Erotica Harem

Jon,

As I wrote to you earlier, and as several others have said, writing is the best cure for writer's block. Just don't write "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over again!

As to writing a few sentences and having them look like crap...well, the first sentences of EVERYTHING I write are crap. They're the hardest friggin' sentences to write. So...I write several paragraphs, to get back in the groove of the characters and the setting, not worrying that the opening sucks. Once I've *started* on a new chapter (or short story, or whatever), then actually finishing it is easier.

Tim's advice about having notes about how the chapter is supposed to progress, what information is supposed to come across, and what character traits you want to expose, is also helpful. That can give you page-by-page goals if you need them.

TIm's OTHER advice (Tim's always a font of wisdom) about research is also good.

I can tell you I was dreading writing chapter six in "Winterset." It was located in place I'd been once, years ago, and didn't remember well. Worse, it described a cut-and-dried plot development with no real advance in character. But once I researched the setting, and started writing it, it came out more or less okay and I even figured out a way to reveal character through the setting. The point is, that I wrote it, even though the starting paragraphs were horrible and had to be re-done.

Everyone is different, but you should write something. Don't throw it away either -- you never know when you'll use it. You remember the scene in the dance club in "On the Road" that you liked? I wrote THAT scene, with different characters, 18 months ago. I dropped it into "Road" and it fit.

LIke I told you, you're too good to just stop. Write something, or do some research and then write something.

And know that this happens to all of us.

Bill

Bill, AKA Mathguy, AKA
Max Griffin
Please visit my website at
http://members.cox.net/maxgriffin/