Getting into an argument with your SO is definitely not ideal. Which is why I’m here to tell you: it is OKAY to fight with your writing. Many famous published authors admit to fighting with their keyboard regularly. So, if you are sitting behind your computer staring at a blank Word document fear not… your writer’s block will pass.
John McPhee recently published a book titled, Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process, and spoke in an interview about his personal relationship with his own creative writing. If you think that just a few hours after from your writing will inspire the next “Great American Novel”, think again. McPhee commits to a “five-day walk.” He takes a step away from his writing and will leave it for days on end. Take the time to rethink your argument, plot line, character development- whatever it may be and take your five-day walk. You may think you don’t have that time to waste, but the refreshed outlook and new ideas will more than make up for lost time.
I discovered a blogger who wanted to remind her readers about accepting the unknown and the uninhibited. It’s one of the many duties of being a writer and trying to get published. She also said, “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was rejected 10 times before it was published, and Rowling suffered depression and anxiety. Stephen King was broke without a phone line when he wrote Carrie, thought the draft was terrible and only sent it in for publishing after his wife fished it out of the bin. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the writers of a warm little page turner called Chicken Soup for the Soul, received 33 rejection letters before their manuscript was accepted.” This just serves as a little reminder that your relationship with your writing should still hold strong long after the manuscript is done. Without a little confidence and persistence, the manuscript may never see the light of day in the publishing industry.
And most importantly, don’t forget to learn from your mistakes. Rather than be angry at the wrong turns you have made, embrace them. YA author Alice Oseman serves as an example of learning from her writing. One of the biggest things she’s learned is diversity. Oseman said it best herself, “It’s important that all people are able to see themselves in literature.”
Bottom line is, don’t be afraid to scream and shout at your computer. When nothing else seems to be working- walk away, learn from the mistakes you made, and go forth with a stronger relationship with both your writing and yourself. These are the simple ground rules to a wonderful and successful union.
And of course, don’t forget to apologize to your computer.