When the Muses Don't Smile

Myth: Writer’s Block is a mysterious ailment which may descend upon you randomly and then refuse to go away. Reality: Writer’s Block is a temporary lack of motivation to write which can be caused by a number of reasons.

Common symptoms: lack of focus; inability to form sentences; feeling overwhelmed, dissatisfied, or uninspired; gradual increase in frustration and questioning of writing skills.

Possible causes: emotional stress, physical exhaustion, or, what’s more likely – a combination of both.

Two types: general and specific. When it’s general, you can’t seem to write about anything. When it’s specific, you’ve encountered a problem with a certain project you’re working on and can’t find a way to solve it.

First of all, let’s deal with the basic physical level: Do you have a comfortable space to work in? Somewhere you can think clearly without being interrupted for a reasonable period of time?

Good.

Question #1: Are you too tired to write?
Answer: If you feel too tired, then you may just need to get some rest. Oh I know – if I don’t force myself now, I’ll never write again… Maybe, but I doubt it. Sometimes I feel guilty when I have a free day and I don’t do any writing because I think, “I could have written so much today! I can’t believe I wasted all this time!” There are weeks when you can be busy from morning until night and still find that half-hour or hour to get in some writing, so there’s no need to feel like absolutely every free hour has to be devoted to writing. It can do you a world of good to rest.

Question #2: Are you avoiding writing because you think you’re not talented enough?
Answer: All writers have to develop their skills. No work magically materializes in perfect form. We all dream of knocking out a novel in six weeks and seeing it published a month later because it’s so unbelievably fabulous that everyone recognizes its greatness after the first sentence. That won’t ever happen, so there’s no need to find fault with yourself for failing to achieve that kind of goal. The important thing is to keep improving your skills – and the only way to do that is to keep practicing.

Question #3: Are you stuck with a specific project?
Answer: First, get some distance. Put the manuscript away for a week or two, a month even. Forget it. When you come back, you’ll have to refresh your memory a little by rereading it and chances are that will get the creative juices going again. Sometimes we concentrate so hard on a problem that we can’t see it anymore, and then we stop seeing the details that make up the problem. Stepping back a little can clear your vision.

Didn’t work? Still stuck? Try composing a synopsis for what you have written. Summarizing the narrative or basic ideas behind it can help you rethink the problem. Or, you could compare your summary with your original outline (if you have one). What’s missing? That is, what scenes or events do you need in order to complete the project? Breaking it down to specific scenes may help you find the solution.

Didn’t work either? Still stuck? Time to bring in some outside help.

This is very important: get someone you trust. Not just someone you can trust to give you an honest opinion, but someone whose mode of expression won’t cause you to give up writing. Writer’s Block can make you hypersensitive to criticism – and that will just take you back to question #2. Also, it isn’t necessary for you to give someone an actual manuscript. Simply talking it out can be as helpful – maybe even more so, since you don’t have to wait for someone to do the reading. Trying to explain the essential ideas behind the project and why you feel stuck, as well as answering the person’s questions will help you understand your writing better, thus getting you out of your creative slump.

Question #4: Do you have an idea ready, but you can’t seem to get any words written?
Answer: If you use a computer to write, the ability to edit the text as you type may be holding you back. It can depress the word flow simply by having the option to keep erasing words that don’t seem right. Try writing with a pen and paper, even if you’re not used to doing it and even if you don’t like having to type everything up later. Since you won’t be able to erase the ink easily, you may be able to get yourself writing without fixating on every single word. Later, when you type it up, you can do some editing – the point is to get the ideas out, to actually see them in front of you and not only have them swimming around in your head.

The most important thing to remember about Writer’s Block, no matter how bad it is – and I have this as one of my chief writing guidelines – Writer’s Block is not arbitrary. The muses are not angry with you. You are not being punished. There’s a reason you’re stuck. Once you’ve figured it out, you’ll also figure out the solution. Then bye-bye Block.

Next time on Technical Saturday... Writing Exercises, flexing your creative muscles.