Let’s get started! Yeah. So, what exactly is writer’s block anyway? It looks a bit like this:
I just can’t come up with a single thing to
say. I guess I’ll stop while I’m ahead!
Does this sound like you? No? Sure, come on now!! It’s alright. Just like you, we’ve all have at one time or another met this occurrence when we’ve had to write something, specifically when there’s been a deadline for us to meet.
Again I’m talking about this. . . . .uh, I know the word i want to use but
Dang it’s on the tip of my tongue . . .umm:
THAT’S WRITER’S BLOCK!
So what is writer’s block?
Writer’s block is the best friend of the blank page. HAA!
Then it happens, you may think you know EXACTLY what you’re going to write, but as soon as you blink and see the blank white screen or sheet of paper, your mind abruptly goes empty. Then you try to grab at least one word from anywhere to pick up the inactivity that came out of nowhere..But still nothing. No! I’m not talking about some Zen meditation close-your-eyes-and- breathe-until-enlightenment-comes kind of blank.
I’m talking about tightness in your shoulders. Pulsing tension in your shoulders and maybe your back. Sweat beads trickling down your face, kind of blank. To top it all off! The tighter the deadline, the more tension some writers experience. Some people get sick from writer’s block. Can you believe that?
Having said that, let me say it again. “The tighter
the deadline, the worse the tension in the body potentially of writer’s block
gets.” What might potentially be
triggering this unpleasant drop into speechlessness?
The answer is obvious: FEAR! Of what? Fear of finishing with crappy words. Or of not starting right. You are tense thinking of the big bad
blank page. You are so concerned that you have absolutely
nothing of value to say. You are reluctant of the fear of
writer’s block itself!
It doesn’t actually make any difference if you’ve done a several years
of research and all you have to do is string sentences
you can repeat in your sleep collectively into consistent
paragraphs. Writer’s block can hit anyone at any
time. Based in fear, it raises our doubts about our
own self-worth, but it’s funny. It’s also predictable if you remember it’s signs and don’t feed it with your thoughts.
It’s writer’s block, after all, so it doesn’t just come and let you know
that. No, it makes you feel like a fool who just had
your frontal lobes removed just before trying to write. You are uneasy that if you write your words on paper would surely come out looking something like blah-blah-blah!
Let’s try to be rational with this irrational thing.
Here’s a list of what could be beneath
this mysteriously messy condition.
1. Perfectionism.
You must absolutely produce a
work of genius of literary works straight off in the first
draft. Or else, you meet the criteria of a total disappointment.
2. Editing instead of writing.
There’s your own voice literally sitting on your shoulder, yelling as you type “I was born?,” no, not that, that’s wrong! And saying things like, That’s stupid! Fix that. No that makes no sense. And no, no, no, no!
3. Self-consciousness. How can you think, let alone write, when all you can manage to do is replay what your readers will think about what you’re going to write. You go through each possible scenario in your mind instead of using the time to get started or brainstorming on the details you want to include in writing your work. No instead you’re focusing on what you’re trying to write, why you aren’t going to measure up and no so motivating thoughts such as that.
4. Can’t get started.
It’s always the first sentence that’s the most challenging many writers say. Or is it? As writers, we all know how EXTREMELY important the first sentence is. In your mind, 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 beyond the GREAT first sentence!
5. Shattered concentration.
You’re cat is sick. You suspect your significant other is not feeling to well either. Your electricity
might be turned off any second. Maybe you have a crush on
the local mailman. You have a dinner party coming up and you’re the host of it. Guess who’s coming? Your in-laws of course. . . Need I say more.
6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite hobby. It’s
your soul mate. It’s the reason you’ve knitted 6 sweaters or built 9 bookcases in your garage. It’s the reason you never run out of peanut butter sandwiches, you never know when you might need another snack.
7. Not enough sleep.
You stay up all times of the night and day and your brain is filled with fuzz as a result. You’re not in-sync like you usually are when you’ve had your sleep. How can you get any work done under these conditions?
There’s a positive in all this! What could be positive about this? Well, the good thing is that, You have WRITER’S BLOCK for at least one of these reasons! Now let’s see what you can do about it!
How to Overcome Writer’s Block
Okay. I can hear you running away from reading
this article as fast as you can. Absurd! you say.
Never in a million years, you fume. You’re thinking…Writer’s block is
absolutely, undeniably, scientifically proven to be
impossible to overcome. Never ever will they find a cure for it!
Ha! not so fast there. Stop fuming and Oh, just get over it!
Well, maybe your guess is that it’s not so
easy. Come and sit back down for just a few minutes and
listen. All you have to do is listen? To top it off, you don’t have
to actually write a single word for now anyway.
The fumes are dissipating…
Ah, there you 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, stay seated.
There are ways to trick this phenomena. Here are a few possibilities that WORK
great every time! Pick one, pick several, and give them a try. Quickly, before you
even have a chance for your heartbeat to accelerate,
guess what? You’re creating with your writing again.
Here are some tried and legitimate possibilities of conquering
writer’s block:
1. Be prepared. The only thing to fear is fear itself.
(I know, that’s a cliché? but as soon as you start
writing, feel free to improve on it this saying.)
If you spend some time thinking over your project before you
actually sit down to write, you may be able to
avoid the toughest of the massive anxiety.
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 crap, and
then give yourself approval to enjoyably smell up your
writing room with your spontaneous first draft.
3. Compose instead of editing. Never, never write your
first draft with your thoughts inside your head making snide editorial comments. For your information Composing is a magical process. It surpasses the conscious mind by
galaxies. It’s even incomprehensible to the conscious,
editorial, first-mind. So prepare an ambush. Sit down
at your laptop, computer or your desk. Take a deep breath and
blow out all your thoughts. Let your finger float 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
predominant hand, flick that little annoying negative voice sitting on your shoulder
back into the barrel of laughs from which it came. Then leap
in? Quickly! Write, scribble, scream, howl, sketch but let
everything loose, as long as you do it with a pen, pencil or
your computer keyboard.
4. Forget the first sentence. Clean it up later. 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. It’s not that serious anyway. You can always come back to it.
5. Concentration. This is a tricky one. Life throws us
so many curve balls. How about thinking about your
writing time as a little getaway from all those
tasks, lists etc and so on. It’s time to write so 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 it by staying with your plan.
6. Stop procrastinating. I know this is a favorite for some.
No writing gets done until it’s actually done! Write an outline. Keep your
research notes within view. Use someone else’s
writing to get going. I would say go online then read a line or two of someones blog or an article. Uhh maybe not. You may end up on FACEBOOK Or Twitter. Better yet uh, Go open a book and start reading just two lines then GO write, fast, fast !
Anymore reading and you’re back to square one again, What we call the procrastination drum line. Or open your mouth and start to Babble incoherently in the air then rapidly on paper or on the computer if you prefer.
WRITE! Just do it! (I know, this is a line stolen from
somewhere?). But whatever It’s time to get your act together.
Start a piece, and in turn you will one day finish.
If you don’t start somewhere…Where will you be?
NOWHERE. SO, go like the wind and Tack up anything that could help
you to get you writing: notes, outlines, pictures of your
grandmother, pictures of your childhood toys, your favorite actor or actress.
Put a piece of fruit or cookie you will be allowed to eat
when you finish your first draft within sight but
out of your reach. Then pick up some of your earlier works and notice your styles of writing. You need juice to write, so use your memories and read it. Then read it
again. Soon, trust me, the apprehension will slowly but surely fade away.
As soon as it does, grab your keyboard or writing piece? Then get
writing! congratulations on your work ahead of time, you did it!
Bliss Returned 