Your Holiday Excuse

You won't find your holiday excuse here. Shame on you if you thought to use one.

Don't waste these sensory filled days. If your ms lacks "setting", what better time to remind yourself of the poetry of SMELLS, heat and cold, lighting, TASTE, sounds that trip memory...

Set yourself down in the middle of your lackluster scene. You know the one. It's the scene you hate to work on because it doesn't excite you. If it 's relevant, necessary, then enhance the setting with the visceral material around you today. It doesn't need to be a holiday scene for the smell of cinnamon to line the roof of your character's mouth, etc. Your character's goosebumps tickling the backs of her arms can be from the AC and not from returning to an icy house after a long day of holiday shopping. You get the idea.

Don't forget to give yourself the gift of writing time.
The emotionally charged atmosphere of the holidays is ripe for the pillaging.
Go forth. Pillage.

Happy Writing Holidays,
Ainsley

writersblockbuster

Dear Writer,

So here you are. Stuck in traffic. All those places to go in your mind, and in your story, and you can't move. No problem.
Say it. "No problem."
If the vehicle is blocked in on all sides, you always have an option. You can walk.

So, let's walk.

The tip for today is to take a step back from technology and rely on yourself.
Get a pen. Find a notepad. No, it's alright, you can type it all up later. People used to walk this way all the time. Some still do. Silly, I know.

So, we're walking...we're walking...NO! Do not take this opportunity to run to the nearest office supply for the perfect notepad! Yes, you may take a moment to find a decent pen. And we're walking...we're walking...What was it you were supposed to write about? Oh, yeah.

Apply the messy end of the pen to the paper and rub. It's alright if it's garbage for a paragraph or two. Remember, even the greatest athletes warm up. That's right. You remember, now.

You're good.