I'm a better writer on a deadline. The clock is ticking and there is no other option than write. When the time is free and endless opportunities for story direction and unique concepts and different ways to structure present themselves, I know I'll be sitting for a while. Free time also allows us to acknowledge the possibility of over thinking and getting stuck, a concept disdainfully referred to as Writer's Block.
Photo by Lennix3
Giving Credit Where Credit is Not Due
In my last post, Don't Be a Resolution Writer, I discussed the difficulties of writing when the desire to write just isn't there. Writer's Block is a common reason writer's give for losing their desire to write. But there is a secret to avoiding this Great Destroyer of Writing.
To be hindered by Writer's Block, you must first believe it exists. One of my favorite writing quotes of all time is, “Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”
The concept of Writer's Block serves as an excuse to not work. It is as real and harmful as a writer chooses.
Smashing that Block
This is not to say that writer's should always know exactly what to write and how to do it. Every writer will experience a story that takes longer to conceptualize than usual. Remember, Writer's Block is an excuse for a time such as this, not a reality. Long ago, I learned the best way to deal with that moment is to just start. Forget structure and a perfectly formed sentences and begin writing. Like it always does, the ability for this to work depends on the confidence in your ability as a writer.
Writing without thinking requires an ability to trust yourself. You may not have the story perfectly aligned, but relying on your ability and hard work allows the writing to reveal itself naturally. Spending too much time thinking about a writing piece can subdue a writer's personal style. So begin writing. No more excuses – no more Writer's Block.
Have you ever over-thought your story and given in to Writer's Block?
PRACTICE
For fifteen minutes, write about your experience with Writer's Block. Work on letting your natural writing take over, and not overthinking.
When your time is up, post your writing in the comments section. Be sure to comment on posts from other writers.
I’m not sure if it’s that simple, although I do agree that having a term for it makes it easier to use as an excuse. However, not having a term for getting stuck in your profession doesn’t mean that people don’t get stuck. I think plumbers can have “plumbers block”, in the sense that they can feel frustrated with a problem, unable to solve it, or just plain not want to do their jobs that day. People in a variety of businesses get excuses like “burn out”, “work related stress”, and “information overload”, and I think all of these have some definite similarities to “writer’s block”.
My experience with “writer’s block” is not an inability to write, but the persistent feeling that what I’m writing is not getting across my true meaning, or not fully capturing the idea that is in my head. I’m writing, but nothing is turning out the way I want it to. It’s very similar to trying to paint and not being able to recreate the image in my imagination. So the advice to “just write” or “just paint” is not always appropriate. In my case I often need to NOT write or paint, to take a break and get some perspective through walking or reading, before coming back to the project with fresh eyes.
I appreciate your post and think that you’re on to something with throwing out belief in the label; I’m just not sure it will actually get rid of the feeling of “writer’s block”.
this seems to sum things up for me too- “writer’s block” is not an inability to write, but the persistent feeling that what I’m writing is not getting across my true meaning, or not fully capturing the idea that is in my head. I’m
Writer’s block! How do you write about not writing? Now there’s a conundrum. I have set myself to write at least five hundred words every day, Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday I allow myself the luxury of two days off. Well sort of. If I can’t write on the set day, I don’t berate myself but do what I can and leave it at that. Then later I try to make up the shortfall by writing a thousand words or so. If that doesn’t work, I have Saturday to catch up. Some times I can’t think what to write, other times I’m not in a mental space to write. Whatever, I try to write something, anything and take it from there. When that fails I revert to the strategy above. So I think of writer’s block as just another hiccup in the process and do what I can to clear it or accommodate it and get on with the job later. In the past this has been a major problem, but since doing The Write Practice, I have learned to overcome this dreaded affliction. Thanks Joe for your advice and encouragement!
I’m on a similar plan, Steve, writing 750-1000 words of something Monday through Saturday, then mostly taking Sunday off (except for free writing on 750words.com). The habit is helpful, isn’t it? We’re writers, so we write whether inspired or not!
SO true! Thanks for the great reminder!
My block is blown to bits when I observe. I rode my bike past a building for a few years. The building was empty, of wares and shoppers. A For Sale sign was posted, and eventually replaced with a lease sign. The signs post began to lisp left, knee-high grass hid its lameness, and the paint began to peel. I imagined many inhabitants of the rodent kind taking over the building. One day I arrived to observe that a chain link fence had gone up and several big kahuna machines had eviscerated and torn down the building. Eventually the new building rose proudly from the ground, asphalt with stripes the width of cars, and the old marquee with a face-lift. I checked it out the day it opened and found, Dave’s Killer Bread, on the shelves and I was in “heaven.”
Writers block is a tangible force that that lumps in my throat. It reminds me to do the dishes,and clean my desk. It’s a bully and a liar. It knows I am fearful I will miss something or lose something forever.
Deadlines and prompts have been helpful. This site as become important to me in so many ways. In spite of so much talent, I have found it to be a safe place to participate. I like the short time spent on prompts and the constructive feedback I get.
Writers block is real. I wonder if it would make a good character in a story? In a sense I think it is a character, a culmination of voices from my environment that have become internalized, its source hardly traceable.
Writers block is my inability to decide what I want to write. It is when I want to right it out perfectly but I can’t decide what is perfect. May be because nothing is really perfect and for everything that exists there is always another that is much better. Writer’s block is when my mediocre vocabulary or sense of grammar and sentence structure prevents me from writing things the way I want them. English being my second language and most of my language related knowledge coming from reading fiction for pleasure, often I find I don’t know which word will depict what I have in mind. Worst case scenario: when I can’t find a single word which portray
Thanks for sharing, Ayman. I hate the thought of all those discarded ideas. I’ll bet there’s some good stuff in there waiting for you to develop it
NO. The discarding leads to no writing, which leads to the theoretical writer’s block. You need to get everything on paper, the whole lot of it. That way, your mind is no longer running over ideas you’ve already thought of. Getting it on paper allows you to make them better (perhaps not perfect) and clears your mind so it’s free to conjure new ideas. Thesauruses can be a writer’s best friend, along with dictionaries. But make sure they’re nice and big. Also, you could try reading much older books, as I find they contain a larger variety (or rather, certain words and adjectives were ‘in’ that aren’t generally exposed in more modern works) of words. Have fun with it, don’t get too stressed, express your ideas; there’s always a word or phrase or something there to be used. Let it flow, and if you find yourself getting too caught up in the finer details for too long, focus more on the bigger picture.
Writers block reminds me of the job burnout I experienced when I felt that I had done the same job too long and desperately needed a challenge. It’s the sinking feeling that my mind was atrophying and nothing good was going to happen. It’s the inability to focus on the now because it is too familiar. The more one struggles to overcome it, the stronger the inability to do anything about it becomes. It’s analogous to trying to remember the name of something that can not be recalled from the debts of the brains database but stop thinking about it and it magically returns. I write because I enjoy telling a story and usually have a good idea of what I want to say. if i don’t get it written today, my outline will be there tomorrow and I can pick up where I stopped or rewrite everything.
Since I write purely for fun, writers block is not a big issue for me. If I can’t think of anything to write about, I tackle physical chores because that’s when I do my most creative thinking. At one point in my life, if I needed ideas, I ironed clothes. With the advent of permanent pressed clothes, I pull weeds. The most boring jobs trigger my creative juices. In any case, writers block is a temporary condition and a change of pace can shorten it’s life.
Great comment about mundane chores, Bookmark. It’s amazing how getting your mind off the problem sometimes lets a solution appear. Yesterday I was mulling over problems with a story plot I’m working on, and the answers came to me while I was out cutting the grass.
Avoiding writer’s block for me is a bit metaphysical. I had
a creative writing teacher tell me that I should be so intimately involved with
my characters that the story should write itself. I find when I’m stuck I often
should go “back to the drawing board” and start creating new characters. Or
perhaps I need to “talk” to ones I haven’t used and become more intimate with
them. Sounds a bit like controlled schizophrenia… and perhaps it is… but it
keeps me from inserting myself in the story. Make sense?
Makes sense to me, Chase. Isn’t it weird how sometimes a character will tell you what it wants to do next in the story?
For me the biggest problem is getting my internal editor to shut off. I’m an engineer by training, and we pretty much edit and critique stuff for a living. When writing creatively, though, I just want to get the ideas out and fix the details later. Easier said than done!
I’m finding that practice helps, as with so many things. I’ve started doing free writing daily on a site called 750words.com, and the new habit of doing that first thing each day clears out some of the mental clutter and lets ideas flow better when I’m working later in the day.
I’ve learned some good things through writing practice on this site over the last few months. One of the best is the magic of typing that first sentence. The advice is in so many books: the best way to get started is to just start. The cool thing is that it actually works that way. Many times I’ve been sitting in my chair thinking about the latest writing prompt and coming up with nothing. Then I get the tiniest idea and write the first sentence, and after that the gate opens and a story starts to flow out.
I’m not going to let writer’s block win, because I think it’s really my editor and the “resistance” trying to keep me from doing something that isn’t perfect. Now that I’ve realized I don’t do perfect, ever, but I do write stories that connect with others, I’m just going to get on with the work.
I love 750 words….it’s a great, easy way to stay in flow.
Ah, the block. I like what this post says in that we need to write whether we feel like it or not. I see my writing as a burden most days, and if I don’t write I carry that burden with me for the rest of the day. Lately, I’ve been writing for a set time each day, usually about 40 minutes. I do work another job, so I don’t have all the time in the world. The early morning is when I write and I look forward to that time each day.
I’m also writing a serialized story on my blog this month, so I have to post each day – that’s been great for me.
I tend to overthink, which is why I get very little done and writer’s block has become more of a chronic syndrome for me. I sometimes feel that I have nothing to offer. Even if I know that I have something valuable to contribute, I find it difficult to put everything into words. I often have to hard time deciding how to say what I have to say. It’s a struggle. I also tend to edit prematurely and judge my work even before it’s done. I don’t know why I overthink and why I am too scared to write sometimes. Do I have too big of an ego to allow myself to fail in anyway as a writer?
I just changed my wallpaper to a poster that says “Done is better than perfect.” I’m hoping that it will motivate me to get things done. I have already wasted a lot of time waiting for the right time to write articles for my portfolio. I have abandoned most of my blogs because I think my writing is so crappy.
Today, I resolve to just write. Just write despite my fears. Just write even if it feels uncomfortable to do so. Just write even if my writing sounds like a load of garbage. I am blocked because I am unwilling to be bad. I think it was Julia Cameron who said, “In order to be good, you must be willing to be bad.” I think I have to keep this in mind and just learn from the mistakes I will make. Growth requires the courage to fail. Failure is very much a part of one’s growth. It exposes person’s weaknesses so that he or she can transcend them. If I fail, it certainly means that I’m not good enough, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be good enough someday.
I don’t know if anybody will care to read what I’m writing. I just want to do this writing exercise to participate in the discussions here. I call myself a writer. I’m just wondering: Can I rightly call myself one? I write, but does that qualify me for the title? I hope I can overcome all my fears and insecurities so I can do more.
The What-If Block
Writer’s Block. Sure. I suffer from it. Calling it “writer’s block” conveniently skirts the underlying issue, however. Falling back on this well-worn excuse obscures the actual problem I – like many writers – truly face, and that’s the fear of writing. What if what I write isn’t good enough? What if no one reads my work? What if someone else takes exception? Is there another writer out there better able to tell the story I hear in my head? Is there someone already penning the story I imagine? Did someone already tell the story and I simply missed it?
What if? What if? What if?
All of the what-ifs bounce feverishly around my head, effectively snuffing out my ability to focus on the tale, to give it life, to set it free. I call it writer’s block, but I’m beginning to understand claiming this malaise is really more of an excuse. And, it’s probably not even a good excuse at that. Acknowledging my fear and trying to work past it is what led me to this site. My decision to face my fear head on has me going out on a limb to try my hand at writing prompts. Will the effort work? Will it propel me to write? Can I master my fear and finally give voice to the tale in my head?
That’s the funny thing about writer’s block. It isn’t always paired with an “answer block.” The answer to all of those questions grinds away at my confidence. That answer? Simply … I don’t know.
I’ve face difficulties when writing but I never stop. Sometimes a chapters is more difficult than I expected but I keep writing and usually, after a few paragraphs, things get back on track. I edit out what didn’t work well later.
The best advice I have received for “writer’s block” is this…JUST SHOW UP.
It does not mean that magically the words, or great writing, will flow, but for me, just the PHYSICAL act of sitting down to write, no matter what, and doing it again and again, showing up again and again, gets things going.
In the past, the block, or whatever was in my head, kept me from SHOWING UP at the laptop, and all I got from that, always, every time, was NOTHING.
Just showing up, being there, always produced something. And even if it was nothing special that I got from it that day, it empowered me, always, that I showed up and took a swing at it.
And one last thing about that…the more I showed up, day after day, the easier it seems to get.
What’s a writer? A person who writes, that never quit.
Well, I guess I can say I’ve never gotten writer’s block, but because my imagination is always running on overdrive, I have difficulty focusing on anything. I sit down to do homework and I end up sitting there for 8 hours, and at the end I’ve done about 10 problems, tops. My brain never shuts up, so I end up sitting there staring at the homework and not being able to understand what I’m looking at because my mind is telling me about faraway lands and the promise of awesome adventures and priceless hilarity.
It’s kind of funny that despite this, I still have the best grades out of the rest of my class… Maybe they’re just too busy playing video games, who knows.