Ten Other Ways to Write When Sitting at the Keyboard Doesn't Work

 

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 Whether it's writer's block, outside circumstances demanding your time, lack of sleep/energy, depression or anxiety crushing your creativity, or you just don't feel like writing, you can still write. Like with anything, doing something is better than doing nothing. And it piles up to gains in the long run.

1. You can brainstorm anywhere. Whether cleaning house, running errands, taking a break at work or school, even while staring up at a darkened ceiling at night when you can't get to sleep - you can be putting together the pieces of a story puzzle in your head. Perhaps just diving in deeper to a theme you want to explore, or a character's motivations or backstory. Maybe its envisioning a setting, or a play-by-play of an action sequence. Brainstorming's a vital step to writing, and you have to take time to do it anyway, so why not utilize those moments and hours when you can't sit in front of a keyboard to get this vital process done?

2. Another task is evaluation. Stepping back from a manuscript - especially if it's already written and you're in the revising phases - to see how tight or accurate or well-paced the story is. How is it doing as far as size? Too bloated? Too slim? Too pedantic? Too rushed? Are you hitting the right beats where they're supposed to be? Do you get an overall satisfied vibe from the draft? Make a list of what is going well and what needs work.

3. Along with #2's suggestion, would be outline tweaking, and synopsis, query, and blurb writing. Again, stepping back from the story, can you summarize it in a nutshell? Is it following your initial vision? Usually not, so how has it evolved? Is this good or bad? Stepping back can help you avoid wasted hours of writing by making a course correction.

4. Visuals. Whether you're an artist or not, doodling can help your creative juices. Draw a map (or mark a map if the setting's a real place), draw a character, or a setting. Design a vehicle. Make a schematic for a machine, or whip up a treasure map. Make a stick-figure storyboard and play with key dialogue and action. Decorate your writing space with objects that will help keep you in the zone for what/where your story is about.

5. One of my favorites is to create a first and last lines list for chapters. Do they hook the reader? Do they leave the reader with enough of a cliffhanger so they'll keep reading? It also helps you analyze where your chapter or section breaks are, and how you might play around with those breaks for a better impact.

6. Many books don't use chapter titles, so for fun write up a list of what each chapter would be called if they did. Then use it when you do face that keyboard to keep on track - and make sure you fit the spirit of the title.

7. Get hands on. If a character is supposed to be a baker, hone your own baking skills. If a firefighter, talk to actual firefighters and visit your local firehouse. Through experience we are able to write better, giving a validity to what we write. If possible, visit a place you put in your story and take notes and/or pictures of everything you experience. Act out a scene, especially an action sequence (I'm not advocating jumping off high buildings or trying to fly, mind you! Don't do anything stupid.), to make sure what you've written or are going to write is believable. 

8. Read a scene, chapter, or your entire story out loud. You'd be surprised at how many things stick out from this. It might be poor dialogue or sentence phrasing, to noticeable gaps, or lengthy descriptive passages you don't need. Even made-up names spoken out loud can be either hilarious, suggestive of something you don't intend, or too close to a well-known person's name to work well with what you want to do. 

9. Good old research is another side-writing staple. Similar to #7, this type of research is more sedentary: reading books or online articles,or sitting down to interview someone. If you're writing about interstellar travel, find out what others have done or discovered about it. Want to knock off a victim in a murder mystery? -  maybe you need to learn more about poisons. Even small details like what people wore in the 1940's, to when toothpaste was invented might make a difference in how authentic your story sounds.

10. Compose or work on your "Writing Bible." Get your notes organized and compiled. Do you have your ducks in a row regarding where your characters are from scene to scene and what they are doing? Do you know their backstories, and what parts of these will need to be revealed and when? Do you have lists of information, like foreign phrases (real or made up) you need to keep handy? Or a list of character names, descriptions, and occupations? 

You don't have to do all of these, but chances are you will need to do at least one in your writing journey. Don't beat yourself up if a lack of time, energy, or drive is keeping that novel from completion. Work around it by doing side-writing. You'll still be moving forward, keeping your story alive. Just watch that side-writing isn't all that you ever do. Many a tale has failed to be born because it never developed past the side-writing stage.

Question for you: Do you have another suggestion for side-writing? Or a further suggestion on one of the ten I've listed? Please share it in the comments.