9 Activities for When You're Sick of Writing (or just plain sick)
Greetings, y'all!
In the past three months, you've probably experienced one of the following (and if you haven't, consider yourself extremely, extremely blessed):1. You've been writing for a while (or you've been trying to write) and the words just won't come. You've tried everything, and your hands are tired of typing or writing (your pen might even be out of ink!). You know you should be writing. But you really don't want to. Honestly, you're sick of it.
2. You're sick. Literally sick. Either you've caught one of those nasty little bugs going around, or you're suffering with a bout of the flu (in which case you may or may not feel well enough to do any of these, come to think of it), or you're down with a cold (or in my case, seasonal allergies. *sneezes*). You want to write, but you just physically can't.
Worry no more! *waves happy banner around* I've got nine fun activities for you that will make you feel like you're being productive (note that I didn't say you're actually going to be productive)!
This one should be fun. And hey, call it character development! Now, for my character's hobby is archery.. so not quite so practical in day-to-day life. But, if it's something like drawing or playing a sport, improvise!
Ah, reading. You've probably already tried this tactic, but hey - every good writer is a good reader, right? Be a good reader too - there are several methods out there for learning to write from reading! My top three personal favorites are:
NON-FICTION
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
not a fan by Kyle Idleman
gods at war by Kyle Idleman
FICTION
Light of the Last by Chuck Black
Below the Surface by Tim Shoemaker
Cloak of the Light by Chuck Black
Ooh, another really super fun one. Gather some friends or siblings and bribe convince them to act out one of your scenes (hint: when doing this with brothers, it is best if the scene includes guns or swords)! If you're an only child or if you live in the middle of nowhere (in which I pity you slightly and yet envy you in an entirely different way), use popsicle sticks and decorate them to suit your unique character.
I'm entirely serious. I have a box of jumbo popsicle stick people. It's great! Plus, if you decide to expand a book scene into a 'stage' scene, you can try your hand at scriptwriting!
This is quite enjoyable for me. I love scrolling through the many Pinterest boards and finding a picture of a real person who matches my character's face. In fact, to help you out, I've got several links here for you - all together, they add up to at least 2,000 photos of men, women, girls, and boys!
note: none of these Pinterest boards belong to me
Come on. Who doesn't like writing snacks? Since you're obviously not writing while you're reading this post or while you're sick of writing, try making a writing snack (and actually saving it for when you're writing XD). You don't technically have to bake... especially if you're prone to destroying things in the kitchen. XD
I personally like to use canva.com, but pixlr.com and befunky.com have also come highly recommended! To find free stock photos, try unsplash.com or pixabay.com! Designing mock covers is so much fun, and I've seen a lot of people really honing into this craft - and why not!
YAY for sketching! As you probably know, I love drawing my characters (you can see some of mine here). I personally use the grid method, but I know several people who draw theirs as cartoons and manga characters! If you've found your character's face (as in step 4), try your hand at it! Don't worry - practice makes perfect!
Yes, yes, yes, I know. You're probably doing two things simultaneously: cheering because 'watching a movie' is considered part of writing, and asking yourself why in the world 'watching a movie' is considered part of writing.
It's called 'research'. Now, don't watch just any movie - watch ones that are from your genre's time period, or deals with subjects that you're stuck on for your book!
Also... if nothing else, binge watch Kingdom Pen Cinema. And laugh. And learn. And live differently from now on.
Ha. Did you really think you were going to get away without being told to write anyways?! As a writer, we have to sometimes do hard stuff. And that sometimes includes writing. So, buckle down and do it. Try a wordsprint or use one of the above activities as an incentive!
Did you enjoy this post? If so, which was your favorite activity suggestion?
If you try any of the above ideas, make sure to tell me in the comments and let me know how it went! (please do not tell me you burned the house down while baking)
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
28 comments
I legit burst out laughing at that first one because it wouldn't work for me - my character's hobby IS writing. XD BUT AHHH THESE ARE PERFECT! I'm going to try number 3, like right now, because I'm stuck for ideas for a scene. Acting it out should help me decide what happens next!
ReplyDeleteXD Then you should write even more! XD YAY! I'm so glad! Let me know how it goes. ;)
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Julia
These are some great(and creative) tips! I’ll have to try them sometime.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Tell me if they help, when/if you try them!
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Julia
I live acting out book scenes!
ReplyDeleteMe too! Isn't it fun?! What's your favorite one you've ever acted out?
DeleteDude, almost every night I voice act characters from random stories that pop into my head. XD
DeleteVoice acting is super fun. XP Like, even reading books when you're bored and giving each of the characters personalities and weird voices. XD Or if you share a room, annoy the sibling to death with repeated scenes. Amiright? :)
DeleteI'm the only girl in my family, somI get my own room HA! XD
DeleteOooh, lucky! ;)
DeleteGreat post! I might need some of these during Camp NaNo.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ooh, yeah! Camp NaNo is awesome. What are you doing for your project? I'm actually planning on doing some posts about my project sometime in April. :)
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Julia
Great post! This is so helpful. I'm totally going to act a scene. I've already read snippets to my little sister, so maybe she won't mind acting them out.
ReplyDeleteMy main character loves archery, so I actually already went to a archery range to try it out. Let's just say that moat of the arrows went over the target.
I'm so glad it's helpful for you! :) Ooh, tell me how it ends up! I hope she does it with you!
DeleteNow that is pretty cool! XD Mine would too, don't worry. But now you can accurately describe the struggle for any beginners! :D
Ah, this is helpful. :P I am currently VERY sick of writing...IT'S SO HARD, HELP.
ReplyDelete:D YAY! Oh nooooo! Hmmmm... try eating chocolate while you write. Someday I'm going to do a 'scientific' (haha, yeah right) study on how chocolate makes us more productive. :D
DeleteHave you ever published any books? I googled your name and saw some links to Goodreads and Amazon Kindle and stuff, but I didn't know if it was the same Julia Rose.
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't - not yet at least! I'm hoping to get at least four published before I graduate though. They're all in the works right now. :) And Rose is my middle name, actually! I'm honored that my name has been googled though! ;)
DeleteI figured Rose was your middle name, but some authors use their middle name in place of their last name.
DeleteVery true. :D I might end up using my middle name, but my last name is more unique (I doubt anyone could ever guess unless, of course, they already knew me.. but then they wouldn't be guessing XD) and would help me stand out more, so I'll probably end up using that. :)
DeleteTrue. ;)
DeleteIf you're comfortable, what is your last name?
I'm actually not allowed to say, but when I get published, my blog followers will be the some of the first to know! ;)
DeleteI'm cool with that! XD I totally understand. I used to literally be scared to say my name or show my face on the internet. Now it doesn't matter as much.
DeleteThanks for those Pinterest boards. XD Will be helpful in the future.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! ;) Hope you find what you're looking for!
Delete~ Julia
"Try your character's hobby."
ReplyDeleteHaha! My characters hobby is. . . writing. A loophole right back to the beginning. . . lol
XD I have a character with a hobby of writing too! That means you should just write more! ;)
DeleteCool ideas! I love baking but..... sometimes people are lazy :D
ReplyDelete