10 Tips to End Your Writer’s Block For Good!

These tips have helped me get out of writer’s block and start writing again, and I hope they’ll do the same for you. If you need help, try following some of these suggestions:.

  1. Take breaks: Sometimes, the best way to overcome writer’s block is to step away from your writing and do something else entirely. Walk your dog, watch a movie, play with your cat, or read a book.
  2. Change your environment: If you feel stuck, try changing your writing environment. Move to a different room, go to a park or a coffee shop, or simply switch up your sitting position.
  3. Free-write: Set a timer for a specific time and write whatever comes to mind. This can help get your creative juices flowing and overcome any blockages.
  4. Brainstorm with a friend: Talking to someone about your writing can help generate new ideas and spark inspiration.
  5. Write a different part of your story: If you’re having trouble with one particular section, try writing another aspect of your novel or story.
  6. Use prompts: Try writing prompts to get your creative mind working again. These can be found online or in writing prompts books.
  7. Try a new genre or style: Experimenting with new forms of writing can help you get out of your comfort zone and find new inspiration.
  8. Keep a journal: Writing in a journal can help you reflect on your life and experiences, providing a wealth of material for your writing.
  9. Reading other authors’ work can help you get new ideas and improve your writing skills.
  10. Reward yourself: Lastly, it’s essential to recognize and reward yourself for making progress. Make sure you celebrate your accomplishments with a treat or a relaxing activity.

If you struggle with writer’s block, don’t worry – you’re not the only one. Writer’s block is a common problem that can occur at any time. However, the tips above should help you start writing again and maybe even wholly eliminate “writer’s block.”

Bella H.

How to Write a Novel in four Months: Advice from a Teen Author

Writing a novel takes a lot of time; If you’re reading this, you may want to know how to write a book in four months. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is possible. I wrote my first novel in four months when I was thirteen. And, while it wasn’t the best novel ever written, it was a start. Here’s the thing: many people think that writing a book is a huge, daunting task that takes years. And, sure, some novels do take years to write. But, those novels usually result from years of planning, outlines, and drafts. You can do it if you want to write a novel in four months. All you need is a plan and a little bit of motivation. How do you write a book in two to four months? First, you need to sit down and make a plan. What is your novel about? The main plot? The subplots? Who are the main characters? What are their motivations? Once you have a plan, it’s time to start writing.

The first step is to set a goal for yourself. Write 200-500 words a day, or 1,000 words a day, or whatever you think you can handle. And then just write. Write without stopping, without editing, and without worrying about whether or not your writing is good. Just write. The first draft is always the hardest, but it’ll be more manageable once you get going. If you hit a wall, take a break. Go for a walk, watch a movie, or read a book. But don’t give up. Writing a novel is a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. And, in the end, it’s always worth it.

Second, get started and keep going. You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start writing. In fact, it’s often better to start writing and see where the story takes you. You can always go back and make changes later. The most important thing is to keep writing. Keep going even if you hit a rough patch or think your writing could improve. Just keep going. The more you write, the better you’ll get at it. And if you finish your novel and are unsatisfied with it, that’s okay. You can always revise it or even start over. The important thing is that you finish it. Writing a novel is a huge accomplishment, no matter how long it takes or how it turns out.

Third, set a daily word count goal and stick to it. Set a daily word count goal and stick to it. This may seem daunting, but it is doable if you are disciplined and have a clear plan. Sit down and calculate how many words you need to write daily to reach your goal of 50,000 words in four months. This may seem like a lot, but only about 800-1000 words per day. Once you have your daily plan, make sure to stick to it. There will be days when you may feel like you need help to get stuck, but push through and remember your goal. If you stay caught up, don’t stress; catch up as soon as possible. Writing a novel is a lot of work, but it is also fun. So, set your goal and stick to it, and you will be well on your way to writing a great novel in just four short months.

Fourth, Don’t worry about being perfect; just keep writing.
Assuming you have a story outline and characters already planned out, the best way to write a novel in four months is to just keep writing. It can be easy to get bogged down in perfectionism, but it’s important to remind yourself that the first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get the story down on paper (or screen), and worry about fixing it later. If you’re worried about making mistakes, just remember that everyone makes them. Even best-selling authors had to revise their work before it was published. The most important thing is to keep writing; you’ll be surprised how quickly the words start to flow.

Fifth, Make time for your story every day.
No matter how busy you are, if you want to write a novel in four months, you must make time for your story every day. That means setting aside at least an hour each day to write, and more if you can. Even if you can only spare 30 minutes, or 20, or 10, that’s still enough to get some words down on the page. The best way to make sure you stick to your writing schedule is to set a daily goal. Decide how many words you want to write, and then make sure you write at least that many. Some days you’ll write more, and some days you’ll write less, but as long as you hit your goal most days, you’ll make good progress. If you have trouble finding time to write, try getting up an hour earlier and writing before school or work. Or write during your lunch break. Or write in the evening after you’ve finished your homework. You can also break your writing sessions into smaller chunks and write for 10 or 15 minutes throughout the day. The most important thing is to be creative about how you fit writing into your life. There needs to be one right way to do it. Just make sure you find a way to make it work.

The next step is, Let your characters lead the way.
There’s no single right way to write a novel, but some methods are more effective than others. One method that can be particularly useful is to let your characters lead the way. What does this mean, exactly? It means that you should focus on your feelings first and foremost and let their actions and decisions drive the plot. This can be a great way to ensure that your story is character-driven rather than plot-driven. One of the best ways to do this is to brainstorm your characters before you start writing the story. Write down everything you know about them, including their backstories, goals, and personality traits. The more you know about your characters, the easier it will be to let them lead the way. Another helpful tip is to start each chapter with a character’s name. This will help you track who’s doing what and make it easier for your readers to follow. Finally, feel free to let your characters make mistakes. It’s their story, after all, and their mistakes will make them more relatable and human. Consider how your decisions have led to good and bad things in your life, and use that to inform your character’s choices. Remember, there’s no single right way to write a novel. So if you find yourself struggling, take a step back and see if letting your characters lead the practice might be the best course of action.

Finally, enjoy the process, and don’t get discouraged.
One of the best pieces of advice I can offer for anyone trying to write a novel in four months is to not get discouraged. The process can be daunting, but it’s important to remember that writing is a journey, not a destination. You will make mistakes along the way, but that’s okay! The important thing is to enjoy the process and to keep writing. There will be days when you feel like you can’t do it, but you must push through. Remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Whether it’s because you want to tell a story or you’re aiming to get published, keep your goal in mind. And don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Many resources are available to help you, whether online forums, beta readers, or writing groups. The most important thing is to not give up. Writing a novel is a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. So go forth and write your heart out! Get started today!

Bella H.

Writing Tips!

Photo by Judit Peter on Pexels.com

Creating things can be difficult.  Frequently, writers develop a lack of motivation or good ideas, known as writer’s block.  When in one of these moods it can feel impossible to begin writing, like your writing is no good, or that you will never finish on account of not finding the perfect synonym for “yesterday”.  

My brain’s most frequent writing issue is that I ramble.  My ideas come so fast, my fingers don’t have time to get them down on paper, and before I know it I’ve forgotten what I was writing and moved on to a completely different topic.  This leaves my writing sporadic, confusing, and without purpose.  

A tip to cope is letting go of your standards when you first start writing and entering a “brainstorming” mindset where your fingers can get down the most important parts of your ideas without having to worry about grammatical errors or better word choices.  This allows you to get more work done and gives you more material to work with during revision later.  You’ll also feel more satisfied with how much you were able to write and express yourself.  

This brainstorming mode can even take the form of a list or other grammatically incorrect forms.  Long run-on sentences branching out your ideas or even sketchy, bulleted outlines of stories all work to combat writer’s block, give you more motivation and satisfaction, and help you become a more confident and efficient writer.  You’ll be surprised how much more you’re able to get done!  Happy writing! 

-Giselle F. 

Authors We Love: Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow was born on June 10, 1915, and passed away on April 5, 2005. He was born in Lachine, a small village located in Quebec, Canada and immigrated with his parents to Chicago, United States with he was eight. Due to this reason, Hyde Park, Chicago was the backdrop of a lot of his famous works because he was the most familiar with it.

Both of his parents were from Russia and were very strict Jews. They wished Saul Bellow could be a rabbi or a violinist playing in church when he grows up. However, he couldn’t overcome his passion for writing and therefore did not relinquish to these two occupations even when his mother passed away. He went to Chicago University and later switched to Northwestern University because he felt the former disliked Jews and therefore mistreated them. Bellow did his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin.

As a Novel Prize Literature winner, Pulitzer Prize fiction winner, and the only writer to win the National Medal of arts three times, Bellow in his entire life has composed a lot of works. These include Dangling Man, The Victim, The Adventures of Augie March, Seize the Day, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog, Mr.Sammler’s Planet, Humboldt’s Gift, The Dean’s December, More Die of Heartbreak, A Theft, The Bellarose Collection, The Actual, and Ravelstein. He also wrote a lot of plays and some nonfiction as well.

One thing which marks his unique style is his philosophical views embedded amongst the paragraphs and in characters’ dialogues. It provides on his insight of life, death, marriage and other themes which he values as important. Although some critics argue that this style of approach can be very elusive and a form of digression, I thought if sociology and anthropology are vital in Bellow’s life, he should put it down to let people who he really is.

-Coreen C. 

The works of Saul Bellow are available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

In the wake of the unrelenting movements spanning across the globe on gender equality, an achingly honest account on the female experience rises from contemporary beginnings. Leni Zumas masterfully crafts together a mosaic of triumph and misery through the lives of five women:

  • A desperate list-making biographer whose anguish feeds her fire
  • A student brighter than the sun, knee-deep in an undesirable predicament
  • An exhausted wife/mother, carrying in her hands her breaking marriage
  • An arrested mystic guided by her own lunacy
  • And finally, an unacknowledged polar explorer of the nineteenth century.

In brash, burning, and heartrending prose, Zumas teaches us the interconnectedness of one life to another and the vibrancy of hope in tumultuous times. Set in a United States where abortion is banned and IVF illegal, Red Clocks is a novel of forward thinking and revolution. It’s witty and full of relatable quips – a reflection of life’s pitfalls and mountains and written with the hand of a skilled writer.

Zumas writes inside the heads of her characters – each sentence a gunshot ringing clear in the minds of the protagonists. Each woman wielding her own flaws, dreams, and faulty beauty, the reader gains a true and sometimes alarming insight into their lives. The novel is incandescent with the fire of the strange, sparking with the light of life.

Ultimately, through pain and reward, the women of Red Clocks learn their own lessons in the novel’s revelation. While its mature themes are not for everyone, there are countless aspects to love in Zumas’ political, hilarious, and gorgeous testimony to the horrors and beauty of a woman’s life.

-Esther H.

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library

The Last Time I Died By Joe Nelms

Image result for the last time i diedChristian Franco and Ella Franco are brothers and sisters, but the incident of their father murdering their mother and abusing her violently before destroyed the bond between them.

It wasn’t until Christian met his wife that he first relished the reminiscent taste of love. But as time slipped bypass his crude fingers that he realized the love he gripped it too tight that his wife was escaping because it choked her from it. He was once again abandoned by his family.

Struggling to cope, he depletes himself by testing experimental medicine from a former physician that now treats dogs bred to fight. This is a tragedy of one person’s life, but he was able to collect the pieces of his mom’s death and eventually muster them together as a complete puzzle. His life then lingered between comedy and tragedy.

-April L.

The Last Time I Died by Joe Nelms is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library

Creative Writing: Labels

Prompt: If we were all forced to wear a warning label, what would yours say?

I took this prompt literally and made it into an excerpt of a story. So enjoy!


It felt a lot like that game where you have a headband with a word to describe you, but you can’t see it. You know, the one where everyone can see it but you, and if you try to look it’s cheating. Because of this unknown definition of yourself, other people get to judge you and think up their own thoughts before you even get the chance to say hello. Walking around, you can’t help but feel the eyes as they stare at the big block letters slapped across your forehead. Of course, reflections will only make the words disappear, disabling you from seeing them. And I know what you’re thinking…

Why can’t you just tell each other what they are? No, it doesn’t work like that either. For some reason, your body will not let you see or hear it until you’re ready to. It involves some self discovery of finding who you truly are, or some spiritual thing like that. I don’t know. Some achieve this very early in life, which is amazing considering how life messes with us, making us believe we’re one thing when we’re completely the opposite. Others, however, don’t realize until they’re well into their years, past any time that could help them decipher what it means.

Personally, I’ve never really had a problem not knowing what my Label was, except for today. I was simply minding my own business, doing some shopping that I have long since procrastinated, when it happened. Usually, I noticed a few glances, but none of them really lingered long. So I had come to this conclusion that my word was uninteresting and essentially boring. That I was uninteresting and essentially boring. But then, it was another girl, about my age with the word Lost scribbled across her face, who seemed to think I was something more.

First of all, with a word like Lost, I couldn’t help but feel sad. Most Labels I’d seen had said more positive and straightforward things than just Lost. This implied she may never find herself, and that to me is heartbreaking, since that’s everyone’s goal, of course. Other than that, it would’ve been pretty easy to forget about her if she hadn’t followed me around the whole store. Talk about lost. No matter how many times I had thought she left, she was always lurking around some corner, waiting for me to see her. And I always did, but I didn’t want to. The way she looked at me, studying my word; her eyes pierced through as if wanting to burn the letters off my skin or sear them further in. While the rest of her demeanor suggested she was harmless, I didn’t want to stay around her any longer. Ducking out of the building, I thought I had finally cleared her when I turned around to see those unforgiving eyes.

And all she said was “You too.”

-Sabrina C., 11th Grade

Authors We Love: Natasha Preston

Natasha Preston, also known as the Wattpad sensation, natashapreston. Natasha Preston was born in England and has lived in small towns and villages out of the countryside ever since. At school, she received average grades and fell into administration and receptionist jobs, thinking that she couldn’t really do anything else.

In 2010, she stumbled into writing completely by accident.  She was searching the ‘app store’ when she came across Wattpad, an amateur writing site. For the first few months she just read, but then she decided to type some of the ideas whirling around her head. All of her books started as a story on Wattpad. She enjoys writing romance, thrillers, gritty YA, and the occasional serial killer.

Writing gave her an escape and Wattpad gave her the confidence she lacked.

Her #1 on New York Times young adult Ebook is, The Cellar, which was originally published in 2014. The Cellar‘s genres are thriller, fiction, and mystery. There is never a dull moment in this book. Natasha Preston always keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. The Cellar is about a 16 year old girl, Summer Robinson who gets disappears without a trace.  No family or police investigation can find her. Summer spends months in the cellar with her kidnapper and several other girls. Summer learns about Colin, (the kidnapper) and his abusive past and how he thinks of his victims being his family.

Creative Writing: Adventures in Ilvermorny Part 2

This is part two of a short story about some kids that attend llvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (US version of Hogwarts). These characters are entirely made up by me, and my descriptions of Ilvermorny are no doubt very different from what J.K. Rowling’s are. Enjoy!

Cyrus shook her hand, “Well then Jane….?

“-Ingram, Jane Ingram”, Jane affirmed.

“Jane Ingram, are you a first year too?”, Cyrus questioned, “Because I’m stressed beyond belief.”

Jane nodded. “Yea, but I bet you have more of an idea of what’s about to happen. My mom’s a Muggle-born and so she thought it would be best if I was raised without magic until Ilvermorny, like her. Supposedly it will make me appreciate magic more, but I just feel like I’m ten steps behind everyone else.”

Cyrus waved a hand. “Nah there will be plenty of Muggle-borns who just found out about magic weeks ago. That’s not even the issue, its not like Eyla and I get our wands any sooner than everyone else. What’s nerve wracking is the sorting. Eyla is set to be a Wampus, but I’m not really sure where I’d fit”. Cyrus shrugged, looking a little embarrassed to have just shared this with a stranger.

Jane smiled sympathetically, “My mom says the carvings never lie. They know you better than you know yourself.” Jane’s smile slowly turned into a quizzical expression. “Wait did you say that Eyla is a first year too? She’s as tall as many of the 7th years!”, Jane exclaimed a little too loudly.

Eyla, in hearing her name, turned to face Jane again. “Yea, and that’s what’s going to get me to be the first female admitted onto the Quidditch team as a first year”, Eyla announced proudly. “Although, I do wish Ilvermorny had basketball, the one thing I will miss from living so close to muggle cities”, she stated mostly to herself, while sighing.

A smooth woman’s voice on the crackling intercom abruptly interjected the conversation.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are now boarding flight 934 from Miami to Massachusetts, repeat, we are now boarding flight 934 from Miami to Massachusetts”

 

Grammar Girl by Mignon Fogarty

grammargirl_mignonfogartyAre you a grammar fanatic? Are you annoyed when people, including adults, mix up their grammar? Well, Grammar Girl by Mignon Fogarty, a book exploring the surfaces and depths of grammar and writing, is much more than a grammar book.  And more than likely, it is right for you.  It offers easy-to-understand rules of conduct to live by as a writer, or in your case, a blogger.  Throughout this book, easy lessons are explained through quick and dirty tips.  I learned everything from gerunds to objective versus subjective pronouns to complicated conjugations.

The basic definition of a gerund is a noun made from an action verb plus an ‘ing’ at the end.  Every gerund, without exception, ends in ‘ing’.  Gerunds are not, however, that easy to locate.  For example, a name of a profession counts.  Like, ‘Acting isn’t as easy as it looks.’  In this case acting is the gerund and is functioning like a noun, yet it sounds like a verb.  Here’s another one: ‘Her singing almost deafened me.’  Singing is the gerund because it is referring to the act of her singing as an object or an idea.  But, we’re not done yet. In most cases, gerunds need a possessive or objective pronoun much like some words need linking verbs. It can be pretty easy to make the mistake of saying ‘We didn’t know that was his singing.’ This sentence could mean we couldn’t tell if what he was doing was singing or if he was making some other noise.  That was a possessive pronoun, but to clarify the true meaning of these types of sentences, sometimes you need to use a possessive pronoun.  This is the correct sentence: ‘We didn’t know this was him singing.’

In sixth grade, your English teacher probably taught you about basic conjugation.  In addition to these, there are progressive and perfect progressive. Learning these are essential to speaking correctly and formally.  Progressive means that the action is ongoing, progressing, or will be progressing.  (You can see chart below for the progressive and the perfect progressive.)  Then, perfect progressive is when the action has progressed for a while before it ended or it will end.  Perfect progressive uses the words like ‘has been’ or ‘had been’.

I would definitely rate this book a 10/10 for its complete guide on grammar and tips to keep your writing in shape.  In addition to Grammar Girl, I also would recommend checking out some of Mignon Fogarty’s online resources as well.  She has a podcast, a website (http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl), and several books for you to explore and love just as I did with this one.

– Maya S., 7th grade

Grammar Girl is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library

PROGRESSIVE(also called incomplete and continuous) EXAMPLE MEANING OF SENTENCE
Past progressive Jack was walking. At some point in the past, Jack was in the middle of a walk, but we don’t know when he stopped or if he did.
Present progressive Jack is walking. Jack is in the middle of a walk.
Future progressive Jack will be walking. Jack will walk in the future– and walk and walk.  Who knows when it will end?
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE (also called perfect continuous) EXAMPLE MEANING OF SENTENCE
Past perfect progressive Jack had been walking. At some point in the past, Jack started walking and did so for a while, but now it’s over.
Present perfect progressive Jack has been walking. Jack started walking sometime in the past, and he is still walking.
Future perfect progressive Jack will have been walking. Jack will walk until a specific point in the future, and then he will stop.