When You and Your Imaginary Friends Are, Momentarily, Not Speaking...

Ah, yes; the fall out between family/friends/neighbors/acquaintances/coworkers/random strangers (because who HASN'T been here at some point in time?)

There's been a disagreement. There was a misunderstanding. "Party A" did something wrong to "Party B" (or vice-versa, depending on who's telling the story); then a "Party C" innocently comes along to patch things up and only gets frustrated with BOTH original parties when they, inevitably, get caught in the middle.

These can be frustrating rifts between friends and loved ones; and downright awkward for work colleagues. So, what do you do? Grovel/Beg/Plead/PROVE a change via actions/words? I suppose if it was a LEGITIMATE offense, it's the offended party's call; and THAT'S providing that the offender, honestly, knows what they've done and feels either remorse or, at least, a potential loss. As for the offended party, yeah, you have the "fun" of holding all of the cards until you say otherwise. But for exactly how long is it "fun" to hold a grudge; right up until the party who should seek recompence has given all that they've got and really doesn't care anymore?

Dealing with fallouts between people is difficult enough in navigating when they need a person asking/begging/pleading forgiveness/promising a change or when they need space. But what about when you and your "imaginary friends" (your characters in your next "great" fiction "masterpiece") are the ones who are "no longer speaking?"

That is when "Writer's Block" for a fiction author can creep in.

TURN OFF THE NOISE

It is ONE thing to build a playlist of music suitable for your novel to "set a mood" for the scene and, therefore, sit and write along. (Even then, keep the music at a moderate volume).

It is ANOTHER thing to have YouTube, your television, and your phone all pleading for your attention. (Even if it IS a great movie that you've seen a million times and is "meh; just background noise." Or even if it is "Mortal Kombat 11" simply allowing the AI to play through a tower as you write. Okay; GUILTY [but this is a "fun" article, NOT a masterpiece in fiction]).

As a matter of fact, for National Novel Writing Month, or if you're in the middle of a great wordsprint NOT to be interrupted, I'd add the stipulation of forgetting about the web browser altogether until you're in a spot to naturally break momentum. The NaNoWriMo page will be there to update your wordcount when you hit that point to end a scene; your Facebook feed will still be there; for the moment, while Steven Crowder, The Quartering, Matt Walsh, or Ben Shapiro are still even ALLOWED on YouTube, their content for the day will be there when you get back to it.

RELATIONSHIPS ARE GIVE AND TAKE

...It's true in real life; and it's true on the page.

Did I want Nicholas Paul to almost LOSE Taylor Winters no less than four separate times (or the equivalent of once per high school year)? [1] Maybe not originally; but it did help to add some meat to the story and only strengthened the relationship when Nick was allowed to win the girl's heart for KEEPS in the end (You're welcome, buddy. I only WISH that that had been my own experience).

Where would Harram/Knightan be now without at least SOME of my guidance[2]? And exactly how READABLE would "Weapons and Warriors" have been if I had just shoehorned in 65 chapters and "moral" epilogues for the sake of saying "this can now read like a full syndicated fantasy animated series" rather than crafting a good story and quitting at 30 chapters?

Where would John Oran and the "Knights of Cyrena" be now without my guidance? Where would they be had I not allowed some scenes to change naturally from my original idea or fought too hard to bring back 100% of my control into the script? (3)

What about the antics at "Universal University" (4); is the Freshman/Sophomore class in the best possible place because of one part control/one part going with the flow, even when it flows away from the original concept, however briefly?

At some point, I am still the author (and a sentient person). However, if I care so much about the characters that I craft, am I really supposed to lord 100% authority here and try way too hard to write a book that matches ONLY the "original" idea...?

SOMETIMES IT'S BEST TO WALK AWAY.

It's painful to walk away from a good relationship for good. Sometimes, an appropriate distance for an appropriate amount of time can help to heal at least SOME wounds until those that NEED a heart-t0-heart to heal can be addressed more soothingly.

The same is true with my fiction characters. So I've reached the end of a paragraph/page/chapter and my characters have forced me into a rut that they seem to enjoy (if this happens MID-SENTENCE, I still need to power through to at least some punctuation).

Fine. Give them (an hour/two.../the morning/overnight) and return to this "relationship" with a fresh start. In the meantime, take a walk. Listen to some music. Sing-along if you want. Phone a friend. Read an established book (hey, maybe you'll get some ideas; or "make your imaginary friends jealous enough" that NOW they'll give you some give-and-take back). Watch a movie. Make that "movie" a marathon session of "He-Man"/"She-Ra"/"G.I. Joe"/"Mister Ed"/"Full House"/"Step By Step" (Hey, remember whose article this is. Besides, ANY established media may accidentally awaken a muse with a brand new idea). Play a video game. Watch a YouTube clip (even if it is Crowder, Shapiro, Walsh, "Zeducation," etc. Hey; maybe the YoungTurks actually ARE your cup of tea; this isn't about judging that too harshly...).

THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH ROOM FOR EGO.

I'm the writer and the characters that I'm putting on the page are MY creations...

...Okay; that's ONE way to look at it.

Now, let's try ANOTHER angle here...

"What if abiding ONLY, STRICTLY, by MY ideas for the script came out with something way too bland and with far little promise...?"

The author NEEDS his characters just as much as the characters and a script need the author to bring them to life.

There are so many ways to conquer writer's block (the moment when you and your "imaginary friends" [the characters that you're trying so desperately to craft] are "not speaking.") I've only listed SOME of my own.

Thanks for paying attention, by the way.

The author threw some fairly random characters and situations your way throughout this work, didn't he?

Worry not. HERE are your endnotes...

[1] "The Art of Belonging and Blending In" (Kent Brindley; CreateSpace) (2014)

[2] "Weapons and Warriors" (Kent Brindley; Kindle Direct Publishing) (2021)

[3] "Knights of Cyrena" (Kent Brindley; Kindle Direct Publishing) (2020)

[4] "Universal" (2015)/"Universal 2; or How I Spent My Springbreak" (2016) (Kent Brindley; CreateSpace)

Oh, yeah; these books and more are up on Amazon; OR continue supporting my "Vocal" work with DryReads/Hearts/even Tips

Most importantly, "writer's block" is NO ONE'S friend and CAN be overcome in any myriad of ways. Take faith, it happens to all of us, take courage, and write on, Fellow "Vocalists..."