Visualization Exercises for Writers, Part I

Posted by David Duhr in Inspiration      18 comments

Oct
23

“Writing is so easy for me; I never have a frustrating writing session,” says a writer who’s totally lying. You’re going to have hellish days, days when you’re thisclose to printing out your manuscript only for the satisfaction of setting it aflame and watching that garbage burn.

(Protip: Do that in the shower or the kitchen sink, and not, like, on the carpet near the drapes and the lighter fluid.)

Bad writing sessions are unavoidable. And sometimes a crummy writing day bleeds into another, and another, and soon it becomes a bad writing week, and then Sunday turns to Monday and you’re still stopped up, and if you can’t rein it in and you can’t get unstuck then, look, now it’s two weeks, and now a month, and then damn, where did the summer go and what’s to do about that vow you made to finish your book by Halloween?

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So, What’s To Do?

Writer’s frustration can become a runaway eighteen-wheeler if you allow it. You need to locate one of those ramps with the steep incline that will slow your roll, allow you to catch your breath and get back on that highway to success! (Boy, have I slaughtered this metaphor.)

If your bad writing days are beginning to pile up like so much jetsam and/or flotsam, it might be time to step away from your WIP for a moment and imagine it as a WIB instead.

“What’s a WIB, Duhr?” I just made it up. It stands for work-in-bookstore. Your book, completed, published, and ready for mass consumption.

If publication in book form is among your writerly aspirations, and you’re currently in the middle of a rough patch, setting aside an hour for visualization may be just what you need. What follows is one of several (not-scientifically) proven visualization exercises for writers stuck in a rut.

[Tweet “”Protip: Burn your ms. in the shower, and not, like, near the drapes and the lighter fluid.””]

Get Thee to a Bookstore

Gimme some room, Dum-ass

Just drop what you’re doing and go. Try to leave your frustration at home, and on the walk or drive there, do your best not to think about your book at all. Once you arrive, go to the section where your WIB will be displayed, find the specific spot on the specific shelf, and just stand there for a minute.

See my spot to the right, taken at a nearby bookstore. I’d be right there, nestled in between Polly Dugan and Alexandre Dumas.

Gently nudge aside those adjacent books (if your last name is Duhr, you may find yourself saying “Shove over, Dum-ass,” and then looking around to see if anyone heard you and being relieved to find yourself alone in the row) — make room for a copy of yours. Hell, make room for multiple copies of yours. Because it’s going to be a hit, right? And so not only will they want to stock four or five copies on the shelf, but they’ll also want some copies for those grazer tables: the staff picks, the book club selections, the hot summer reads.

Just stand there and look at that empty space until you feel awkward, and visualize it as full of books, your title and name spread down the spines of fresh new hardcovers, your ideal publisher’s colophon at the bottom. Or maybe it’s a paperback with that #1 sticker on it? Take your time and really allow yourself to see it.

Take a photo, if you want. Print it out, tape it above your computer. Look up at it for some extra juice when you’re in a hole.

I know this sounds twee, but it’s worked for me, and it’s worked for several friends of mine. We writers must take whatever inspiration we can find.

[Tweet “At the bookstore, gently nudge aside the adjacent books and make room for yours.”]

More… Sort Of… and Discussion

Perhaps having your WIP become a WIB isn’t your ultimate goal. If that’s the case, we have a few more ideas for you!

But not today. Oh, snap! But come on, we can’t give all our goodies away in one post. Because why would you ever come back? Also, this has already gone on for too long. And who has time to read more than 800 words’ worth of visualization exercises for writers when there’s so much, like, writing to do and so little time?

So check back in a few weeks for more visualization exercises for writers. Or check back every week. Why not?

Writers: What do you do when you’ve hit a rough patch? Do you ever employ any visualization techniques? Care to share ’em with the group? Let us know in the comments section below.

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WriteByNight co-founder David Duhr is books editor and fiction editor at the Texas Observer and contributes regularly to the Dallas Morning News, Publishing Perspectives, the Observer and others.