As writers there is much pressure on us because of what we do, this pressure comes from ourselves, the market - and the people there in - and the proverbial reader. We sit at out desks when we have time, or have scraped ourselves from our warm bed where there is only a warm embrace.

We face many dangers every day, much more so than the average white collar worker. We travel vast distances, fight legendary monsters, fall in love all over again - and again and again - we see more dead bodies, blood, gore, and violence than a poorly made horror movie. We cheer when our heroes are doing great and we bash our head against a wall because our heroine is out at night, in heels, a skimpy PJ shirt, screaming her bloody head off while daintily running from someone with a... *Enter your weapon of choice* ...

And then we hit that wall.

You know what I'm talking about.

Yes, that one!

And let me tell you, I know this wall rather intimately. My 8 years of writing is proof of this: 0 finished novels, crap for rejection letters, and an uncountable stack of unfinished projects that are dear to my heart. But I have found something that helps. Really.

No, I'm not pulling your leg. You read that right. I have found something that helps.

Read it again if you don't believe me. I'll wait...

Back?

Okay.

You see, we all know not many writers share their secrets and special techniques that works for them. They don't tell us how they started, or how they gained their success. Sure, we all the probable answer... Keep sending in those manuscripts that you have somehow poured your soul on, spilt blood and sweat all over, and stained with heart and love.

But that doesn't tell us nothing in my opinion. We can all do that but first we have to over come that wall.

This wall comes in many colors, forms, materials, and hold many names. The one that the writer community loves is Writer's Block. Seems logical right? Sure.

But what about the hurdle of weak self-esteem, the raging river of fear, the cramped space of 'lack of originality' or every other beast that plagues the terrain of the writer's world? What about those? Don't they get called out and placed under the spotlight?

No.

But they should.

And when they do we see this in writers that Pay It Forward. That try to help you over come those hurdles and obstacles. These writers take time out of their busy schedule and sit down to write an essay, page, novel, heck even a series.

We all have some of these books on our shelves, don't try to hide it. We all see them under that blanket. Yes, THOSE books.

But tell the truth, how many can you read and learn something? Not many right? They just try to encourage you and sure, they help. They give you steam or a swift kick in the pants but that's all they are. Small bursts of encouragement. They make writing feel glamorous again but only for a short time.

What is even more rare are those writing help books that make you laugh, give you encouragement, and help you break down those walls with a swift, powerful roundhouse kick and a mighty battle cry.

You see for the past two years I've tried learning the craft, tweaking crap, everything but what that did was it only helped me down the road to not enjoying writing anymore. Not even those short bursts of encouragement made the writing sparkle again.

But I didn't give up. It was then that I found Holly Lisle and her amazing shop of toys. Yes, toys. These easy to download books in a neat PDF format helped me. They even broke down walls that I've kept hidden in myself. And I've learned a lot about myself as a writer.

Once again writing holds that sparkle, and I'm only a vessel for the writing to pour out of.

Now, I'm not saying all the techniques and exercises that these books offer will help you every time you are stuck but they are powerful when you find the right one, or five, that helps you break down that wall.

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So try it out. Go for it. Make that writing sparkle again. Learn something about yourself and how you write.

What do you have to lose?

That wall that has kept you back.

So break it down, give a mighty battle cry and shrug on the skin of that character that is amazing at martial arts and give that bloody wall a beating like it has never seen before and push onward.

You can only go up.

We'll go up together.


ROAR!!!!!