help

I'm sure by now you've gotten stuck a time or two in your writing. That's okay. That's normal. It's part of the process. Saying that doesn't make it feel any better or any less terrifying. But. Trust your process and keep breathing. When you run aground, take that as a sign that it's time to step back from your work and see what it's trying to reveal to you.

This is not an invitation to let your Editor go crazy and tell you how terrible things are. It's time to put that Editor to work doing the job it's meant to do - critically assessing your work and trouble shooting for you. You are in charge of the Editor, not the other way around. So give it a simple task.

1. What's the central conflict of the scene? This seems basic. But often when we find ourselves stuck or off the mark, it's because we've lost sight of what's at stake for our characters in the scene. What is it your main character wants? What or who is the obstacle in the way of them reaching their goal? This works even for the most escoteric of plays - in fact, it helps ground your characters in a reality - not our general shared reality, but the reality of the world the characters inhabit.
2. Write past the point where you think the scene is done. Okay. But you're stuck, how are you going to do that? See #1. Or think of one thing your character hasn't said that they desperately need to say in this moment and then write it. Write until you feel like you're finished and then push past what you think is the end of the scene again. See what your characters reveal to you.
3. Controlled procrastination. Isn't funny how when you're writing suddenly cleaning the kitchen sink becomes the most attractive, imperative thing you could do in that very moment? Or cleaning off your desk or taking out the trash? I think when we get these urges, it's not always about trying to get away from the work, it's about the desire to let the next thing in but not knowing exactly how to make way for it. It manifests as stuckness. So you get the urge to clean. To move things around in your environment.  Try this: Set a timer for 10 minutes. And clean the sink or clear off the kitchen table or declutter your desk. Do it for the allotted time only. Focus on the task at hand. Embrace it. What you're doing is creating a clearing, a physical white space in your enviroment that invites the next thing, whatever it is, to come in.  When the timer goes off, go back to your scene and write.

What about you? What works for you when you're stuck?

Just wanted to remind you that the recently posted page is your friend. It will show you everything that's been posted to the site since you last visited.  The forums currently don't have the ability to email you when someone responds to your post or thread so this is probably the easiest way to check on the forums. There is much improvement to be done on the NaPlWriMo in the coming years and we know that, but only by your sticking around, will we be able to implement all these new features and ideas. Thanks for being here.

Interested in becoming more involved with NaPlWriMo?

We need help with the following:

1. Drupal savvy people to help improve and maintain the site.
2. Someone to update our Twitter page throughout the day. (During the event and/or year round.)
3. Occasional sub for our forums moderator.
4. Bloggers to contribute posts during Naplwrimo as well as throughout the year.
5. Playwrights, Artistic Directors, Critics, Literary manager types to write blog posts and pep talks (Rhino Bursts).
6. Php and html knowledgeable people to help create fun widgets for NaPlWriMo.
7. CSS web designer interested in contributing.
8. Sponsors to donate gifts to award NaPlWriMo winners or someone to solicit sponsors for gift donations.
9. Artists who are interested in creating new Naplwrimo icons.
10. Entrepreneurial types interested in helping Naplwrimo grow.
11. Monetary donations. (We all know that paying all these people would make them a lot easier to find...)

If you'd like to help build our community, please consider volunteering. Please email info@naplwrimo.org and let us know how you'd like to help out.