Writers, P.R.A.Y. When Stuck
By Tammy Karasek
Have you ever found yourself at a loss for words to write? In your frustration, did you whine, slam your fist on the desk or quit and get up and walk away? I have to admit I’ve done all of these at some point (or maybe all three at one time). But I’m still writing, so what made a change for me?
Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud:
and he shall hear
my voice. (Psalm 55:17 KJV)
I’ve managed to create a plan to keep these instances to a
minimum. When these moments happen, I stop and blow out a huge breath, then
pray. I think I know what you might be thinking … wow, that’s real news there,
Tammy. Hear me out. Not only do I take
it to God, I use an acronym of PRAY
to aid me when I am tempted to participate in one of the above reactions to my
frustration at the keyboard.
Here they are:
PERSEVERE and PRESS-ON: Don’t you dare quit!
Don’t throw away your writing instruction books, cancel all your writing group
memberships, give away your computer and go hide. Remember, the old tortoise
and hare story? Slow and steady wins the race. Take a moment to breathe. Get up
from your writing space and take a little walk around the room or visit a coffee
shop and grab a fresh beverage. Well, don’t grab one if you’re at a coffee
shop, they prefer you pay for them! 😊
REALIZE then RESEARCH: Realize you’re
stuck, then research something for the piece you’re writing. I’m not telling
you to research Pinterest for home decorating or a new recipe here. Take the
topic you’re working on and use our friend Google to see what comes up.
Character problem for your fiction? Research a flaw your character has and see
what comes up. Working on a non-fiction piece? Dust off your King James Version
and dig through the concordance for some Scriptures regarding the topic you’re
writing about. There’s just something about the beautiful words of the ol’ King
James Bible, right?
ACKNOWLEDGE and ASK: Still stuck? The
obvious of the acronym should be where we always start, but what about sending
an email to a writing buddy asking for them to pray as well. Who knows, maybe
they might have a suggestion for your piece or would be willing to give you a
call to do a quick brainstorm session.
YACK and YEARN: Yack about God everywhere
and in every way you can. Yearn to have the opportunities to share of His
goodness. What does this have to do with being stuck in your writing? Sometimes
through these opportunities is where God gives us more to write about. Keep a
notebook of things that were said or questions that were asked in these events,
then when stuck, pull out the notebook and read through it. You never know what
may jump out for you to use. Always look for the opportunities to share about
God.
Pray without
ceasing. (I Thessalonians. 5:17 KJV)
I hope you can use the P.R.A.Y. ideas above should you find
yourself stuck in your writing at some point.
What about you? Do you have an idea or two that helps you
when you have this happen? Please share in the comments below, we’d love to
know your tips as well.
A writer of romantic suspense—with a splash
of sass—her debut book, Launch That Book, released in 2023. She’s
published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. She’s
also a writing team member for The Write Conversation Blog, Novel Academy, Blue
Ridge Conference Blog, The Write Editing, and more.
Known as The Launch Team Geek, Tammy helps
authors launch their books. You’ll also find her as a Virtual Assistant for
several best-selling authors, the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge
Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President and current
Vice-President of ACFW Upstate SC,
and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate
SC. Connect with Tammy at https://www.tammykarasek.com.
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