ieva melgalve

Change the hairstyle (something, by the way, Urchin did in my novel). Or change the setting and even character cast of the novel (which is what I just did). Or change the wordpress theme for something that you’re not sure you like but it’s different. Anything but dwell on the “I’m never gonna do this [...]

I am currently working on two things simultaneously, a short story and a novel. That’s my new way of getting past writer’s block (at least to the point where it becomes intolerable): writing something else that I have to write anyway. I’m approaching a difficult point in my novel, a point that also marks the [...]

I sat down (tired, exhausted and severely blocked… this really is becoming a rather constipation-like experience) to do some 100 words “for seed” so that I’d have an easier go tomorrow and surprised myself by writing 500+ words. Not that I’m complaining. Lesson 16 of How To Think Sideways arrived today, and I tweaked my [...]

I am seriously considering cutting all these prison scenes and banishing them to a) a separate story b) to another novel in this setting. Something is changing in the voice as I’m writing this, and this whole chapter seems to be a jump-off. Not even mentioning introducing 7 new characters and a dilemma that’s outside [...]

After some (well, after lots of) struggle I seem to have a break-through in this tricky chapter. 1000+ words for me, and passing 30 K mark. I have a problem with a lot of secondary characters appearing at this point, but well, they technically appeared in the first third of the story (albeit barely) and [...]

I just snuck out for a quick writing session. I practically forced myself to do this since I’m lazy and I assumed I had writer’s block, and was thinking of scrapping the entire chapter and I had a book to read and and and. The writing session turned out to be marvellous, refreshing, happy and [...]

The usual sentiment is that whenever a writer starts slacking badly, this means that she should just keep on writing and hope for the best (e.g. that it’s her natural laziness keeping her from doing what she has to do). For some reason, the usual rule does not work that well for me. Whenever I [...]

I had the most curious writer’s block recenty—the “tomorrow/next week/next month, I’ll be able to do it better” block. Well, it had its basis since I’m taking Holly Lisle’s “How to think sideways” course and every week, a new lesson with new ideas and techniques come in, making a tiny revelation of “oh, so *this* [...]