Writers Block and How to break it.

[The Gorn]

Have no fear, The Gorn is here!http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/emoteClap.gif I recently had another bout of writers block. for those of you who are just starting out and have no idea what I am talking about, I'll be happy to explainhttp://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/emoteLecture.gif . Writers block is a common problem among authors and aspiring authors. It is what you call it when you are working on a writing project and suddenly find yourself unable to continue. Many make the mistake of quitting for good when this happens.http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/smileyflag.gif If you are expirencing writers block and have thought about giving up all togather, DON'T! Writers block is a perfectly natural occurance and happens to the best of them. However, not everyone breaks it the same way. I will tell you what I did and hopefully it will work for you. Believe it or not I just stopped. I had been blocked for a month and was going out of my mind with frustration not realizing that the frustration was only making things worse.http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/EmoteSoapbox.gif http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/EmoteHeadbang.gif Finally I just put the manuscript aside and didn't even think about it. After about another week, I went back to it and new material came pouring through like a dam had burst in my mind.http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/smilehooray.gif
Now, that was the method that worked for me but it may not work for everyone else. That is why I am now asking other authors and aspiring authors who have faced and defeated this demon to post on this thread and describe your method for breaking writers block so that those who have not figured out how to break it can get some advice and find a method that works for them. Sincerest apologies for the run-on sentence.http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/redface.gif

[Garpy]

In my experience the golden remedy, the magical pill...to writers block, is to save your file and walk away from it for a week or two and then come back and take a look at it again. This means absolutely NOT thinking about it at all, preferably work on another project or go buy a good book and read it. But DO NOT DWELL on your blocked project.

Everytime, for me, that works.

[scarletpeaches]

Interesting.

My 'cure' for it is the exact opposite, which is why I never get writer's block. If I feel a certain reluctance to go on, I steam ahead. Just write through it. I think a lot of blockage is just a fear of writing something less than perfect. Afterwards, once the whole thing is finished, I go back and edit and the surprising thing is, what I wrote while 'blocked' for want of a better word, often isn't as bad as I'd feared.

[jst5150]

I bounce ideas off my wife or a very close friend. They usually suggest ways to write out of where I am or suggest a nuance I'd never discovered previously.

Otherwise, I work another project.

[Jamesaritchie]

I don't believe writer's block exists, unless you want it to exist. The cure for "writer's block" is to sit down and write.

Those who believe in writer's block need to find a writing job where you get fired if you don't write, if you don't meet the deadline. It's amazing how fast writer's block disappears when your paycheck is on the line.

[Garpy]

I know what you're saying, James, but if I do that, I end up writing doo doo, and possibly veering off trajectory to some point that I really didnt intend. Echoing what someone else has said in a recent, similar thread....I think writer's block can be your subconscious telling you something's not working right. You need to back up, and take a look see what's causing the problem. And of course, IMHO it's best to take a break before doing that.

[scarletpeaches]

Perhaps you just need to give yourself permission to write crap. You can always go back and edit. No one needs to see your first draft. As Stephen King says, "You can't edit what you haven't written."

[blacbird]

I don't believe writer's block exists, unless you want it to exist. The cure for "writer's block" is to sit down and write.

Those who believe in writer's block need to find a writing job where you get fired if you don't write, if you don't meet the deadline. It's amazing how fast writer's block disappears when your paycheck is on the line.

It's amazing how fast writer's block disappears when you have quick and continued success in getting stuff published, too.

caw.

[SpookyWriter]

I've had writers block on-and-off for the past several months. I know what's causing it, but I haven't been successful with the remedy. My problem is partly the agent process which is driving me nuts because I haven't heard a peep out of them yet. I have partials out to five agents, the longest submission is from September, and the most recent was three weeks ago. I queried one agent a month ago and he promised to have something soon. Still nothing, and so I wait and wait.

I have a few short stories circulating around and am waiting news on them. So, I wait and wait again.

My blockage is really simple; why bother writing or believing I will sell my work if it's crap? I just can't get over this feeling that I'm spinning my wheels and I could be doing something more productive with my time. Sure, I could continue to write on a part-time basis for the next few years, but what I need from the agent(s) is something to work on. I need one of these agents to just tell me if they like it or not, and maybe some constructive feedback would be great, but nothing is happening and so my frustration is keeping me from continuing.

Does any of this make sense?

P.S. I did the start a new project and not wait around, but the new project is a novel stuck at 60k words.

[scarletpeaches]

Why should the agent's opinion stop you working?

They like it, great, you need more stuff to send them so you write.

They don't like it, great, you improve your style and you write.

[Novilia]

Most people seem to think writers block is a subconcious thing, which I find interesting. I've never thought of it as a subconcious thing. My writers block is caused when I've written out a bunch of stuff that I kow is supposed to happen and I know what's supposed to happen afetr that but....I don't have a means of stringing them togeter, so I sit there and well write until I write something I like!

[jst5150]

Another theory I've heard: writer's block is simply a manifestation of the:

-- Fear of Failure; or
-- Fear of Success

[Celia Cyanide]

Why should the agent's opinion stop you working?

They like it, great, you need more stuff to send them so you write.

They don't like it, great, you improve your style and you write.

Well, as Spookywriter said, "I could be doing something more productive with my time." So it's hard to tell if you should still write, no matter what the response is.

[jst5150]

Good point, Celia. At least if you're playing the saxophone aloud, you have a better vector on whether or not carpentry, food service or stevedore work is in your future. :-)

[Shadow_Ferret]

In my experience the golden remedy, the magical pill...to writers block, is to save your file and walk away from it for a week or two and then come back and take a look at it again. This means absolutely NOT thinking about it at all, preferably work on another project or go buy a good book and read it. But DO NOT DWELL on your blocked project.

Everytime, for me, that works.
I did that. I started a novel, hit a sticking point, and put it away for nearly 8 years. When I came back to it I realized I had been going in the wrong direction, reworked what I had and continued on with a fresh set of ideas and finished it.

I'm now returning to another novel I had put aside over a year ago.

[reph]

There's a whole forum about writer's block farther down the Water Cooler page.

[scarletpeaches]

It just strikes me as weird that there's a forum designed for people who claim to be unable to write...which they then proceed to write in...

[WordLady]

When I was having trouble finishing my first literary novel, The Artist's Way helped immensely.

[SpookyWriter]

So it's hard to tell if you should still write, no matter what the response is.

I can say one thing: "I had to read that quote a couple times because it is ambigious."

http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/worm-read.gif

[AceTachyon]

I'm with James, scarlet, and others: I don't believe writer's block really exists--unless you want it to exist.

Then it simply becomes one of those excuses like "woulda, coulda, shoulda" and "Someday I'll..."

Writing stalled? Write about why it's stalled. Write through the stall, even if it's crap. (As in the joke, there might be a pony in there. But you gotta dig for it.) Or work on another project.

Do journalists get writer's block? I don't think so.

Oliver Stone is supposedly quoted as saying "Writing = (backside) in chair."

I completely agree.

[zeprosnepsid]

Interesting.

My 'cure' for it is the exact opposite, which is why I never get writer's block. If I feel a certain reluctance to go on, I steam ahead. Just write through it. I think a lot of blockage is just a fear of writing something less than perfect. Afterwards, once the whole thing is finished, I go back and edit and the surprising thing is, what I wrote while 'blocked' for want of a better word, often isn't as bad as I'd feared.

This is 100% what happens to me. I psyche myself out but when I force myself to write it's never as bad as I thought it was going to be.

That being said, I do think there is some merit in taking some time away from a novel. It can give you a fresh perspective. Writer's block or no, I think there are great advantages to taking a week off.

And sometimes writer's block is health related. I can't write a full sentence if I haven't eaten within the last 3 hours or haven't slept sufficiently.

[The Gorn]

I don't believe writer's block exists, unless you want it to exist. The cure for "writer's block" is to sit down and write. Those who believe in writer's block need to find a writing job where you get fired if you don't write, if you don't meet the deadline. It's amazing how fast writer's block disappears when your paycheck is on the line.

This is Gorn. I have never been in that situation so I cannot offer an opinion. But in my own experience I have found that if I get blocked and come under pressure; the wall just gets higher and thicker.

[PeeDee]

for some writers, I suppose it's a fairly big problem (I pity da fool! :) )

Usually, if I'm stuck with writer's block, or some sort of equivelant, it's just my subconscious sensing something wrong with the scene I'm working on, or the way the story's going. I never actually just run out of ideas of what to write. I've always got stuff to do. Writer's Block, or in my case, Writer's Slowdown comes from something coming out wrong. I just go back and re-write it, give it up, or start over, and keep on going. Or else, I get someone to give me a title and I bang out a quick short story to free the ol' pipes.

We should make a pill. Block-No-More. We could sell it for $20 a pop at GNC, Ebay, and other fine retailers of drugs.

(although I don't know if Block-No-More actually sounds like it would cure WRITER problems, per se...)

[SusanR]

We should make a pill. Block-No-More. We could sell it for $20 a pop at GNC, Ebay, and other fine retailers of drugs.

(although I don't know if Block-No-More actually sounds like it would cure WRITER problems, per se...)

Rytidol. Or maybe, Damnitol.

SusanR, MD

[PeeDee]

I think those would probably be two different strengthes of medication... :)

[blacbird]

With me, it's helpful to have more than one thing going. That at least lets me get something down, although there's always a slow-down, more like writer's fog than writer's block.

Publication block, on the other hand, is utterly insurmountable.

caw.

[PeeDee]

If Publication Block is defined as "I haven't gotten published yet" then all that means is, you need another roll of stamps, another address, and it's time to send someone a heavy pack of paper

If Publication Block means "I haven't gotten published, every Editor in New York And Beyond hates me, I'm a total hack, my wife is going to run away with Serg, the lead singer of System of a Down and I'm going to die alone!"
and that leads to writer's block, then...well, keep writing.

(although if you think that above line, you first need to pause and have your wife whack some perspective across thine skull.)

[Shadow_Ferret]

Interesting.

My 'cure' for it is the exact opposite, which is why I never get writer's block. If I feel a certain reluctance to go on, I steam ahead. Just write through it. I think a lot of blockage is just a fear of writing something less than perfect. Afterwards, once the whole thing is finished, I go back and edit and the surprising thing is, what I wrote while 'blocked' for want of a better word, often isn't as bad as I'd feared.So, if you reach a sticking point where you're unsure of which direction to take the story line you just keep writing? That makes no sense to me. At that point what are you writing? "There's a fly on the wall and he's rubbing his back legs together..."?

I certainly don't understand how you can "steam ahead" if you've reached a sticking point. IMO this simply means that you haven't truly reached a sticking point. You've probably never really experienced true writer's block.

It isn't a fear of writing something less than perfect, that's something that happens everytime I write. :) It's more like an idea blockage. I can't, for whatever reason, come up with the next scene or figure out what direction to go.

Doesn't mean I can't write at all. I'll pick up on another project and start working on that while the blocked project sits until my subconsious works through the blockage.

[scarletpeaches]

I said if I feel a certain reluctance to go ahead, I simply make myself. I've never reached a true sticking point because writers...well, write. There's never a point where I don't know where the story's going.

If I was a bricklayer who said "I don't fancy building a wall today," or a doctor who said, "I just can't bring myself to heal people," I wouldn't get paid. Why should anyone with an imagination be able to claim they can't write? If you know where you want to take a story there's no reason to get 'blocked'. Just steam ahead, give yourself permission to write less than perfectly and tidy it up later.

All I'm saying is some scenes are easier to write than others. I always have some idea of where a book is going and while I don't outline in detail, just very roughly, I've never experienced writers' block because I don't believe it exists.

Saying this might take some of the romance out of writing but if you want to finish a project, the only way to do it is to write it. No-one ever claims taxi-drivers' block or accountants' block. You don't forget how to drive or find it hard to add up money all of a sudden. Neither does one forget how to write.

[Maryn]

I don't believe in writer's block per se.

I believe in loss of confidence in whether what you've written is good enough.

I believe in the mistaken notion that your first draft has to be pretty good rather than something which can stink, since it's going to be rewritten anyway.

I believe in the realization that what you wrote does stink and that you should not continue.

I believe in knowing too late that your basic concept has no legs to stand on, no matter how well you write it.

I believe in having multiple writing endeavors going on at once, so you can turn away from a problem and still accomplish some writing.

I believe in stowing a 'blocked' work until you see a way past it or forget it's there, possibly forever.

I believe in writers getting that what's-the-use feeling if their previous writing isn't sold or appreciated.

I believe writer's block is an indulgence of amateurs--when you've got a contract with a deadline and you either turn in a manuscript or return your advance, you may find writing difficult, but you do it anyway.

I believe in inadequate preparation.

I believe in inadequate organization, too.

I believe in writing yourself into a corner so tight that you either need to start over or abandon it. (“Damn, this only works if it was all a dream!”)

I believe in lost enthusiasm for a particular work.

I believe in lack of focus, in not knowing what your story’s really about and why these characters should tell it.

I believe in increasing boredom with an entire genre that’s become too familiar.

I believe in well-crafted characters you don’t want to spend time with. (Nobody else will, either.)

I believe in stories that require a daunting amount of preliminary research before you can write. (“Sure, that’s it, a police procedural following a serial killer who’s targeting milliners in 1910 France!”)

I believe in shyness and lack of confidence that makes seeking expert advice or background hideously difficult or impossible.

I believe in not knowing how to start, or where to start, or even if you should start.

I believe in finding the need to learn basic writing skills so boring or off-putting that you’d rather procrastinate than spend the time it takes.

I believe in concluding that your whole concept is stupid, immature, derivative, impractical, embarrassing, too personal, legally actionable, or any of a host of other fatal flaws.

I believe in realizing that you're not as good as other people, the ones who ought to know, like teachers and fellow writers, think you are.

I believe in realizing that you're not as good as you think you are.

I believe in the inability of young writers to write characters well beyond their own age and situations well beyond their experiences (regardless of research)--and I believe in the incredible frustration of being young and bursting with ideas that you shouldn’t tackle yet.

Maryn, who hopes she doesn't trip getting off the soapbox

[scarletpeaches]

Wow, Maryn, that said it so much better than I could. Evidently, you are a better writer than I am. I shall punish myself severely by eating lots of chocolate biscuits.

(Honestly. That was a spectacular post).:)

[PeeDee]

I agree. Absolutely fantastic, Maryn. I want a T-shirt that says all that.

(of course, she just reduced us all to hacks! So now we have writer's block! ack!)

:)

[Bufty]

In other words, Maryn, claiming to be suffering from writer's block is simply being unable to identify and tackle what's wrong - if indeed anything at all is wrong. Put another way - it's not an affliction - it's just part of the writing process.

[scarletpeaches]

I believe as soon as you start seeing something as an stumbling block rather than a stepping stone, you're in trouble.

[PeeDee]

It's just not an excuse to wander off and have angst about your story. It's a chance to look at your story and say "Something feels wrong; what is it?"

So much of good writing is feeling, invoking and evoking it. Writer's block is your feeling telling you something's wrong. It's a bit like the deep sense of forboding you'll sometimes get before something bad happens, only it's not so clearly defineable or discernable.

[Master Bedroom]

Exactly, feeling has a hell of allot to do with it, I had started on a new novel, but my heart wasn’t in it, I feel that the idea is good but the inner belief isn’t there, no enthusiasm, so I feel that it will be dry as a result, that I won’t be able to breath life into it.

So for me it is a simple lack of enthusiasm, which comes, of course from not getting published. I feel, well what’s the point to keep going if I haven’t succeeded as yet with what I have done? That is the dilemma that I face now, I have plenty of idea’s floating around up there, but I cannot find the energy to start. When I first begun writing, I had no idea how hard it is to get published, especially since I have read so many novels that where not very good, either story wise or how they were written. Having no money is my biggest problem, when money goes before, all ways lie open, but who knows, maybe I will get lucky. Australia is like the biggest small town in the world, so being here doesn’t help at all. Yeah well, because I had no idea how hard it is to get published, I was full of enthusiasm at first, and wrote pages every day, now, I can’t seem to write at all. So I have decided to go through my novella once again and turn it into a full length novel.

[PeeDee]

Sure. I mean, you can write something just fine without feeling. It's not hard to turn out something mechanically. But if there's no heart, there's no connection with the reader.

I think this is really why so many writers (big-name or otherwise) avoid or actively distrust plotting. You take the heart out of the story, if you follow a plot to the letter.

(outlining's not so bad, it still lets you surprise yourself and the reader).

The best compliment anyone can give me, when reading my stuff is, "It really sounds like you're enjoying yourself, and I had fun too."

So if you've got writer's block, pay attention. Sure, force your way past it if you want and keep writing mechanically. Sometimes, you have to. Sometimes, you have to just write cold-bloodedly. Eventually, you can look at it in the next few drafts and turn it into something that sings, or at least hums.

A wholly mechanical story can be entirely readable, and also entirely forgettable.

[Sage]

My writers block went from me switching from writing one complete novel to going back to the one in progress. God, I just need to write.

[Shadow_Ferret]

If you know where you want to take a story there's no reason to get 'blocked'.
I think that was my point. I DON'T know where the story is going. I'm stuck. That's what writer's block is to me.

Not sure why everyone feels the need to belittle people because they believe in writer's block.

[Bufty]

I don't think anyone is belittling you for claiming to have 'writers block', Shadow. We just disagree on the use of the term. To me - 'I'm temporarily stuck' is more meaningful than 'I'm suffering from writer's block'.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Isn't that just semantics? A term was created to describe being stuck and it's "writer's block." Why be afraid to use it when you get to that point?

I guess I've never viewed it with any negative connotation any more than I've viewed, "I have a headache" as being negative or "I'm hungry." It's just a statement used to describe a state of being that might be of very short duration or could be a long duration.

[Bufty]

Isn't that just semantics? A term was created to describe being stuck and it's "writer's block." Why be afraid to use it when you get to that point?

I guess I've never viewed it with any negative connotation any more than I've viewed, "I have a headache" as being negative or "I'm hungry." It's just a statement used to describe a state of being that might be of very short duration or could be a long duration.

Fair enough - it's just that it's been siezed upon by some as an 'illness' or 'affliction' that only happens to writers as if it's something to be feared and requires special treatment to get over it. There's plenty of long web articles on the 'dreaded' Writer's Block. I don't know, but it would surprise me if someone hasn't written a book on it.

Edit: changed 'wouldn't' to 'would'.

[jst5150]

I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone hasn't written a book on it.

Several, actually. Our friends at Amazon list them here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/103-0664843-5071844?url=index%3Dblended&field-keywords=writers+block).

[cwfgal]

There is an accepted (and officially listed in the diagnostic manuals) psychological disorder called writer's block. It's much more than simply "being stuck" and it is exceedingly rare.

Most people who claim to have writer's block don't. What they usually have is self doubt, laziness, plotting problems, or a bad case of procrastination, all of which can be written through with time, practice, and/or perseverance. Can't say I've ever had a case of writer's block but I've had all of the other problems at one time or another.

Beth

[The Gorn]

There is an accepted (and officially listed in the diagnostic manuals) psychological disorder called writer's block. It's much more than simply "being stuck" and it is exceedingly rare.

Most people who claim to have writer's block don't. What they usually have is self doubt, laziness, plotting problems, or a bad case of procrastination, all of which can be written through with time, practice, and/or perseverance. Can't say I've ever had a case of writer's block but I've had all of the other problems at one time or another.

Beth

Very good piece of information. I wasn't aware of that. I thought that writer's block was simply getting to a point in a story and suddenly running out of ideas. I didn't know it could get that serious. Now I feel like this thread may be offering false hope to some people out there. To anyone who reads the posts in this thread: If none of the methods for breaking writer's block suggested here work for you, then I suggest you may want to consult with a therapist. I know nothing about mental medicine and had no idea that writer's block could be that sever of a problem. Should any or all of the methods suggested here fail you, then you have my most sincere apologies.