Guest Post: Taking Risks

TAKING RISKS

Hello. Can I come in?  (I’m not sure of the rules around here. Should I take my shoes off at the door?)

John invited me. Honestly – he did. He’s off doing NaNo at the moment, so he’s a little busy. And how brave is that – 50,00 words in a month! Even the idea is enough for me to get all hot and uncomfortable. I mean, every day he has to face a blank page and fill it. He can’t decide it’s too sunny and he must go for a walk, or he has the flu and must stay in bed, or the bathroom will be beyond shabby if he doesn’t paint it this weekend.

Risks are strange things. For the five-years old it’s that first step into school. For the agoraphobic peering outside the front door is terrifying. I can manage nice big caves where I can stand up and enjoy the stalactites, but the even the thought of a pothole is enough for me to collapse in a sniveling heap.

But I’ve taken the risk of coming here. In the hope that you won’t throw internet-eggs at me. Such messy things, eggs.

I even – a few years ago – went travelling. Which would be unremarkable if I were young and hearty (as John is). But I’m a middle-aged woman, and discovered that wandering round the world with a rucksack is not what middle-aged women are expected to do. I set off with nothing more than a Lonely Planet and curiosity. I have no idea how many times I was lost; though I have – at last – realized that the best things happen when I’m lost. On a recent trip I was meandering in the backstreets of Hue, in Vietnam, staring at a map, when a local man waved me to join his family’s gathering to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They spoke no English. I speak no Vietnamese. It was one of my best days. (And yes, there is a book – entitled Over the Hill and Far Away, now out on Kindle, with a ‘real book’ version due out in the new year.)

                                                                        

‘Aren’t you brave?’ said my friends.

No, it wasn’t bravery. It was a realization that I couldn’t bear the thought if sitting down when I’m eighty and regretting an opportunity missed. Just as John isn’t missing the NaNo opportunity. Just as I can’t pass by this chance to meet his loyal blog followers.

Just as you . . . ? Dreams can be huge, or tiny. But they need attention. Regret at eighty must be one of the saddest feelings of all. Go – take that risk.

And I’ll make you all very welcome on my blog, should you wish to join me:
http://gapyearsthebook.blogspot.com.

Dr. Hansen’s Remedies For Writers’ Block

With the impending NaNoWriMo, this is something I thought I should share. I promise to write many more posts throughout November – some of which will be guest posts – with tips/tricks and encouragement for NaNo. But now, for this.

We all get writers’ block – we ALL do – and since NaNo requires an immediate, simple solution if you want that gosh-darned novel to finally be complete, I have decided to share my advice and insight on the subject. Be sure to bookmark this along with my other upcoming NaNoWriMo posts – all with tips from me and other authors – so when trouble arises in November, you’ll have yourself a quick and easy solution. Sound cool? Well, here it goes:

As authors, we all become ill, at some point in our lives, with the highly contagious writers’ block epidemic. This irksome disease is
often transmitted through mad and unsuccessful attempts at writing stories and, sadly, there is no vaccination for it, nor can one build up immunity to it. It lurks in words and soon-to-be-formed pages, watching, waiting, prepared to infect yet another helpless writer. And as much as we, as writers, try to prevent writers’ block from infecting us in the first place, a vaccine has yet to be developed, but it will never. So if we cannot prevent writers’ block that begs the question: how can we cure it?

There are a number of successful home remedies used to cure writers’ block, but you requested Dr. Hansen’s opinion and it’s Dr. Hansen’s opinion you shall get.

1. Don’t force yourself to keep writing – This, surprisingly, is a very common mistake. When some authors get writers’ block, they seem to think that by forcing themselves to continue writing, they will overcome the writers’ block. This is not true at all since that is not how writers’ block works. It’s like saying that if you break your leg, the best way to heal it is to force that leg to be constantly active as if the pain would suddenly go away because of this. It just doesn’t work.
2. Relax, take a deep breath – So if you shouldn’t force yourself to write, what should you do? Well, first of all, don’t worry too much about writers’ block. It will go away soon, I assure you. Instead of cursing at yourself to come up with the next sentence and the next sentence and the next sentence (this does not make for quality writing), I advise you to sit back, turn away from your computer and take a deep breath. Don’t get worked up over writers’ block – that never helps – just calm yourself, clear your thoughts and pay no heed to the blinking cursing on your computer screen that seems to be sneering at you.
3. Walk out of the room – The best cure for writers’ block seems too easy to be effective, but it is. After your have relaxed, stand up, stretch your legs and walk out of the room. I recommend walking around your home for a few minutes and then return to your computer afterwards. This will help to rejuvenate the creativity within in you, dispel all that anxiety, and a little fresh air – not the stuffy atmosphere of your room – will clear your head of those irksome cobwebs.
4. Splash water on your face – You wouldn’t believe how well this works. If writers’ block has you so stressed out that you can no longer concentrate, simply go up to your sink, fill your hands with cold water and splash it on your face, again and again. This will help to revive your sleepy muses and invigorate your creativity. Cold water does wonders. After several splashes of that icy water, you’ll be ready to conquer that gosh darned writers’ block, guaranteed.
5. Find something to distract yourself with – A great way to rid yourself of writers’ block is to find something else to occupy your time for awhile, even as short as a minute. Talk to someone, watch a funny YouTube clip, visit those beloved online forums, admire your blog site stats – do anything you want; it doesn’t matter as long as you are distracting yourself from writers’ block with an alternate activity. The advantage of this is that it will help to clear your brain of all thoughts, worries and whatever else lurks within the confines of that messy head of yours and will allow for a fresh start when you return to your computer.
6. Don’t be afraid of failing: just write! – Once are finally ready to conquer those malicious words, it is time to return to your
   computer. Do not let your computer’s imposing presence deceive you; you are its master, you are its keeper, you control it and all of the words it will form. As frightening as it may be, to overcome your writers’ block don’t stray away from your computer; just strut right up to it and write. And write. And write. Once you have done this, you can kiss writers’ block goodbye. At least for the day…

Thoughts? Opinions? Anything? Please share! I know that these solutions all sound so simple and easy to work but they really are effective. Honestly. I get awful writers’ block and these techniques have a funny way of curing it. On a more random note, I have reached that 49 followers! I’m one away from meeting my October goal. Woot, woot! Also, I will be having a 50th f0llower contest for all of you. I have a great, fun idea but I won’t unveil it until I have that gosh-darned 50th follower! Have a great day, everyone, and, if you are participating, I wish you all the best on your NaNoWriMo endeavors!