The writing process has so many parts and everyone has different ways of approaching them. Like peeling an orange, there is a beginning and an end, but how to reveal the juicy fruit waiting inside, is entirely up to the writer. However, it’s not always easy to do. This is an entry about that part when the peel gets stuck-commonly known as writer’s block. Because sometimes I feel that the writing process isn’t analogous to peeling a wonderful fruit at all- it’s more like trying to find the beginning on a roll of packing tape. It’s a frustrating situation, and as you search the roll over and over, you just can’t seem to find the place where the tape was last cut. For some reason, that tantalizing edge is glued in place and seems to have magically disappeared.
WRITER’S BLOCK- WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?
So, why does it happen? It may sound gruesome but I think, like bombing at the high school prom, hitting a writing wall is telling us something. It’s a canary in the gold mine.
Everyone is different. My experience has been that I get stuck when I’m missing something essential in my work. It can be one of a few things. Maybe I haven’t taken the time and things are left out- there’s information that the reader needs in order to create tension in imagining the narrative and it’s not there. Or maybe I’ve written too much, but I haven’t hit on the right theme. I’ve skipped over parts that need to be improved and developed upon and I haven’t given them space and importance on the page. Basically, I’ve started focusing too much on the finished product and I’ve stream-lined my mind; it’s no longer revving in the right gear for producing results.
SO, WHAT TO DO?
Pinpointing the places that need fixing and figuring out how to do it is definitely the hard part! When it comes to myself, I guess you could say that I take the easy road out. Before I can assess anything, I need some space and so, usually, I abandon ship. I move to another project. I start something new, (like writing a blog, ahem…) or I go back to an old piece of writing and work on that for a while. Sometimes I move to another activity, entirely. There’s nothing like going biking, taking a road trip to see friends, playing a bunch of music, or overloading on shopping to clear my mind from its troubles. Alternative activities don’t always move my brain into the right place for good writing right away, but they do start new roads growing. This lets the kinks in the old ones rest for a while, while they figure themselves out and stop throwing dishes and cutlery over the breakfast table.
AND IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, IF I’M STILL STUCK- LIKE, WE’RE TALKING CRAZY GLUE…
When it’s really bad, I don’t know what to say-all I know is that when a lack of writing becomes a life and death situation, it’s all too daunting. The idea that only I can save myself is all too much pressure. And so, tomorrow is another day! When I’m super-stuck, I look to the past to look to the future: there were good ideas before, there will be good ideas again. And they will come in due time. Like potty-training, they can’t be rushed!
And so, I’ll end with this: writing needs ideas, and ideas are like children: we have to let them grow. And in turn, we need to be childlike to foster them: sometimes the brain says ‘no’ simply because we need to go out and have some fun…and bring that back to our work.
Here are some sites with ideas on creativity and working through hurdles:
Writer's block is a frustrating phenomenon that hits some people and not others, is overcome by some with various techniques that don't work for others who try them, and the harder you work at it the worse it seems to get! There just isn't a single answer that applies to everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy writerly daughter and I both affirm that we've never been struck by writer's block. Oh yes, we've had dry spells -- times when the writing is slow and not very brilliant -- but we find if we sit down with a plan to write, and don't get up until something is written, the words eventually come. On the other hand, I have one dear friend who forced herself to sit at the computer until she had an anxiety attack... her family took her to the ER because they thought she was having a heart attack! So I know it's very real for some people.
I agree writing needs ideas, but Ideas are everywhere. We just have to find ways to identify them... ways to recognize the seams of gold so we can mine them for our purpose. The tense or stressed mind seems to resist the search, but the longer you avoid writing, the harder it gets.
I didn't mean this to become an epistle. Sorry! I just want to encourage you not to give up in looking for ways to continue writing and nurture your creativity.
Thanks very much for your comments, Carol!
ReplyDeleteI feel, too, that ideas are everywhere. I haven't experienced severe writer's block- I hope your friend has recovered!
Sometimes the blinders do go up and I don't identify ideas when they present themselves, though, if I'm too tense in life. Or I get too many ideas accumulating at one time, and I don't take the time to press one of them out, to elongate it from start to finish, and make it understandable.
I will keep your encouragement in mind! Thank you.