What To Do When The Muse Vacates the Premises

After reading a post on a friend's Blog, about being in a funk with writing, I thought I'd try to find out what happens to a writer when they can't seem to write any more.

With me, it's when a lack of confidence kicks in and I think that everything I write is totally and utterly rubbish. It does happen, and I don't know why. Usually, it's when I've finished something, that at the time of writing seemed so GREAT! when I go back to it, the doubts start to creep in. Then (as happens with me) it's that time before sleep when all my insecurities kick in and the muse laughs at me, that raucous, mocking laugh, as though to say, "You thought I was feeding you witty dialogue, brilliant description? Well think again you sad witch!"

It's always worse at night, in bed. Then I'll get up, go back to my piece and think, hey, so what? I like it, so there's a chance somebody else will, too.

I tend to just write any old thing when the muse is having one of her off days. I write and write and write. Even if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it's still writing, getting over that hurdle, that invisible force that's trying its best to thwart you. It can't do you any harm if you write, can it?

I agree with my friend, who said the winter months have a lot to answer for. I definitely feel better during spring and summer. I keep threatening to get one of those lamps to boost my ailing brain cells. Anyway, the trick, is, I feel, to fight it. Fight the nasty, sarcastic muse. Let her know who's boss! Remember, this feeling won't last for ever. Not if you keep at it.

Don't give in to those negative feelings that creep up, because if you're anything like me, once you become prolific again, you can't remember what it was like not to.

If this sounds like my writing is a dangerous and psychologically damaging exercise, think again. I absolutely love it, warts and all.

I'd be interested to know how others beat the writerly blues.

More About Dialogue - From Ian McMillan

Whether you’re writing a novel or a short story, dialogue should always serve some purpose – it should either advance the plot or develop a character, preferably both at the same time. Dialogue is never simple small-talk or conversation for its own sake – or simply because you happen to like the line! Here are a few tips that may come in useful, especially if you are currently rewriting a piece that doesn’t quite seem to work.

Always try to write dialogue that doesn’t require you to tell the reader – through narrative – how it is to be said (for example, use angry words rather than have to add “he said angrily”).
Be aware that dialogue doesn’t have to follow the grammatical and syntactical rules of English that you would use in the narrative, but at the same time avoid the ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ that practically everyone uses in daily speech (unless you want to make a specific point about a character’s indecision).

Dialogue is often a fencing match – one speaker doesn’t always let the other speak have her/his full say – but it’s not always a fencing match. Used carefully, this sort of broken interchange can help speed up the action and/or add to character development.
“S/he said” is merely a pointer as to who is speaking, nothing else. Even in a full page of dialogue, unbroken by narrative, you should only need to use such pointers at every third or fourth exchange.

Avoid full pages of dialogue, unbroken by narrative! People do not stop what they’re doing in order to speak, and speech is often a response to action, not just to another speech. Try to vary it.

Elegant variations of “s/he said” – ‘he exclaimed’, ‘she riposted’, ‘she declaimed’, ‘he retorted’ – are no longer fashionable, and are nowadays seen as amateurish. They draw attention to themselves, not to what is being said, and often contain information that already exists (or should exist) in the dialogue itself. “S/he said”, since it’s nothing more than a pointer to who is speaking, is actually invisible to the reader.
Dialect and slang should be used sparingly, just to give a flavour of how a character speaks. Slang dates quickly and dialect doesn’t travel far – your writing should be understandable a hundred years from now and 3,000 miles away.

What About Dialogue?

Here's a bit about Scriptwriting and dialogue, written by Michael Jacob on the Writersroom Blog:

'Good dialogue is economical, with not a word wasted, and while dialogue should obviously convey information, it should be information with attitude rather than information alone. People telling each other stuff is dull, and people telling each other stuff that they should already know is just bad. Attitude is crucial.'

I do get where he's coming from when he says 'attitude'. I love reading stuff, or listening to stuff that has a bit of attitude. I love writing with attitude, and it's something I'm going to keep in my mind, rather than is this just people telling mundane stuff to other people?

So, attitude is crucial!

I think getting into the character's heads is crucial too. I'm writing some dialogue for a script and I'm trying to be that character. Trying to separate each character, one from the other. That's quite hard, I find, but essential if there's going to be real chemistry or antagonism, or fear or truth, or all of those things.


This is also said in the Blog:

'The novelist Anthony Powell felt that one of the keys to avoiding the exposition trap was that questions should never be answered directly, which is a handy tip.'

So, with that I take it he means, never give away the full picture, but slip things in as the play/story progresses, to move the play along. Show a little but not too much. Leave much to the audience's imagination.

More on this later...

What about Plays?

I'm writing plays at the moment (as well as novel scribblings) and have just written a radio play called: Uncovered. I plan to expand the play, edit, edit, edit, and send it in to BBC Writersroom, as they have a policy to read everything. If they like it they'll help develop you as a writer, and if anything is broadcast you'll be paid.

Hey I know I shouldn't sound surprised about the fact you'd be paid, but not all organisations promise to pay for stuff that's used. It's hard to crack, I believe, into writing for radio, but if they spot talent they'll be in touch. I don't know about you, but I think in this game you have to have a modicum of self-belief, and I seem to feel instinctively, that this could be one of the mediums where I have some success. Hope so! I can't say that I feel that about every writing medium I try. I do love trying to write for radio, as well as the stage. I think it's something to do with the drama of it, and that almost anything goes on radio. I love writing dialogue, though never used to, especially in short stories. It's certainly grown on me.

More about this later...