Comments on: Deadlines, Night People and Taking your Own Advice

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:19:49 +0000

Hmm… getting over writer’s block to avoid doing the dishes. I can definitely picture my subconscious pulling that one on me. The stick instead of the carrot!

So I’ve heard of the trick of reading a page from end to start, but when you say upside down do you truly mean upside down? Did it take much effort to learn how to read upside down writing?

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:17:42 +0000

Hi Sheena, welcome to Rogue Priest and thanks so much for commenting! So I’m not the only one who can get a world of inspiration from an hour long walk outdoors. I’d love to see the chapel by the sea. I’ve been to Ireland & Northern Ireland before but never England, if I ever come that way I’ll be sure to let you know!

What kind(s) of music do you do?

By: sheena cundy

sheena cundy — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:57:21 +0000

Hey Drew..
Discovered you on our facebook page and am enjoying your stuff! I too have been writing all my life and if I get ‘stuck’ I travel too, usually with my dogs to an old sixth century chapel near where I live..by the sea. Nature has all the answers, that’s where the inspiration lies for me – and many a song have I written and now am seriously aiming to break into the public domain with creative, spiritual material. Keep up the good work and if you come to England come for a visit!

By: Colleen

Colleen — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:19:48 +0000

(Oh, I *so* miss Lake Michigan! She’s so friendly and welcoming.)

I tend to simply change how I organize information, since usually if I’m stuck, it’s because of a hole.

If I’m outlining, I cluster. If I’m cluster, I free brainstorm. If I’m brainstorming, I draw pictures. And on and on. I’ve been known to turn my manuscript page *upside down* and try to read it that way, as the simple act of reading one word at a time can sometimes free up whatever it is.

And if all that fails – and sometimes it does – I do the thing furthest from writing I can get. Simply turning away for a time can be all it takes. Shoryl tells me that if I ever write full time, and she comes home to three kinds of cookies and an immaculate house, then she’ll know it was a bad writing day. (Doing dishes, I’ve found, works wonders. My Muse will show up JUST so I can get out of it.)

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:07:14 +0000

That’s the best. I remember many nighttime drives along the shore of Lake Michigan for that exact reason. I would typically play Roni Size or Goldie or some other electronic music. But the idea was the same. I really miss my lake… the Mississippi is just not the same. On the other hand I am in a real city now and wandering the streets is far more fun.

By: Marlene

Marlene — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:18:47 +0000

I too, like Drew, am a night owl and when I was much younger, and our cities were much safer, loved to walk around the streets at the dead of night. Today, I am fortunate enough to live in the countryside and when I get blocked (which is incidentally happening more and more as I get closer to the end of my book) nothing helps like a long drive. I slap on some really loud music, Muse, 30 STM or even some Bocelli, and I hit the road. Sometimes I drive around for a couple of hours, sometimes for less than an hour but it never fails to unlock whatever ideas have been lurking just underneath the surface.

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:44:39 +0000

Well, that is awesome. That’s all I’ve got :)

By: Miya

Miya — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:36:25 +0000

I’ve become just as much a fiber artist as I am a writer in the years since we last were face to face. I find taking wool from a raw fleece to the finished product is the same energetical output from me as a story. I’m pulling these threads of a tale, its plot and characters, and spinning them into something that my readers will care about. Then I must knit/weave/crochet that yarn into a story.

I’ve always needed to multitask. I need to have my mind busy with one “keeping busy” type job while I work on what I want to. Directly after meditating in the morning is the only time I can write without otherwise occupying my mind and/or fingers.

I’ve also been known to take crayola bathtub crayons into the shower with me so I can write what hits me while washing my hair. After, I take photos of the scene I’ve outlined in purple or red, sentences I’ve hastily scrawled in blues and greens… the rainbow smudge where I tried to erase just a fraction of what I wrote.

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:39:51 +0000

That’s super helpful, Fearg. Glad to see you back by the way, you’re becoming a regular! ;)

I definitely feel blessed to be able to walk through the galleries at the museum daily. Lately I’ve forced myself to make time for exactly that. There are still many pieces I haven’t seen.

It’s interesting how you can draw ideas from your bandmates. As a writer I don’t have a group to draw from, at least not in the same way as a musician with a band. Do you find that it draws you closer together, to work on art like that together?

By: Drew Jacob

Drew Jacob — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:35:52 +0000

Thanks for your comment Miya! It’s funny how just walking at all, even just around the house, seems to stimulate creativity. As if the mind wants to be as active as the body is.

Doesn’t spinning at your loom distract you further? I always find that if I dive into other activies, I get even further sidetracked from writing. What do you think it is about spinning that lets you refocus on writing?