This week: Insidious Condition: The Dreaded Blank Edited by: Fyn  
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I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.~~Douglas Adams
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. ~~Ernest Hemingway
And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for awhile is just bliss.~~ J. K. Rowling
Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. ~~Isaac Asimov
I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.~~Robert Frost
Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you. ~~Marsha Norman
(see below - this would be a fun thing to add to that notebook!)
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Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: $ 24.95
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Defined as a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece* Writer's block is a condition, mostly connected to writing or artistic pursuits, in which an author/artist is prevented from producing new work or finishing a work in progress. Whether it is from a fear of failure, a lack of time, stress outside of writing or stress due to writing, it can last for a short time or stretch out into months or years. Then that stress from not writing may exacerbate the whole problem.
Known sometimes as 'creative constipation' it may be worsened by the pressures of deadlines rearing their heads, outside pressure from editors or family, and a self-anger at not being able to &%$$@#^$%# write. Many things may contribute to this - adding layers. That 'snowball rolling down hill' image as it races inexorably towards us, gathering steam and momentum and looming ever larger. When it hits, it avalanches, it buries, it obliterates. Whether our creative juices have dried up due to a muse who's decided to go on a glorious vacation leaving us in its dust, or our own sense of perfectionism rears its head wanting that first draft to be immediate perfection, or that 'self-doubt' monster comes out from under the bed snarling, or even if it is just that our motivation is severely lacking. You know those times...when procrastination is raised to new levels and you manage to convince yourself that all the sheets need washing, the pantry is in desperate need of reorganizing or that you absolutely must clean out all the closets, mop every moppable floor, and dust Every. Single. Last. Dustable object in the. Entire. House!
So. How do we tame the monster? Banish the Beast?
If possible, before the dreaded Writing Wraith rears its ugly head there are three things one should do.
The first is something that is good to do anyway. Establish a regular writing habit. Write every day or, at the very least, have regularly scheduled writing times. Keep to them. They are incredibly important. Once it becomes a habit it is had to break ... as all habits are! Write something. Anything. But write. Write character sketches. Dream shopping lists. Write about that dweeb in high school who drove you nuts. A dream house - describe it in detail. The ultimate vacation. Just write.
The second is to have a running list of ideas. Not well thought out scenarios, but odd words that strike your fancy, a line that comes to you as you fall asleep, or just a series of words that stop you. You know, those things you think might be a good idea, or hook, or concept. Make a habit of writing them down in a notebook that is just for this list. Keep it handy - a small notepad, perhaps, so there is never an excuse not to have it with you all the time.
Thirdly, practice self-love. You know you love to write. You know it makes you happy. You know you are good. You knowyour readers want to read your stuff. You know you are amazing. You know it!
Make it your mantra. Write it on the bathroom mirror. Put it up on a wall where you write. Make it a wallpaper.
We are all different. Different things work fr different people. I don't have all the answers. BUT! Do not let yourself fall into the death trap of giving up on your self.
So, all that aside - you've fallen in the dark hole and the walls are scraping by and there's not even a root to grab hold of. Now what? STOP. It is all in your mind, Alice. Put your foot down firmly on the invisible shelf and stop. Go back and read the 'before you fall' ideas. Start there.
It can help to figure out what kind of writer's block you are struggling with.
Are you motivated, but have no inspiration? There's that try writing someplace different idea. Pick a different place to write. This works well, especially if you have a laptop. A different room. A different time of day. Outside. At the coffee shop. In the car. Sometimes the different viewpoints can help shake up your psyche.
Perhaps try to find something/place that has something to do with what you are working (or should b) working on. Go wander a new bookstore. Google the streets of a small town in Montana, or Paris, or Shipshewana. Go to street view and meander. ROAD TRIP! Take a daylong drive to nowhere. Pick a direction. Take every third left, then every tenth left, and then wend your way home. Take back roads. Stop for lunch. Take pictures. Allow yourself to daydream. Put yourself in what you are writing and have it take a hard left turn, create a storm, have a witch knock on the backdoor asking for a cup of newt's eyes. Anything!
Are you inspired, but have no motivation? Rewards are marvelous things. Bribe yourself! Give yourself a treat for x pages or chapters or poems. A haircut. New jammies. A steak. Manicure. A baseball game. Whatever your 'goody' button is PUSH it!
Or are you having serious self-doubt issues? " I'm no good. My writing sucks. Can't even get a sentence on the page because it's stupid." Are those nasty thoughts screaming around in your head like a broken record? Hit the 'stop' button. Play music. Go read the bathroom mirror. AGAIN. Just letting those thoughts circle will drive you mad -- you have to break that record, smash that tape and take back what you love. Don't let anything get in the way of what makes you happy.
Not sure why you can't write? You aren't the only one. Not by a long shot. Stress, lack of sleep, job hassles, kid conundrums, the list is endless. A teacher once told me to get a piece of paper (from that notebook that you always have with you (!!)) and write down: I can't write because ... and write down your reasons. Your truths. Then, write down, I want to write because ... (hint) all the positives go here. Then, write, I will write because ... you want that play performed or you want to win that contest or your editor will be thrilled or whatever your dreams are. Besides accomplishments, think (again) about how writing makes you feel! Then tuck it away, but remember it. Refer to it. Add to it or cross things off.
Some other ideas of things to try.
Freewriting for fifteen or twenty minutes. Keep that pen moving, keep the fingers clacking and DO NOT look at your computer screen. It doesn't matter if there are typos. You can easily translate your own gibberish - you've been doing it for years. Now - just write. No scribbling out. NO hitting delete. Every day for a week or three.
As I said - write every single day. Even if just the freewriting for a bit.
Get away from what is stalling you out. Write about something as different from it as possible. Be a plant. Write from the dandelion's point of view. Be the deer in your headlights, the cracked cup in the sink, or your madly barking dog.
Go for a walk every day. Run up and down the basement stairs. Exercise is supposed to be (or so I've heard tell) as good for your soul as it is for your body.
Reorganize your writing space. Pick a different wall for the desk.
Try writing first thing in the morning when your brain is not far from its dream state. Leave the chores for later. Or go to be early and then get up at 2 or 3 am, and write then. Shake up the when you write routine.
If all else fails, try Chuck Sambuchino's tried and true method. "Before bed, fill up a glass of water. Hold it up and speak an intention into the water. (Example: My intent is to tap into my creative source and write brilliantly tomorrow. I choose to be in the flow of my best writing. I am resolving my story’s issues as I sleep and dream). Drink half the water and then set the half-full glass on your nightstand. Go to sleep. When you wake up the next morning, drink the rest of the water immediately. Then go straight to your computer and write for at least an hour without distraction. This may seem a bit out there, but give it a try. It works! Do this technique for three nights straight. It gets me out of my writer's block every time, often the next morning and definitely within 72 hours"
Just might be worth a shot! Who knows, but then, desperate times do call for outlandish methods!
Bottom line is that no one has a magic pill to banish writer's block. All we can do is actively try to overcome it. (Note the word ACTIVELY!) Glumly moping about moaning, 'I just can't write. I stare at my screen and nothing happens' never helped anyone. Not trying to sound mean or cruel or unfeeling. But the only one to get us out of it is us. We love to write. It is the air we breathe. Therefore, we must write.
This too shall pass. It is a speed bump. (Or maybe a parking lot full of them!) Shock your psyche and drive over them fast!!! (Imaginary shocks don't cost a penny to replace!)
I wish you luck. But more. I want you to refind that joy. I want you to regain that spark in your voice when you are writing. And you CAN do this. I have faith in you! We aren't WDC-ers for nothing!
*“Writer's block.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/writer%27s%20block. Accessed 24 Apr. 2022. |
Some fun reads!
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| | THE IDIOT (13+)
Balmy antics of an entrepreneurial lad who refuses defeat while pining for Dad's approval
#1270897 by DRSmith  |
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AngelFire  says: This has engaging prose and a nice flow. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you! :)
Elfin Dragon-finally published writes: I love this description of a meandering walk. It reminds me of my recent vacation. I took a long meandering drive through canyons. Nature is God's canvas
Thank you too! :)
oldgreywolf on wheels  comments: Your descriptions would keep Norman Rockwell busy for days.
I'll take that as a compliment! He was such an amazing artist!
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