WBW

...which stands for Writer's Block Workshop.

The name is a left over. There was a time when I'd go into that file and write random stuff when I was stuck. However, this thing has evolved since then.

Nowadays, I do all my writing in the WBW. I start a new page. I put the date in the top right hand corner. Then I start by whining about my day.

What I whine about varies. I could be tired. It could be late in the day. I might have no idea what I want to write about. I might be stuck in the plot of the novel. Whatever it is, I give myself permission to write it all out, and in about a paragraph I've whined myself out.

Then I get to the writing.

What I'm writing depends, of course, but generally I continue on from wherever it was I left off the last time. Interestingly enough, I find that after my whine, I can write 500-1000 workable words. Sometimes. Other times, I write two or three paragraphs, and then I stall.

At that point, I write down what it is that's stalling me. "This paragraph sucks." And sometimes I write out something that's bothering me about where the story is going.

I used to stop and talk out the problem. I'd get up, walk around the room, and think through what was wrong. It could take me twenty minutes to get back to the writing.

Now, I write out 1-3 sentences (usually one), and I'm back at it.

Then I go through, take out all the usable parts, and I paste them into my working document. What I'm working on varies, but no matter if it's a short story, a novel, or some other random article, I find that if I can stop and write out what I'm thinking when I'm thinking it, I get back to the writing that much quicker.

It may be a strange system, but I find it works for me.

Do you have any strange methods that work for you? Please share. I get my best ideas that way. (I didn't come up with the WBW on my own.)