I’ve fallen victim to the blinking cursor on the blank page. Not for my blog, but for ACT OF BETRAYAL, Book 3 Second Chances Series! I gotta tell you, this doesn’t happen often to me. I’ve been blessed to have little trouble finding the words.
Now I know those of you reading this who know me personally, are laughing your heads off because you know I’m seldom short of words or the willingness to share them.
But this story is eating my lunch. I’ve got 6000 words, and I don’t know where to take the story next. I can’t get a handle on it.
So I’m following the advice I’ve read from other writers. Write something! Even if it’s garbage. You can fix garbage, but you can’t fix the blank page.
I’m making a presentation on Nov. 21 to the Creative Writing Department of the Fort Worth Woman’s Club.
This is the group my mother was a member of, so I was thrilled when they asked me to return this November after last year’s presentation. So Monday, when I hit the blank page for ACT OF BETRAYAL, I cranked out the bulk of the presentation. I had no troubles finding the words.
Then I ate an early lunch. Like really early 10:30! Nervous eating entirely, but not terribly unhealthy.
On November 1, I began a test to see if I could go the month without eating any Gluten. My older daughter thinks that is possibly the problem with all the aches and pains in my joints. I can do anything for a month. And now-a-days there are tons of gluten free items you can eat. My daughter told me about a bread that’s really yummy. Yes, I have to toast it, but that’s no problem. So my snack/lunch consisted of celery with pimento cheese, blue corn tortillas with salsa and melted mixed cheese, and a piece of the GF toast with butter and Stonewall Kitchen’s Blueberry Jam from Maine. Major scrumptious.
http://www.stonewallkitchen.com/?gclid=CL-QstyKnNACFYRGXgodBPoGgQ
The only real problem with the GF thing will be Thanksgiving Dinner. I make the dressing and pumpkin pies using my mother’s recipe. For several years now I’ve put extra pumpkin in a baking dish with no crust for my daughter. This year I may have to attempt a GF crust. Yikes! Not sure I can pull that off. I’m used to buying ready-made crusts. We’ll just have to see.
But you see, I have no problem coming up with words for this blog or for my presentation.
Maybe it’s the time change. It certainly throws off my body when we go back and forth. Don’t know which is worse.
I’m writing this on Monday, November 07, 2016, the day before one of the most significant elections of my lifetime. Frankly, I’m praying that my candidate wins. Being an author has severely cut into my freedom to talk political. It’s probably the hardest thing for me about being a writer. Except for the blinking cursor on the blank page.
So I hope to hear from you. Did you vote? You really had to vote. If you’re a writer, have you ever hit the blinking cursor on the blank page? If so, what did you do about it! Have you ever eaten anything GF? What did you think about it? Please someone tell me where I can locate a ready-made GF pie crust. 🙂
Remember tomorrow, Friday, November 11 is Veterans Day. We are blessed to live in a country where we get to vote for our leaders.
Don’t forget to check out my latest book, THE THEATRE.
Amazon http://amzn.to/2dUXHyh
B & N http://bit.ly/2fqMWVr
Marsha R. West, Author 
I’m sorry to hear you’re on a block with your writing, Marsha. It’s frustrating when that happens. I think you’re doing the right thing by just continuing to write. When you least expect it, an idea for how this story will go forward will pop into your mind. When I can’t think how to progress a story I often tell my someone else how I’m stuck. Just talking about it out loud with someone can sometimes get you thinking on a different tack and out of your rut. Best of luck with it, and with the GF diet. Do let us know if it works.
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Hey, Helena. I finally got to put in some more words on the story. I just started typing and stuff came. LOL I don’t have as many people to talk about in person anymore, but that’s certainly a really good idea. Critique partners can stifle your voice, but they can sure jump start your thinking. I haven’t made it to my writing group for almost a year for various reasons, so I haven’t even had that option.
Haven’t done the GF thing long enough to judge how it’s working with my joints. It’s sure not working with my weight. Will probably blog about that next week. Thanks for stopping by. So appreciate your friendship.,
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Another great post, Marsha. So many good things happening in your life. So much to be thankful for. 🙂
I agree with Helena, keep writing. Think about the problem when you’re away from your computer. I do my best story thinking in bed, in the shower, and on walks. I’m doing a first draft now. I write down anything and everything. Words come to me often when I’m not writing. Carry a notebook. I turn on my bedside lamp in the middle of the night and write something down on the notebook on my bedside table.
I’ve never done a GF diet. I love bread/pizza too much. Although I need to do something.
Best wishes for the Woman’s Club talk. You are following in your mother’s footsteps. How great is that!!!
You don’t want me to write about the election here. I’ve added more to my post today about it.
All the best to you.
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Hey, Susan. The notebook would be a great idea, but I can’t read my scribble anymore. I do so much on the computer what low level of penmanship I did have is gone. LOL I’ve typed things into my phone before though. Thanks for that reminder. I’ve always had to write down things to remember them. The Notes section in my phone has some interesting “notes.” 🙂 You’ll appreciate next week’s post about GF eating. I share your sentiments on the election, but chose not to say anything here. I’ve stayed away from politics because some “expert” told me early on what a mistake that would be. Well, maybe if I had tons of readers, but I don’t. I’m thinking I’ve taken the “safe” way out. Need to re-evaluate.Thanks so much for stopping by and your support.
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I’ve been having the writer’s block thing for over a year–mainly because all my energy has been focused elsewhere. I’ve been fighting writing my last chapter and finishing my Forearmed book for a couple of months. At the last minute, I decided to do Nano and start the second book in my Wyoming series. Hard to write a lot when I haven’t done all the prep work–brief outline, character sketches, basic research. But I am getting things down. Not doing 1667 consistently, closer to 1K, but it’s something. Plan to work on FA as part of my word count.
Tried something new this morning. https://www.brain.fm
It’s a site that has music that supposed to help you focus or meditate or sleep. Just started trying it and not sure how effective it is. But I have worked quite steadily while listening. Think I’ll try it for a week and see what happens.
I’m also supposed to be doing GF. Unfortunately, I’m told it takes about a month to see results. Haven’t been that consistent yet. Good luck with the Thanksgiving recipes.
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Hey, Kate. I’m so sorry you’re having so much trouble ending Forearmed. I can’t wait to read that book. While I haven’t done the NaNp thing officially, the fact so many people are writing has influenced me to keep my rear in the chair more. Celebrate 1000 words a day, Kate. In 10 days, you’ve got 10,000 words.That’s a chunk. My writing chapter used to have a writing retreat weekend in November. I found that very productive. I’ll check out the link you shared. I usually have the tv on as background noise. I don’t do well in silence, but I’m not really listening to the TV. The link sounds interesting. I do think for the GF to work you have to be consistent. So far I’ve been good. We’ll see and keep each other pumped about this new way of life. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Hey Marsha. I was in your shoes when I tried to write Deadly Undertaking. I couldn’t separate myself from the character because the story was based on my growing up in the funeral business and people in my town. I finally realized I needed to divorce myself from the main character and allow her to have a persona different from me. When I just couldn’t get on with the story, I spent the summer writing short stories and loved it. One was a way out futuristic/space epistle so far from what I write and another was a sweet romantic piece. So much fun. I could never write a series because I want to explore so many different places and characters. I know several folks who have gone on a GF diet and their health improved. Just be sure to read the GF food ingredients. Some chemicals,etc. in there to make it seem like it has flour in it are worse than eating gluten!!! And so expensive! Such a marketing ploy to put gluten-free on a package. I honestly don’t know if there are gov’t guidelines to certify GF foods, do you? Good luck with this experience.
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Hey, JQ. Well, the words have kicked up. It was almost like I had to admit I’d hit a wall, before the doors opened. I’m at 11,600 right now. You know first draft is rough. Mostly dialogue with a bit of introspection and lots of XXXX when I can’t figure out something. LOL I’ll have to check the GF labels, especially if I stay on this. Right at 2 weeks, so too early to see a difference. But it’s a worth a try.I’m impressed with your ability to write such different genres, JQ. Not sure I can stray too far from RS. Could add a tad of paranormal, I think, but that’s all. Thanks so much for stopping by.
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Glad to know you’re on a roll again. We’re all looking forward to the next book!
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