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OVERCOMING WRITER'S BLOCK
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Private Notes
Notes
Overcoming Writer's Block
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The worst feeling in the world for a writer is feeling so deeply inspired to write, but the moment you sit down with your pen and notebook, a big fat nothing hangs at the front of your mind. You feel as though you've got so much to say, yet not a single word comes to mind.
I struggle with this often, and it's extremely frustrating. I think part of why this is such a huge struggle for me, and probably for other writers too, is because I always put pressure on myself to write things that are great and meaningful. But maybe not everything I write needs to have a place in publication or some deep underlying message. Maybe it's okay, and even helpful, to write things that aren't all that great sometimes.
What I mean is that it's better to try and write something, no matter how terrible you think it is, rather than to let the writer's block get to you and write nothing. Sometimes you just need to get the creative juices flowing a bit before something great comes. Sometimes you will have bad days and nothing great will come. That's okay.
Like everything else in life, writing takes practice. If you played baseball, but weren't really feeling up to playing one day, would you just skip practice? No, you'd go, because in order to keep your stamina up, you need to keep practicing. Well, the same thing goes for writing.
If you are having a block, one thing you could do to get yourself writing is to try rewriting something that you've already written in the past strictly from memory. Not only will it get your creativity flowing, you may discover new things about the piece you are rewriting. Another thing you can try is to write about something that has actually happened to you. That way you don't have to come up with a new story to write about, but it still gets you writing.
If you really want to come up with a totally new story, I do know of two word games that you can play with yourself to spark up new story ideas. My writing professors at college played these games with us to help generate story ideas, and then I played these games with my students when I worked as a creative writing tutor.
The first game is the "any word game". Clear your mind, and then let a surprise word come to you. Write this word down. Now see whatever this word gives you to see. If you're lucky, you'll spark up a story idea from the first word. If not, then keep repeating this process, making sure to clear your mind of any preplanned words with each new word you come up with, allowing each word to be a surprise word. Eventually, you should be able to spark up some story idea to write about. Maybe all you'll get out of this game is a scene and not a full story, but that's okay. Write it down. At least it's something.
The second game is the "person action person game". The way this game works is that you come up with a person, either a man, woman, boy, or girl. Keep it between these four things. Don't get specific and say something like 40-year-old policeman; just say man. This gives your mind more room to explore and be creative. Once you've got your first person, come up with an action word. You want this word to be any type of verb that creates an interaction between the two people. For example, slap is a good action word because it creates an immediate interaction between two people. However, like is not a good action word, because you can like someone and never interact with them. Lastly, you pick your second person. Again, keep it between man, woman, boy, or girl. Then put all three words together. I'll give an example: woman caress man. You can do this as many times as you need to spark up a story idea. Once you're ready to begin writing, try starting as close to that interaction as you can. You can go back to add context or a build up later, but starting right at that point of interaction forces you to keep your writing moving rather than getting stuck in a model telling or character history. It's a great way to get you into that writer's flow right off the bat.
I hope that one or more of these ideas is helpful for you the next time you find yourself struggling with writer's block. Just be sure to write something, even if it's just a page, and even if you don't feel like it's your strongest work. Writing something is always better than writing nothing.
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I have this same problem, can’t wait to try out some of your advice. That first word game sounds almost like meditation!
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I think part of why this is such a huge struggle for me, and probably for other writers too, is because I always put pressure on myself to write things that are great and meaningful.
I think this is me, more so when I was in college. I put pressure on myself to write, and write perfectly. I let grammatical and punctuation errors get in my way of writing a potential great piece. I didn't want to have to do with the revisions. However, every time I would finally get to a paper, work on it with a writing assistant, they would tell me you know more than you think, and we really don't see why you come to us, lol. I would get like A's on my papers, and realize, I was in my own way. They say writers/creatives are the hardest on themselves. The most talented, tend to be the hardest on themselves, not understand how great the gift and abilities they possess.-
It's definitely hard not to put that pressure on yourself! I think most writers are at least a little bit of perfectionists too, which contributes to that pressure. For me too, I read all these other great writers work and then compare it to my own, but we're only reading the final version of their work. We don't read the first draft or the drafts that didn't even make it into the story like it's very rare for a writer to write something and it be ready for publication on the very first draft!
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This is exactly true Alexis. I had to think about that too. I remember thinking Michael Jackson was perfect, and he just had it, which he does, being naturally gifted. However, I learned that he had to practice every day to be as great as the stage perform the world saw him as. There was a climb before the peak.
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Another thing you can try is to write about something that has actually happened to you. That way you don't have to come up with a new story to write about, but it still gets you writing.
This is the best advice. I actually used this method about 2 weeks ago. It's like that advice, "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Do what you're passionate about, and you'll never truly work a day in your life. It's easy to write things that you already like. It's like breathing air. You don't consider yourself working, which tends to cause writer's block, you're just being. You're having funny. -
The second game is the "person action person game". The way this game works is that you come up with a person, either a man, woman, boy, or girl. Keep it between these four things. Don't get specific and say something like 40-year-old policeman; just say man. This gives your mind more room to explore and be creative. Once you've got your first person, come up with an action word. You want this word to be any type of verb that creates an interaction between the two people. For example, slap is a good action word because it creates an immediate interaction between two people. However, like is not a good action word, because you can like someone and never interact with them. Lastly, you pick your second person. Again, keep it between man, woman, boy, or girl. Then put all three words together. I'll give an example: woman caress man. You can do this as many times as you need to spark up a story idea. Once you're ready to begin writing, try starting as close to that interaction as you can. You can go back to add context or a build up later, but starting right at that point of interaction forces you to keep your writing moving rather than getting stuck in a model telling or character history. It's a great way to get you into that writer's flow right off the bat. 1 of 2 Next >>
This is some great advice! I'm definitely going to try this. I'm great at article/blog pieces, and poetry. But when it comes to novel writing, I draw blanks. However, when I'm talking to friends, I will randomly come up with interesting scenes.-
This one is especially helpful for any fiction (novels or short stories) in my experience! Getting an action going immediately puts you in the middle of a scene!
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Great advice, it's the same I always give as well. If you keep trying to write eventually something will come out.
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Not bad suggestions! I have a firm believe that you can defeat writer's block, by purely talking a break and doing something else that's either creative or inspirational to you(watching your favorite movie or reading a favorite book). I love this writing related exercises though, since that helps work out certain kinks.
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If a writer’s goal is to sit down and write something great, wow, good luck! Some of the best writing I have ever done and some of the best works of others I have read have been those simmering small ideas seemingly insignificant at first that blossom into a wonderful story. My first novel, Lady In Red, started out as just notes I made on my phone while recovering from surgery, sending myself texts of snippets of writing, never imagining a novel that was considered for a Pulitzer Prize would be the end result. Inspiration is everywhere, but if you try to force a great story, more often than not you will be disappointed. Writer’s block can be devastating, I have gone through periods of utter debilitation, unable to pry a word loose even with a crowbar! It can bring your writing world to a screeching halt and fill you with constant self doubt. But alas, this too shall pass! The two games written above are excellent ways to get the ideas flowing. Sometimes it’s a more aggressive approach. In one instance, the last bout of writer’s block I suffered, it had spiraled into a cycle of doubt, fear, expectations because of my family, and much more. Finally, I recognized my out of control despair, I sat down, looked at the blank screen, clenched my fists and pounded them down on the dining room table on either side of the keyboard (almost startling myself) and declared aloud with a number of expletives that, this shit ends right here, right now! I AM Jackie Hemingway, I AM a writer, and a few other choice words and the damn of it all, wouldn’t you know it, I snapped myself out of my funk and got my ass writing again! We are often our own worst enemy when it comes to writer’s block. Take a step back, breathe, breathe some more, know that you ARE a writer, and dammit, sit down and write!
I hope that you find some of it helpful! I never thought of it that way, but it kind of is! It's really cool to see what words come to you too when you completely clear your mind and let them come from somewhere in your subconscious.