Get to the Finish Line; What to Do When You Hit a Block

As an editor, one of the questions I am most often asked is, How do I get my work finished? This question is common, especially among new or first time writers. Many people have lots of good information or ideas rolling in their heads and then when it's time to write it all down, they disconnect or hit a block. Sometimes people will write 50 or 100 pages and not know how to finish it out so they can present it for publication.

As a serious nonfiction writer, you will want to learn how to overcome these obstacles because your success depends upon conquering them. You should never deceive yourself into thinking that you will cause these common writer's concerns to completely subside. Disconnects, writer's block, and paragraph hooks are with you to stay. The key to finishing what you start is to know how to handle each one effectively.

DISCONNECTS

A disconnect is a spot in your writing where the subject changes sharply with no transitional material or transition sentences. A disconnect is not where the subject changes from the previous paragraph to the next when the new paragraph has a new heading or subheading. For example, the content of this paragraph is not "a disconnect" from the last one. In addition to having a subtitle, the content of this paragraph is hooked to the last paragraph.

A disconnect is any place where your writing makes a sharp change in direction with no apparent or logical sequence or connection. The best thing a nonfiction writer can do to overcome disconnects is to study the linguistic laws of logic. In these linguistic laws, you will learn proper use and the logical flow of words such as: "If, then"; "If and only if", "Except"; "Regardless"; "All"; "Nothing"; "Always"; "Never"; and more.

Although these are small words with seemingly little significance, they are words that if properly used, will make your work flow well and read in a connected fashion. These are words which if used improperly will make your work read in a very rough and disconnected manner. Aside from restructuring your work to solve the disconnect problem, a proper use of logic phrases is the best solution to disconnects.

WRITER'S BLOCK

Most nonfiction writers stop working on their material when they disconnect or hit a writer's block. A writer's block is far more serious than a disconnect and can take longer for the writer to fix. A writer's block occurs when the writer hits a place in the content where he cannot figure out where to go. It is more common in creative works than in nonfiction, but it can happen in nonfiction when the writer has a considerable amount of latitude on the subject matter. It can also happen when the writer creates a nonfiction work from scratch for submission rather than working under an assignment with a rigid outline.

The nonfiction writer that writes from scratch for submission writes from a more creative vein and is thus open for creative setbacks. Regardless of what type of writing you engage in, you will fare better when you confront your writer's block and own it as part of the job. Remember, we are all finite beings, with finite minds and each mind has a limit; each writer discovers the limits of their own mind in the process of writing. As you develop, you will notice a decrease in writer's block. Your writer's block decreases and your writing skills increase as you engage yourself more and more in the writing process and you become more and more refined in what you are able to produce.

For those who find themselves regularly hitting a writer's block, here is a short list of things that can work to help you move past it. Keep in mind that these suggestions are not a cure-all for all writers and what works for you may vary according to your natural disposition, likes, and habits.

BLOCK BREAKERS

An afternoon off of your writing project; watch a movie with your family.

Running around the block; or any other exercise that you enjoy.

Sex, endorphins feed the creative mind.

Writer's clubs, engage the minds of your colleagues, a play, a concert, or expose yourself to other creative talents. Creativity feeds creativity.

A good night's sleep; sometimes you're just tired.

A religious service, prayer, or meditation. Get your mind off of yourself.

Say, "I'm sorry." to anyone you may be at odds with or anyone who is offended by you.

Strife has a way of killing your creative energy.

PARAGRAPH HOOKS

Paragraph hooks are not frequently discussed in the common bookstore books that you can find on the art of writing. They are somewhat of a writer's secret if you will. Among seasoned writers, hooks are considered one of the refining points of the art and rarely discussed with novices.

So, to help you understand more about the art of writing, I will discuss paragraph hooks here. My hope is that you take it for what it is, a polishing tool, and a tool you can use when your writing style is undeveloped or lacking for flow. When you first begin to use this tool, take care not to overdo it. A paragraph hook is like a strong seasoning, you must first learn how to master its use for it to be good. If you overdo it, then you come across as simple minded, redundant, or a poor writer. The idea here is to avoid all of those and to give you a tool that can help you get to the finish line of your manuscript with some finesse.

I will give you a concrete example of the use of paragraph hooks by sending you back to the beginning of this lesson. You will notice in the first two paragraphs of this lesson I used the word "writer(s)" and underlined its occurrence. This will show you a subtle repetition of a single word between paragraph 1 and paragraph 2. This is a paragraph hook at its best. It is not overdone or boring.

In those first two paragraphs as well as the following three, I also used the word "dis-connect" and for our lesson I have emboldened its variations. You will notice a heavy repetition here because disconnect is the subject of this subsection. You will also notice that I included the word connect in the highlighted sections. Generally speaking, be careful making paragraph hooks out of broken words. For example, the word highlighted in the previous sentence could not be thought of, or function as, a hook if in the next paragraph I used the word high. Why not? Because it does not flow logically.

The word connect functions as a hook because the subject of the section is disconnect and the point of the paragraph is to prevent a disconnect. By definition, if you are successful in preventing a disconnect, then you have created a connection in the flow of your content. This logical flow helps to make the word connect also function as a paragraph hook.

Again, the paragraph hook is something that you must practice with in order to successfully use it as a tool that will help you to finish a work. It is also a tool that if you do not learn to use it as you write, then you will rewrite your material later in order to use it to correct something. So, if you are trying to fix something you wrote that has a rough flow to it, then you can expect to do a minor rewrite to insert corrective hooks that help to polish out your work. As a novice writer, you can use paragraph hooks and minor rewrites to correct a work your editor bounces back to you IF you get the hang of it. If you have an editor who is working with you, and someone you have relationship with, then correcting your work with the proper use of hooks may make the difference between the editor's acceptance or rejection of your work.

WORDS TO KNOW

Disconnect. A place in your writing where the subject changes sharply with no transitional material.

Writer's block. When the writer hits a place in the content where he cannot continue to create material.

Paragraph hooks. Connecting words that help to weave your manuscript together.

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