a trick to combat the hell that is writers’ block. She told us about something she called the story machine.

Now, what is this you ask? I’ll tell you.

You take an empty bag and write random phrases, places, date or names on it and throw them in the bag. You shake it up, and pull out 3 slips of paper. From those pieces of paper, you can construct a story. Perhaps from there, a free write. From there, a draft. From that draft, a revision. From revisions, to stories.

Try it.

You may never know what you come up with.

With Love & Ink,

JBHarris

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Encouragement Pages-09/09/2019: Chase The Story

I want you to know that you have so many stories. You have so many stories on the inside of you. I want you to be brave enough to look for them. This week, during the second week of Back To Writing Month, I want you to find what is brewing in your mind and go after it.

I want you to seek it out.

Don’t shy from it.

Get at the story. Chase it. Don’t let it get away this time.

With Love & Ink,

JBHarris

Encouragement Pages-08/26/2019

Get to work!

Writing is more than words on a page! It is more than buying pens and notebooks! Writing involves work, dear ones! Part of that is research. Which means what? Say it all together: READ!

Most writers start of as readers, or in some way fascinated by language. Reading, feeding your curiosity to the point of frenzy, is the best way to keep your mind sharp. To expand your imagination’s boundaries.

The work of writing will always involve reading.

In Love & Ink,

JBHarris

Encouragement Pages: 5/29/19-Honor The Talent

I am fond of this phrase:

LET THE PEOPLE IN YOUR HEAD OUT!

This means don’t shut the story up! Nothing should get in the way of the story! Nothing! Writing involves the relentless pursuit of story to its expected (or unexpected) end.

What is the story saying or trying to say?

Don’t ignore it.

CARRIE almost didn’t get published until Tabitha King fished it out of the trash and told her overworked husband, Stephen, it was good.

Honor your talent. The world still wants to hear what you have to say.

In Love & Ink,

IBHarris

Encouragement Pages: 5/20/19-Stuck In The Middle

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Don’t panic!

Everyone gets stuck every now and then! 

With any WIP, you may get to a point when it’s not necessarily a block, but a sticking point. I call this being stuck in the middle.

This happens when you get to a point in your work when you don’t know what will/should happen next. Again, it isn’t a block–it is portion of story/project where you are unsure where to go next. 

A block is a stoppage of all creativity, not the uncertainty of where to go.

The best thing to so when you get stuck is to be unstuck. You become unstuck by walking away from the work. Stephen King said that ‘the story will reveal itself.’ This means you have to be patient. You have to be perceptive to inspiration, and any creative energy. 

Like anything stuck, you have to be patient. And you have to have a strategy.

 

In Love & Ink,

JBHarris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Encouragement Pages: 5/17/19-The Beginning

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Writing is alot like riding a bike, and skinning your knee.

After skinning the this same knee, you still have a desire to ride your bike. But you also don’t wanna fall again. So, what do you do? Heal up and get right back on it.

There is not easy way to start a WIP (Work In Progress). It’s not easy to pick it up after you get stuck! But time never works in a writer’s favor with WIPs. Never. It only gets harder to pick up. It gets harder to get back in the groove of it.

Waiting makes it harder to even want to work at it! Be brave dear ones!

Be brave! Pick it up.

In Love & Ink,

JBHarris

MAY ANNOUNCEMENTS

The idea of a writing space has been on my mind for the better part of this month. So, in that vein, I’m going to give my take on the importance of having a writing space for May.

I’m sure you all will have thoughts on this. I look forward to tips and comments about how you organize your writing space.

****NEW PROJECT*****

This project will begin in June. These takes will be exclusive to the site, with links to the coming to YouTube. These takes will be 10 minutes, with topics related to writing. I’ll keep you posted.

We are in the final stages of completing the podcast! We will begin airing the podcast twice monthly, with the goal of broadcasting every week!

If you are interested in being a sponsor, please email circlethewritersblock@gmail.com. The lovely Clarissa Dyson will be happy to get back to you.

Great things are coming!

Follow the space!