Writer’s Block and The Channel of Writing

Writer’s block isn’t something I am used to.  I have to sit down and look at my book (which is simply a lot of long hand notes) and wonder what I can do to get from these scribblings, which are based on interviews with men from the Northern part of Transylvania, to something that at least resembles a book.

My challenge isn’t to write something, but to make it worth the cost the potential readers will pay for it. I don’t think a lot of notes can possibly help, but as I sit and look at my computer, I realize I’ve got a lot of work to do. I can almost see myself not getting the words out on the screen. I get great ideas writing long hand, but putting my thoughts on the computer doesn’t seem to have the same effect.

Blogging, or rather writing a blog post, doesn’t seem to have the same challenge as writing a book. It’s the same concept and the same medium, but I find the words flow much better in this form than when I’m trying to push through a lot of information. I have a deadline to meet if I want to get this book published, and I’m determined to produce something. However, writing this book is not as easy as it seems. At some point I will need to earn some money to help pay for the effort I have put into my book… but first I need to write it.

One thing that has helped is setting a goal.

Right now, my goal is to write a page of my book each day. This can be broken down to about 250 words per day- or what is based on the size of my book. I find this small goals seems a lot better for me than working with a huge, big, pie-in-the-sky goal. Part of the problem is I think I revise too much on my book, and delete too much information I’ve typed, and haven’t done this as much on the blog posts. Therefore I should follow my own advice in revision before publication is a good thing.

I also have, in the meantime, found writing a blog post is far easier. The problem I have is the editing of the blog post. Blogger is a good platform, but I’m finding I type too fast, and without a second set of eyes, there are some things which don’t make a lot of sense. At least, this fast typing and slow editing from someone else method seems to help my focus.

A fellow blogger has suggested I write in a word document first. This has also helped me with revision on a blog post. I’ve spent time coming up with titles for the book on Transylvania and the Second World War.

My focus is really on how people from the Northern Part of Transylvania lived during this time, but it’s also my plan to focus on the people from the Southern part of the area in the next book.

I’d love to find ways to get to know more about one part of  Transylvania, and then learn about the rest. It will make me a better writer, and a better person. It all begins with setting the proper goals for each part of my life.

For now, I’m looking at these five options for a title:

A Time of Mourning
The Memories of The Heart
Trying to Forget the Past
I Remember Yesterday’s Siebenburgen
Siebenburgen Reborn

These are great, and only a start but it has helped me set better goals for my writing. With five, it means I have a chance to narrow it down, but it also means I can be open to more. I do have to find a way to be more logical about my writing. It’s great when you have a blog, and sometimes it helps break writer’s block. I just need some better goals.