Young Writers Society

Everyone gets writer's block - it's part of being human, much like hating on Twilight or sneaking pieces of your nephew's Halloween candy from his pail when he's busy playing with Thomas the Tank Engine. For us writerly types, I can guarantee you that you'll encounter writer's block no more frequently than during NaNo, which can definitely throw a wrench in the well-oiled machine that is your perfect plot-baby.

Much in the same vein as John Green's advice - "Just keep writing" - comes the YWS tradition of Word Wars. They're simple, quick, and pretty violently competitive for folks using laptop keys as their weapons. I'm sure you're all wondering it:

Everyone wrote:Lumi, how can word wars help me with writer's block?

I'm glad you asked. In a fifteen-minute stint of a Word War, you'll crank out (on average) 300-500 words, which boils down to about 20-33 words per minute. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't really that much, but it does solve one thing:

Everyone wrote:Lumi, what does it solve?

It gets you writing. Those may be the worst 500 words you've written in your entire life (and yes, this is counting the "I like potatoes. Potatoes are brown." essay you wrote in first grade), but when you get those words cranked out, you'll have a foothold. Another word war? And you're nearly 1,000 words into your daily goal of 1,667. I'd consider that a victory, even if it isn't worth the bestseller list.

So. This November, the minute you hit a block, blast a hole in the wall to the chatroom and challenge someone to a Word War. Between all the asdfjkl; and hair-pulling, you'll find yourself at 50,000 words before you know it.