#WriteTip: When Writer’s Block Hits by Jessica Subject (@jsubject), #SciFiRom #Author at @DecadentPub
/I'm delighted to welcome fellow Beyond Fairytales author and SFR Brigade member Jessica Subject here today. She's got some writing tips for you, as well as a smoking hot excerpt from her new release, The Star Princess. I'll let her take it from here.
9 Writing Tips: When Writer's Block Hits | Text by Jessica Subject | Graphics by Tara Quan
When Writer’s Block Hits
by Jessica Subject
I like to say I’ve never been hit by writer’s block. Unfortunately, I have, but I have an active plan in place that it doesn’t last long. The first thing we writers need to remember when we experience a time when our story just won’t come, is DO NOT PANIC! Panicking is going to make the situation much worse than it needs to be. It’s also going to prolong the length of our writer’s block.
Here are nine things I like to do when I experience a temporary block of ideas...
- Listen to music – If you have a playlist for the story, listen to it for inspiration. If you don’t have one, make one. Find music that relates to the characters, the settings, or the scenes you want to create.
- Daydream – Close your eyes and picture the story. Imagine yourself as your main character. Feel what they are feeling. Play out the scene you’re working on.
- Walk away from the story – I just put it down and go do something else, whether it be housework, going for a walk, exercising, or working on a project/craft I’ve put aside long ago. Sometimes you just need some time away from the story to get unblocked.
- Read a book – Sometimes getting lost in someone else’s world will relax you enough to get the ideas flowing again. You can read something in your own genre, or a story totally different from anything you’ve ever read. Who knows what twist it may inspire.
- Work on another story – Try writing flash fiction for events like #ThursThreads. Sometimes trying to write something else will get the ideas flowing again. Or, you’ll just start another story. Hey, at least you’re writing.
- Try writing in a new place – If you normally write in your home, pack up your computer and take a trip to a coffee shop, the library, or somewhere else you can find a table to write. Not only can a new writing spot unblock you, but people watching can also inspire characters. Snippets of conversation you overhear might also make its way into your story.
- Have a trusted critique partner read over what you’ve written – Maybe you’ve wrote yourself into a corner. Maybe there’s a plot hole and you can’t see it. Sometimes another author can help you see where you’ve taken a wrong turn and help you get back to writing your story.
- Have coffee or lunch with another author – Whether you discuss your story and decide to rewrite the whole thing (Yes, that’s what I did with The Star Princess), or just take a break, it’s nice to spend time with someone else in the industry.
- Take a vacation – Sometimes you just need to get away from it all. Put the writing away and go have fun. You don’t have to go far or for a long time. You can come back to writing refreshed and with more ideas and inspiration.
THE STAR PRINCESS
A Beyond Fairytales story
By Jessica E. Subject
A New Adult Erotic Sci-Fi Romance
In one week, Princess Ro’sa will board a spaceship, leaving her home on Minjet to be with her betrothed on Earth. The only problem is, she detests the prince’s selfish and arrogant ways, preferring to spend time with his personal aide, a man who stirs her desires in ways she never imagined possible with his radiant blue eyes and smouldering lips. And oh, the way he touches her.
Earth’s post-apocalyptic landscape offers little but the alliance offers much and a princess must do her duty, no matter the danger to her person and to her heart.
Available from
Decadent Publishing | All Romance | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords
Amazon US | UK | Australia | Canada | Germany
Add The Star Princess to Goodreads
Excerpt (Adult-Content Ahead!)
At the whoosh of the space shuttle flying overhead, the feline on Ro’sa’s knee hissed before jumping to the floor. Ro’sa hurried to the front of the house, pressing her palms and nose against the window. Somewhere in that ship was her betrothed, the prince from Earth she would marry.
Ka’lyn, her best friend, squeezed in beside her, claiming the rest of the available window space. “What do you think he looks like? I’ve never seen anyone from Earth before. Maybe he has two heads, or one eye....” She nudged Ro’sa’s side. “Two cocks?”
“Ka, really?” Flaring heat rushed to Ro’sa’s cheeks and temporarily paused the fluttering of firetubes in her stomach. In seven rotations, she would say good-bye to her home, her family, and all of her friends to be with a complete stranger. She’d grown up knowing this time would come, but it had always seemed so far away. Until he’d arrived. Ro’sa swallowed her nerves. “His people just recently joined the Confederacy. I think the only reason they were invited was to prevent an intergalactic war when they learned of the existence of life beyond their own solar system.” They’d already destroyed most of their planet. Who knows what they would have done had the Confederacy not intervened?
Ka’lyn grabbed her shoulders and turned Ro’sa to face her. “I know all this, but what do they look like?”
“Humanoid, like us.” She searched her memory for the few Terran dignitaries she’d met. “But their skin is different shades of brown, from nearly white to almost black.” Though she had no idea where her betrothed fit into the spectrum, never having been allowed to travel to Earth. How she wished she had. If her parents had allowed them to meet earlier, she’d have far fewer worries and much more experience with how to interact with those from Earth, and with her betrothed. She’d retained her virginity for him, the only female her age on the planet who hadn’t experienced sex, though she hoped to know what it was like before she left for Earth.
“Weird. So, when do you get to meet him?”
“Tonight.” Ro’sa returned her gaze out the window, watching the shuttle descend onto the runway. Had the prince saved himself for her? “There’s an official introduction ceremony where we will shake hands and eat our first meal together.”
“That’s crap.” Her friend tugged on her fingers. “Let’s go meet him as he’s coming off the ship.”
Ro’sa shook her head, yanking her hand away. “I can’t. I have to follow protocol.”
“Then we’ll hide in the shrubs. Don’t you want to check him out before you’re introduced to him in front of everyone?”
Biting her bottom lip, Ro’sa watched the spacecraft disappear below the treetops. “I guess.” Then she wouldn’t look like a fool in her first reaction to him. She could hold her emotions in check, having already caught sight of the prince.
“Let’s go then.” Ka’lyn stood at the door before she had the chance to move.
They left her friend’s home behind. Darting through the woods on the packed dirt path, Ro’sa hoped they’d make it to the runway in time. If the castle guards hastened him away, they’d never make it in time. Why hadn’t her parents let her meet him years ago? Was he that horrendous looking? At least they could have shown her a picture.
About Jessica E. Subject
Jessica E. Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to sexy. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.
When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk. Fast. But she just may slow down if there is a waterfall nearby.
Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.
Website/Blog | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Authorgraph
