3T Writing Tidbit

My husband posts about creativity on Facebook. It's been helping me boost my own productivity in ways I'd never imagined.

Today (January 18, 2017) he posted one on how Isaac Asimov wrote the equivalent of a full-length novel every two weeks for 25 years (over 500, but over a lot longer period, lol). It's here: https://qz.com/886038/isaac-asimov-wrote-almost-500-books-in-his-lifetime-these-are-the-6-ways-he-did-it/

The whole article is worth reading, but what stood out was Asimov's take on the dreaded writer's block.

Frequently, when I am at work on a science-fiction novel, I find myself heartily sick of it and unable to write another word.

It's normal to get stuck. His solution? Set it aside.

I don’t stare at blank sheets of paper. [...] I simply [...] go on to any of the dozen other projects that are on tap. [...] By the time I’ve grown tired of these things, my mind has been able to do its proper work and fill up again. I return to my novel and find myself able to write easily once more.

I've done this before out of profound disgust for a project, and I practice interleaving projects to make them continuously fresh, but never have I walked consciously away from something. Going to give this one a try.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.