Overcoming Writer’s Block

Sep
9

What is writer’s block?

Well, I just can’t think of a single thing to
say. Oh well, I’m outta here!

Sound familiar? No! We’ve all experienced this
phenomenon when we absolutely have to write something,
particularly on a deadline. I’m talking about. . . .
uh, I can’t think of what the word is .
. . oh, yes, it’s on the tip of my tongue . . .

It’s: WRITER’S BLOCK!!!!

Whew! I feel better just getting that out of my head
and onto the page! Sometimes just sitting down and
writing even if it makes no sence is good. This is
one way to get started, to open up your thought
process.

Writer’s block is the patron demon of the blank page.
You may think you know EXACTLY what you’re going to
write, but as soon as that evil white screen appears
before you, your mind suddenly goes completely blank.

I’m not talking about Zen meditation, you know the
stare-at-the-wall-until-enlightenment-hits kind of
blank.

I’m talking about sweat trickling down the back of
your neck, anguish, panic and suffering kind of
blank. The closer the deadline, the worse the
anguish of writer’s block gets.

Having said that, let me say it again. “The tighter
or closer the deadline, the worse the anguish of
writer’s block gets.” Now, can you figure out what
might possibly be causing this horrible plunge into
speechlessness?

The answer is obvious: FEAR!

You are terrified of that blank page. You are
terrified that you have absolutely nothing of value
to say. You are afraid of the fear of writer’s block
itself!

It doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve done a decade
of research and all you have to do is string sentences
together, that you can repeat in your sleep, into
coherent paragraphs.

Writer’s block can strike anyone at anytime. Based in
fear, it raises our doubts about our own self-worth,
but it’s sneaky. It’s writer’s block, after all, so
it doesn’t just come and let you know that. No, it
makes you feel like an idiot who just had your frontal
lobes removed through your sinuses.

If you dared to put forth words into the greater world,
they would surely come out as gibberish!

Let’s try and be rational with this irrational demon.
Let’s make a list of what might possibly be beneath
this terrible and terrifying condition.

1. Perfectionism. You must absolutely produce a
masterpiece of literature straight off in the first
draft. Otherwise, you qualify as a complete failure.

2. Editing instead of composing. There’s your
monkey-mind sitting on your shoulder, yelling as soon
as you type “I was born?”, no, not that, that’s wrong!
That’s stupid! Correct correct correct correct?

3. Self-consciousness. How can you think, let alone
write, when all you can manage to do is pry the
fingers of writer’s block away from your throat enough
so you can gasp in a few shallow breaths? You’re not
focusing on what you’re trying to write, your focusing
on those gnarly fingers around your windpipe.

4. Can’t get started. It’s always the first sentence
that’s the hardest. As writers, we all know how
EXTREMELY important the first sentence is. It must be
brilliant! It must be unique! It must hook your
reader’s from the start! There’s no way we can get
into writing the piece until we get past this
impossible first sentence.

5. Shattered concentration. You’re cat is sick. You
suspect your mate is cheating on you. Your electricity
might be turned off any second. You have a crush on
the local delivery driver. You have a dinner party
planned for your in-laws. You . . . Need I say more.

How can you possibly concentrate with all this mental
clutter?

6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite hobby. It’s
your soul mate. It’s the reason you’ve knitted 60
argyle sweaters or made 300 bookcases in your garage
workshop. It’s the reason you never run out of Brie.

FACE IT ? IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS YOU HAVE WRITER’S
BLOCK!

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Okay. I can hear that herd of you running away from
this article as fast as you can. Absurd! you huff.
Never in a million years, you fume. Writer’s block
is absolutely, undeniably, scientifically proven to
be impossible to overcome.

Oh, just get over it! Well, I guess it’s not that
easy. So try to sit down for just a few minutes and
listen. All you have to do is listen, you don’t have
to actually write a single word.

Ah, there you all are again. I am beginning to make
you out now that the cloud of dust is settling.

I am here to tell you that WRITER’S BLOCK CAN BE
OVERCOME.

Please, remain seated.

There are ways to trick this nasty demon. Pick one,
pick several, and give them a try. Soon, before you
even have a chance for your heartbeat to accelerate,
guess what? You’re writing.

Here are some tried and true methods of overcoming
writer’s block:

1. Be prepared. The only thing to fear is fear itself.
(I know, that’s a cliche but as soon as you start
writing, feel free to improve on it.) If you spend
some time mulling over your project before you
actually sit down to write, you may be able to
circumvent the worst of the crippling panic.

2. Forget perfectionism. No one ever writes a
masterpiece in the first draft. Don’t put any
expectations on your writing at all! In fact, tell
yourself you’re going to write absolute garbage, and
then give yourself permission to happily stink up your
writing room.

3. Compose instead of editing. Never, never write your
first draft with your monkey-mind sitting on your
shoulder making snide editorial comments.

Composing is a magical process. It surpasses the
conscious mind by galaxies. It’s even incomprehensible
to the conscious, editorial, monkey-mind. So prepare
an ambush. Sit down at your computer or your desk.

Take a deep breath and blow out all your thoughts.
Let your finger hover over your keyboard or pick up
your pen. And then pull a fake: appear to be about
to begin to write, but instead, using your thumb and
index finger of your dominant hand, flick that little
annoying ugly monkey back into the barrel of laughs
it came from.

Then jump in, quickly! Write, scribble, scream, howl,
let everything loose, as long as you do it with a pen
or your computer keyboard.

4. Forget the first sentence. You can sweat over that
all-important one-liner when you’ve finished your
piece. Skip it! Go for the middle or even the end.
Start wherever you can. Chances are, when you read it
over, the first line will be blinking its little neon
lights right at you from the depths of your
composition.

5. Concentration. This is a hard one. Life throws us
so many curve balls. Thinking about your writing time
as a little vacation from all those annoying worries.

Banish them!

Create a space, perhaps even a physical one, where
nothing exists except the single present moment. If
one of those irritating worries gets by you, stomp on
it like you would an ugly bug!

6. Stop procrastinating. Write an outline. Keep your
research notes within sight. Use someone else’s
writing to get going. Babble incoherently on paper or
on the computer if you have to.

Just do it!

(I know, I stole that line from somewhere?). Tack up
anything that could possibly help you to get going:
notes, outlines, pictures of your grandmother.

Put the cookie you will be allowed to eat when you
finish your first draft within sight, just out of
reach. Then pick up the same type of writing that
you need to write, and read it. Then read it again.
Soon, trust me, the fear will slowly fade away.
As soon as it does, grab your keyboard, and get
writing!

KEEP IN MIND YOU CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE IT LATER!

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