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April 17, 2017

Writer’s Block…Nope


By Claire Fullerton


I don’t believe in writer’s block because I think everyone has their own writing process; the task is to honor it. When I begin a novel, I have a story to tell. My aim is not so much to entertain as to say something about the complexities of living through the art of story. I am fascinated in the deep-seated emotional life within all of us. 

I firmly believe most people hide a significant part of who they are. In my mind, there are many possibilities on why this is so: fear of not fitting in, or of being misunderstood; unreasonable expectations dictated by someone close and domineering; the weight of psychic and emotional baggage accrued from any number of avenues, or perhaps wanting to toe the line of status quo in the interest of cultural society. It’s our emotional life that shapes much of our fate, and I never underestimate its motivational significance. Because this is a subject that intrigues me, I weave it into all of my books, for I aim to tell more than a story; I like to give the reader suggestions on how the story came to be because I think we are all subject to cause and effect.

When I have a novel in mind, I know its beginning, middle, and end, which gives me a story line, yet I am more concerned with the book’s message. I go into writing a book with both considerations in play, and allow the book to breathe and grow. Because I realize that most of us play out our lives in contrast and comparison to other people, and that our lives are somehow reflective of the people, places and things around us, I use characters as triggers for cause and effect within the story. It is the interplay, the exchange between characters that gives a story meaning, and I’ll go one further to say it’s the characters in a book that show us who we are.

All this said I take my time in writing a novel because I believe it has its own life force.  I have yet to write anything wherein I did not pause and reflect in the process, which is exactly why I am not a believer in writer’s block. I believe the story is within me, flying around on the wings of inspiration, and my job is to let it make itself known in its own terms then put it into words in my own timeframe.

I’ve heard it said by some writers that even when they are not writing, they are writing in their head. This makes perfect sense to me, and it takes mineral patience and iron trust to finagle the weight. If a writer can do this, then it allows for a living, breathing work in progress to create itself, along with anything else attendant to their personal process. 

As for writer’s block, I never claim it; when in downtime, I only think I’m taking a breath.
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Claire Fullerton hails from Memphis, Tennessee and now lives in Malibu, California. She is the author of paranormal mystery, A Portal in Time, set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and contemporary fiction, Dancing to an Irish Reel, set on the west coast of Ireland; both books published by Vinspire Publishing. Claire's third novel, Mourning Dove, is a Southern family saga set in Memphis. It will be published in June, 2018, by Firefly Southern Fiction. Her Social Media Links are: http://www.clairefullerton.com  Http://twitter.com/@cfullerton3  https://cffullerton.wordpress.com/


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