Week 12 Storylab: Advice to Writers
"If You Get Stuck" by Hilary Mantel
If you get stuck while writing, get up and walk away from it. Do anything you like, but don't interact with other people, otherwise you'll have their words and not your own to come back with.
I think this is curious advice. Many writers work on books, but they don't just lock themselves away from the world. They often stop their book or writing, walk away to handle other parts of their lives, and then come back to their writing again. You often hear of writers locking themselves away while writing, but I don't think it means that they literally do that and never speak to anyone else until they're finished. Maybe some do, but I know several writers and they have normal lives to lead while writing.
The advice is pretty good though because often when I find myself stuck on homework or a project of some sort, whether it be computer coding, writing, accounting, etc. it really does often help to get up and walk away. Coding is something that you get so lost in the details of that if you get stuck, it is very often a simple error. But your mind and eyes are so stuck in what you're doing, you can't find the error. If you'll get up and walk away from it for a while, whether minutes or hours, you can come back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind and often find it very easily. I do find the same thing to happen with writing as well. If I'm stuck on an idea, it does help to walk away for a bit and then come back to it later. I've never had to avoid people though because sometimes if you're talking out loud to yourself or another person, it will jog your memory until you know what you wanted to say again.
If you get stuck while writing, get up and walk away from it. Do anything you like, but don't interact with other people, otherwise you'll have their words and not your own to come back with.
I think this is curious advice. Many writers work on books, but they don't just lock themselves away from the world. They often stop their book or writing, walk away to handle other parts of their lives, and then come back to their writing again. You often hear of writers locking themselves away while writing, but I don't think it means that they literally do that and never speak to anyone else until they're finished. Maybe some do, but I know several writers and they have normal lives to lead while writing.
The advice is pretty good though because often when I find myself stuck on homework or a project of some sort, whether it be computer coding, writing, accounting, etc. it really does often help to get up and walk away. Coding is something that you get so lost in the details of that if you get stuck, it is very often a simple error. But your mind and eyes are so stuck in what you're doing, you can't find the error. If you'll get up and walk away from it for a while, whether minutes or hours, you can come back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind and often find it very easily. I do find the same thing to happen with writing as well. If I'm stuck on an idea, it does help to walk away for a bit and then come back to it later. I've never had to avoid people though because sometimes if you're talking out loud to yourself or another person, it will jog your memory until you know what you wanted to say again.
(Why we need creative writing. Because I find this SO accurate for myself! More for reading than writing, but it is the same idea for me)
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