Defeating Writer's Block

Writer's Block... people cringe at those words, as if the words themselves were contagious. Most writer's block is anxiety based. We can literally talk ourselves out of writing for one reason or another. Every writer asks himself these questions from time to time: What if my plot is 'ordinary?' What if I can't make my characters sound real? What will my critique partners think of me after they read this? And the big one... Am I good enough to be a writer?

I don't suffer from writer's block, never have, never will. You too can avoid writer's block, and here's how:



1. Work on multiple projects at one time

Every project needs "down" time, so we can distance ourselves and literally let our brains rest. By having other projects to work on, we don't waste the time stressing over being stuck on one project, we simply move on, avoiding the stress of "not writing." And once we put the “troublesome” project aside to work on another, the answer will strike us when we least expect it.

2. Just start writing

If you're up against a deadline and don't have time to let the project "rest," then just start writing. Put your pen to the paper or your hands on the keyboard and write. It doesn't matter about what. It doesn't have to relate to your project, in fact it often works better if it doesn't relate to your project. The idea is to get your creative juices flowing.

Start writing about how weird or interesting your neighbor is, or why you can't stand that annoying advertisement on TV. Literally jot the first thought, or even word, which enters your head. And if nothing comes to mind, then starting writing about how nothing is coming to mind! But don't stop writing... that's the key. Don't stop for anything, until you've filled at least two pages. Don't stop to fix your grammar or spelling. Don't stop because you've accidentally shifted thoughts or POV midstream. Keep writing. Make it one long, run on sentence if you have to, but keep writing. Before you know it, you will find it hard to stop.

Now pick up that project which stumped you in the first place. If you find your mind wandering to every topic except this project, try this same free-writing approach again, only this time focus on the details of your project. Start writing about which character is your favorite or why the topic should have been discussed in every newspaper. Again, spelling, POV, jumping from idea to idea doesn't matter, as long as you're writing about your project in some form or another. Before you realize it, you'll be writing "The End" on the last page of your project.

Fiction: The First Chapter Crisis

First chapters - those tricky first scenes where everything is touch and go. The only real significance they have is that they’re number one. The last scene gets the honour of being the last scene, even though it’s everything in between that makes the difference. Why should being number one be special?

Television shows, especially ones like CSI, are notorious for first showing some edgy, important scene that drastically affects the outcome. But with an audience that can’t tell the difference between the victim and villain at first glance, that first scene doesn’t have the same amount of punch as it would, say, halfway through the show. The same theory applies for writing. Authors know their characters better then they know themselves. The first chapter might seem to be the perfect time to add in a surprise twist, but it will go over the reader’s head.

Sometimes, the best beginnings begin in the middle. Once you establish characters, a mindset, a setting, or a mood, your readers will be more intrigued with twists and plotlines, and they’ll make more sense too. Laurell K. Hamilton’s books, best known for the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, are infamous for beginning with a droll punch line in the middle of an average day. A funny one-liner can motivate readers to keep the TV off and the book open.

Another thing to know: don’t spend your first chapter getting up to date on things just because you want to start in the middle. Making the beginning go forward to a certain point in one chapter will make things seem rushed. Starting from that certain point and having a vague recollection of the past will work better.

And whoever said that first chapters have to be written first? Plenty of authors begin a book with a scene they are certain will happen, with characters that they have already mapped out, and then work from there. Eventually, they’ll get struck with an idea, phrase, or setting that would captivate an audience from the start and can go back and write the beginning.

Lemony Snicket, author of the Series of Unfortunate Events, once wrote half of the first chapter about the importance of the first line. Being conventional is peachy, but being unconventional and writing original never-seen-before’s are what gets a reader hooked.

Note to self: you can’t fool your readers at the beginning. First chapters need to be real. You might be able to forge around with a scene halfway through your story, if you’re not sure how it’s going to end or who is going to be the bad guy, but the first chapter has to be solid and set a level for the rest of the story to hover around. Consider it the first impression of you to an in-law.

Nearly anything goes in a first chapter as long as it’s fresh material that will keep a reader going like the Energizer bunny. There are, of course, a few things to avoid. Phrases that probably wouldn’t be said in day to day conversations, like ones that “remind” you of what’s already happened (“Remember when we went to the restaurant and the waitress kept flirting with you?”), aren’t a good start. An easier way to work it is to let the readers figure it out for themselves. Drop some hints (“I’m never going back to that restaurant again, not after what that waitress did!”) and work around it.

All in all, first chapters need to hold a teensy bit more significance than just the fact that they’re number one. You know, to keep up appearances.

The Writing Process: The Writer's Block

I promised you all ramblings and musings and that’s exactly what you’re all going to get. When it comes to the writing process there are particular subjects that continue to intrigue me. The most intriguing being the phenomenon “Writer’s Block”. It can happen to anyone, at any time. You can be right in the middle of a novel, and suddenly, despite all the meticulous preparation, and despite being highly motivated, your mind goes blank, and there you sit, in front of your computer screen, scrolling back and forth over what you’ve written, and not one single syllable comes to mind to kick start you into the next phase. Then again it can happen right at the beginning of your novel when you’ve completed your synopsis, plot line and chapter breakdown, and you simply cannot find that suitable opening sentence. It might even happen that you’ve completed your novel, and want to improve on that rough first draft. You know it needs improvement, you know it could be better, you feel it dragging. And yet, you can’t do a thing. You are stumped! I have encountered the block at all the above mentioned phases and have come to the conclusion that all stem from the same problem – fear. That deep rooted fear that you just don’t have it in you. It can crop up at any time. Whether you have just started writing, or are putting that novel to bed, fear can return and paralyse you creatively. If you have followed the whole topic you will realise that we’ve touched on this subject before, and that to move on from mediocre to marvellous fiction writing, those fears must be faced, acknowledged and ultimately, overcome. And in my opinion there’s not a single writer who hasn’t faced the fear. Of course by the time authors appear on television or are seen at lectures and signings, they have managed to move on from their fear and insecurity and appear to us perhaps to be brimming with confidence, but don’t be fooled. These authors too, have known that fear, that ‘break out in a cold sweat’ moment when they have thought they had written their last sentence and that the bubble had burst. Seeing early interviews with J.K. Rowling you can see her fear, her insecurity and her disbelief that her books are selling like hotcakes and this kind of fear might have even prevented her from writing the next Harry Potter. See her in later interviews and she is a lot calmer, a lot more confident. She has overcome her fear and in its place she has found a true belief in her own abilities as a writer. She has the confidence to acknowledge her talent. So how do we go from fear to self-belief? How do we jump that hurdle successfully at whatever stage it confronts us? The first step to overcoming fear, and not only in relation to our writing, but in life too, is to recognise it. No use trying to pretend it’s not there, or disguise it as something else, this will only make it’s debilitating effect on us even worse. When fear is denied it transforms into all sorts of crippling alternatives. Those alternatives range from anger, irritation, obstinacy to depression if it is allowed to continue till it reaches chronic proportions. Ignoring fear or over-compensating will not have lasting effective results on ourselves or our writing. So you’re blocked, and you know fear has reared its ugly head and stolen the words from you. Face it. Say it aloud, or write it down in capital letters. I AM AFRAID. Next, get specific. What are you afraid of, why are you afraid, and what has caused the fear to rise to the surface now? Fear can be of many things. Fear of failure, of success, of criticism. Which of these is it in your case? Or is it all of these? Fear of failure – giving in to this will certainly create failure, and will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Do nothing and your worst fear is reality. You will have failed. You will not have completed your novel to the best it could be. Fear of success – giving in to this one is an enormous act of self-sabotage. It is nothing more than a fear of the unknown. And just think about how awful you feel right now with that half-finished novel and know that success can never feel this bad! Fear of criticism – is the criticism of others any more painful than the amount of self-criticism you are dishing out when you sit at that incomplete work and knock yourself on the head about it? I don’t think so. In the three situations the first step to overcoming the fear is to get back to just writing for the hell of it, totally and utterly for yourself, and because you wanted to. If you can do this you allow yourself to write any old rubbish for a while until your body and mind are retrained into the practice of writing. You will recover the Writing Process in the pure form it had when you set out on this undertaking. Know you may be writing rubbish initially, and give yourself permission to laugh at your efforts later. If you are feeling really courageous you might even allow some discerning person close to you to read these efforts. That way you will disempower your fears. Particularly it is important to work on your fears when you stumble half way through your novel. The fear here stems from taking a dive into the unknown, not unlike the fear of success, but add to this, the stomach churning fear that all your careful preparation has been to know avail. Firstly, half way through a novel characters will have developed in a completely new and fascinating fashion, something you could not have possibly anticipated in the planning stage. The fact that you need to change and modify your first guideline is a positive thing. It means you have written with enough courage to allow your characters to take you on an unexpected journey. Have faith, and give yourself permission to turn the unkown corner. And toss aside the notion of the imaginary public, and go on the journey of discovery that your story wants you to undertake, just for you.

AND REMEMBER, NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN BLOOD. IT CAN ALL BE ERASED AND RE-WRITTEN. IT IS ALL YOURS.

Having Trouble with Writer's Block? Try Quantity, Not Quality!

Do you find yourself sitting down to write the great American novel, only to find yourself staring at a blank screen for hours on end? Do you type a sentence or two, go back and read what you've written, then delete it only to start anew, over and over again? Do you find yourself trembling in fear of writing something unworthy of publication or even a quick read by another person?

If that's the case, then you are one of millions of writers currently suffering from writer's block. And one of the reasons you're experiencing it ... is that you're simply not writing.

Sound too obvious? Well, perhaps. But the big question is why aren't you writing? Chances are you're afraid of not doing it "right," not getting it "perfect." And that is a very dangerous mindset to have, indeed.

From the start, we need to get something clear. No writer writes what he wants exactly the way he wants it the first time around. Nada. No one. Yet, a major misconception among unpublished writers is that they have to crank out extraordinary quality each and every time a finger strikes a key. You can see how that expectation (not only unlikely, but virtually impossible to achieve) can poison a writer's production and stifle his or her style. So how do you defeat so nasty a literary habit?

Write.

Write often.

Write a lot.

The best way to get in the habit of writing is to sit down at your computer (or--ohmahgawd!--your typewriter), take a good long look at the clock, and figure out just how much uninterrupted writing time you're able to allow yourself. Fifteen minutes? Three hours? Whatever it is, set your timer to that time period. Then start writing and don't stop until the timer goes off.

What's that you say? You don't know what to write about? Is that your problem ... coming up with a topic?

Nonsense! You don't have to write about anything earth-shattering. You don't have to write something destined for publication. If you're looking for a topic, write about what happened to you yesterday. Or write about a major news story you heard this morning. Or about something you love ... or hate. Write about a person in your family whom you admire or respect. Write about a fellow employee you find particularly amusing. Write about a particularly memorable dream you once had. Write about ... well, you get the point.

And don't let those little mistakes in grammar or syntax or spelling get in your way. Remember: It's not what you write about or how you write it that's important to get you writing; it's that you write. (You can always go back later and rewrite to your complete satisfaction.) Once you come to understand that premise, you'll be amazed at how quickly writer's block flies out the window and productivity drifts on in.

As a bonus, you just might find yourself writing about something that triggers an idea for a short story, an article, or even a book. If so, all the better. But don't count on that happening, because that's not your goal.

So, the next time writer's block keeps your from writing, get out the timer. You'll find it a marvel for helping you turn out perfectly cooked three-minute eggs. You'll find it even more remarkable for helping you turn out perfectly written literature at the drop of a hat.

Deadlines or Deadbeats?

You may not like the notion of having to write under the pressure of a deadline, but it just might be the best thing that ever happened to you

When I was a kid going to college to better learn the intricacies of my chosen craft of novel writing, I was both surprised and chagrinned when I learned that one of the pre-enrollment requirements for "Novel Writing 101" was "Journalism 101, 102, and 103." Not just one semester-long class of learning to write what I had no intentions of using ever, but three!

Needless to say, I have thanked God each and every day of my existence for those pre-enrollment requirements, because learning to write like a journalist (and think and talk and interview like a journalist) was exactly the kind of iron-fisted self-discipline I needed to learn. And the single most critical thing I learned was how to write under deadline.

Writing when you're floundering, out of "the mood," or drifting aimlessly from one disconnected thought to another is damned hard writing. Writing when your mind is focused and your thoughts are clear is infinitely more pleasurable. And that's what writing under deadline does for you. By writing under deadline, you remove yourself from the temptations of piddling the day away and place your entire existence in the act of creating the written word. That, in turn, makes you feel good about yourself and your productivity, which in turn feeds the quality of your writing, ad infinitum.

Of course, not all writers--particularly successful ones who don't need the additional pressure of a deadline to turn out quality work--use deadlines as motivational tools. Pop novelist Diana Gabaldon explained, "Let's put it this way: we have deadlines in my contracts because there's a space for them. I've never met one. They get the book when I'm finished with it. They scream and tear their hair a lot .... But I have a much higher loyalty to my book than I do to any of them."

That may be all fine and well for her, but what about for the rest of us? Do deadlines really work, even if they're only self-imposed? Most definitely ... so long as they're realistic in their expectations. You can't give yourself three days to write a 100,000-word novel and expect anything good to come of it. Similarly, you can't announce a six-month deadline to produce five paragraphs of prose and expect that the deadline will motivate you to higher grounds.

But when a deadline is carefully thought through and judiciously applied (and adhered to), I can almost guarantee your success. Here are just a few things a realistic deadline can help a writer to accomplish:

1.) Put to death "writer's block." After all, if you have to put fingers to keyboard--even if it takes you a few minutes or an hour to start turning out creditable copy--you're not blocked, are you?

2.) Start and keep the juices flowing. I've known too many writers, including seasoned pros, who write a good page or even a graf or two and then take the rest of the afternoon off. What they neglect to realize is that's exactly the time they should be prodding themselves onward. Writing that glows come from writers with flow. Just the thought that you're writing, hour after hour, day after day, will flush you with satisfaction and--I'd bet on it--show up in your writing, as well.

3.) Keep you from going "stale" between writing periods. Deadlines don't allow for idle time. Ask any general-assignment reporter. If a working journalist completes one story, it's only a quick slug of water and a half-smoked cigarette before he's started on another.

4.) Help you break down your writing into more manageable chunks. Deadlines are easier to manage, after all, if you can create blocks of written words that fit neatly into corresponding periods of time. You might tell yourself you'll write the introduction of a book on needlepoint your first morning, then rewrite it and print it out that afternoon. The next chapter may take two days, since it may be longer, and so forth. The results are the same: you're writing productively.

5.) Instill the joy of being a writer in you. Writer's love nothing better than to write. By writing under deadline, you can have that "God, this is terrific, I feel so good about this stuff" feeling every single day for the rest of your life. And that kind of confidence can't help but spell success.