Into and Out of a Writing Corner

In and Out of a Writing Corner – Joy DeKok

I’m taking Amy Tan’s Masterclass, and wow. She says things that get to the writer inside me.

Today the topic was writer’s block – the thing that holds most, if not all writers, captive from time to time.

I listened to a few words she spoke at least three times. I’ll likely listen again. And maybe again. Her words struck a beautiful chord in my mind.

She spoke about writing to an idea and ending up in a corner in a room with no place for the story to go.

After the last listen (for today), I wondered to myself, “If writing to an idea blocks a story, can writing from an idea set the story free?”

My inner response felt like someone pressed an old gate handle invited me to enter into a wide-open space.

Here’s what I mean . . .

When I started writing The Northern Lights Series, I wrote to the idea.

Writer’s block hit with a vengeance, and I realized I’d written her story into a corner with what looked like no way out. The harder I tried, the worse the story got.

Then, the story got cold, and my creativity hit a wall—nose to brick.

Although I’d written thousands of words, they amounted to a badly written outline. Instead of quitting, I started again.  But I didn’t go through the wall or take the bricks down.

I rewrote the first chapter from the corner facing out. From the idea. That was the moment I set the story free.

Until Next Time,

Joy

To learn more about Ms. Tan’s Masterclass, click on her photo.