Make Writing Dates

Make a romantic writing date for yourself and your novel tomorrow. Get some food and a drink, turn off the TV and the radio (unless you're using music for inspiration), lock yourself away from your parents/relatives/siblings/kids/friends/spouse/ect, and just write. It might even be beneficial to turn off or cover all nearby clocks so that you don't keep checking them.


Here are some more useful exercises to try:

1. If you are stuck, try writing a quick one page monologue in first person from one of your characters POV.

2. Write a "candybar" scene - the juicy section at the end of your novel that you've been wanting to write FOR-EV-ER.

3. It can be intimidating to stare at an empty word document. Try pen and paper or an open e-mail.

4. Try Dr. Wicked's "Write Or Die" (it's linked in the sidebar). Time yourself!

5. Do word sprints with a writer pal. Hey, I'm always up for them. Those five minute chunks can add up.

6. Try writing just dialogue without the tags. Or, if you want to describe a scene, use a not-too-well-known landscape painting from google images to spark your words.

7. Use a word generator to create random words for you. Then, write a scene that includes all of these words. (You can cheat and remove one word if it absolutely makes no sense at all... for example, 'computer' if you are writing a fantasy novel). This also works for coming up with a plot for your novel. It's how Ray Bradbury started "Something Wicked This Way Comes"

Write, and have fun!