One trick I’ve read people talk about for beating writing exhaustion, is to have a “for the fun of it” book project. Your version of Casablanca. If anyone who was part of the East Anglia class, they’ll remember my scene for the writing assignment where I took Casablanca and added Tokugawa to it. It was… really strange.
So, the idea is, you can write something like, taking Winnie the Pooh, and writing your own stories set in that world. It is IMPORTANT, as I’m discovering, to write every day.
When you have a writing exhaustion day, but you still have to write, write in your “for the fun of it” book. It doesn’t have to be great – just fun.
Try Charlie Brown.
Gilligan’s Island.
Winnie the Pooh.
Star Trek.
Tolkien, if you’re into that.
Godzilla.
The Flintstones. Brady Bunch. It doesn’t matter what, just as long as you like it, it’s a world ready to play in, and you have time to write!
The idea is, to always be writing something. It doesn’t have to make sense, just that you’re using descriptives, narratives, dialogue, character descriptions, timeline, events, and above all, goals and frustrations (conflict).
If you’re a nonfiction writer – and its amazing to me how many more of those I meet than others – practice selling pens or something along those lines. Write a book why people shouldn’t be allowed to _________. Why _________ will make them smarter, healthier, wealthier, and live longer. It doesn’t have to be correct, it doesn’t have to be interesting or something you believe – it just has to be PRACTICE, and fun.
