The Best Writer's Block Article I've Ever Read

I took a look at this article. I like the model the writer describes.

"Your editor can’t get incessant, after all. His shift’s over. Thank him for his good work"

I totally agree with thanking your inner writer, and I like the suggestion to make sure that each part of your writer is doing the role it should. Too many people battle the critic, as if they could win. The best thing to do with this part of your subconcious is to distract it and to limit it's role, and especially to recognize that even when the critic creates very powerful negative ideas in your mind, that what this part of you really wants is for you to be successful and safe. It's on your side. For many, however, the critic goes about it's role quite badly. If you give it something to do that keeps it satisfied, the other parts of your subconcious can be more free to make art. I like the focus here on letting the critic have a role that keeps it happy and makes it feel useful, and keeps it from trying to run the show.

thanks for posting this


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ok, adding a bit to my post, a few days later.
Wow. 104 views and no other posts to this thread. I wonder why...

I loved that article. Very true. I'll have to keep that in mind when I start having problems.

Thanks for posting this! I have actually been having some trouble lately, so this is a really useful way to break the whole thing down.

I've been in writer's block hell for more than a week now and don't want it to go on any longer, as the longer I'm not working the harder it is to get back at it.

I think the problem is that my Editor is a beginner whereas my Visionary and Draft Worker have tons of experience. Other than school papers I've never edited a thing in my life. Crap...

Any suggestions on getting my terrified Editor to quit babbling in fear and get her working?

Is writer's block when you don't know what to write about or is it when you know what to write about but can't seem to start? Am I confusing it with procrastination? Or is it that avoidance?

Thanks for the article. I think it's one of the best I've read on the subject, too, and I'm taking the advice.

DanielaTorre said:

Is writer's block when you don't know what to write about or is it when you know what to write about but can't seem to start? Am I confusing it with procrastination? Or is it that avoidance?

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As far as I know, writer's block would be anything from a lack of inspiration and thereby staring at a blank screen, or getting intimidated by the task at hand and consequently, just staring at a blank screen. Currently, I have a type of "writer's block" where my life has become quite stressful and my mind is unable to focus on my novel. This one, I'm going to have to wait out until the real life problems work themselves out. It's frustrating and upsetting but I can only hope this moment passes soon.

Procrastination and/or avoidance (which I suppose is the same thing in this case!) depends on its reason why it's there; it can be fueled by fear or frustration, in which case it will pretty much get diagnosed as a form of writer's block.

This article always helped me in many cases of writer's block! Though not this case, unfortunately ):

atombaby said:

As far as I know, writer's block would be anything from a lack of inspiration and thereby staring at a blank screen, or getting intimidated by the task at hand and consequently, just staring at a blank screen. Currently, I have a type of "writer's block" where my life has become quite stressful and my mind is unable to focus on my novel. This one, I'm going to have to wait out until the real life problems work themselves out. It's frustrating and upsetting but I can only hope this moment passes soon.

Procrastination and/or avoidance (which I suppose is the same thing in this case!) depends on its reason why it's there; it can be fueled by fear or frustration, in which case it will pretty much get diagnosed as a form of writer's block.

This article always helped me in many cases of writer's block! Though not this case, unfortunately ):

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Atombaby, that article was awesome. Hilarious and spot on. Thanks!

Other said:

I think the problem is that my Editor is a beginner whereas my Visionary and Draft Worker have tons of experience. Other than school papers I've never edited a thing in my life. Crap...

Any suggestions on getting my terrified Editor to quit babbling in fear and get her working?

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I'm wondering what you mean by editor.

Layla Nahar said:

I'm wondering what you mean by editor.

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In the article shared by the OP, the writing process is divided into different jobs (within an individual writer) and Editor is one of those jobs. So, Other means her "internal Editor".

lastlittlebird said:

So, Other means her "internal Editor".

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Can you be sure?

His ideas are pretty good. I suffer from writers block frequently. I hate it and have been tried everything trying to overcome it when I do get it.

Good post and great article!

thanks for the article

That's a helpful link. Lots of good info there.

LOL This article makes lots of sense...My problem is with my Draft Worker wanting to work on ideas that aren't finished yet....
*reads more of the article*

*makes mental note to save*

Thanks for sharing this--it's a great kick in the butt that I need

I really liked this article but I think this person forgot one of the key members of the team and a key part of the process -

The pitchman

Imagine you have to make a very big project... when you are making a big project it is imperative you choose the right project for such an ambitious goal.

A good analogy for this is that when you start a sculpture if you don't start the process correctly the sculpture is ruined before you even get to the later stages.

I think this is where most people get hung up. At least I do.. especially when you have to do a really big important project.

The bigger and more important the project the more difficult the decision is to make - the more pressure.

So how does the pitch process work in Hollywood.. how do they make these tough decisions successfully? How do they get past the fear of the monumental bomb and commit to a immense risky project? How can we apply this to the analogy here?

Not sure what "writer's block" is...

I’ve been writing for money since 1966. Truthfully, I don’t know what writer’s block is. I do go through periods of varying length, and for varying reasons, when the words won’t come. Lengths of blank-page time have ranged from minutes to the longest, which is, on a particular piece, since 1984. That piece was a novel about a guy who worked for a toxic-waste disposal company. At the time, I was in a marriage which ended up in toxic-waste disposal. I suppose that the reason it stopped writing itself a couple hundred pages in was that I found a way to dispose of the marriage and didn’t need to write a metaphor for it anymore.

Most of the time, when I’m stopped, I merely need some time to let the thing simmer or ferment or slosh around – whatever it’s doing in my head. When it was a news story that bored me, what worked most often was waiting until it was far too late, and the adrenaline kicked in.

With a very long piece I’m working on now (1,000+ pages so far), I hit blank-page-time every now and then. These actions seem to work:
– Take a nap, followed by caffeine and Ginko Biloba, or take some fun time, such as going snowboarding, followed by hours of rest.
– If it’s a despair-filled, hate-this-thing dead end, I go back to the beginning and start reading it. I can’t help but do a bit of minor rewrite as I read. At some point, I always regain the desire to go to the end where I stopped and make more progress.

I suspect that if going back and re-reading, and doing a small bit of rewrite, doesn’t get you out of blank-page time, then either (a) something’s wrong elsewhere in your life (money pressure, bad home environment, bad boss, etc.) or (b) you fundamentally believe at the time that it’s a piece of scheit.

If nothing works, save it, make some notes about why and where you stopped and where you expected to go, and go work on something else – another piece of writing, work on the house, or whatever feels constructive.

If you go back in a week or six or six months or six years and you still don’t have a clue where to go with it, well, then, you have your answer: you weren’t meant to write it now, or maybe not ever.

I have two favorite screenplay ideas, both of which I’ve started, and neither of which I think I’ll ever finish. I know their characters and stories from beginning to end. The “block” in their cases is that I love the ideas, but I really don’t think either of them would ever become a movie.

So I think that’s what the label "writer’s block" is sometimes: a truthful little voice telling you that you’re wasting your time on this story. This has happened to me: I grew up a bit after starting a piece and concluded that it’s not good enough.

As to the long, long piece...How do I know I’m not wasting my time, and that I won’t hit a wall after 1100 pages? Because I’m 66. Because I’ve lived enough of life, and had enough experience, to know that my subject matter is real and vital.

If you get really stuck with your tome you could always put some of it in Share-Your-Work or similar, wait for someone to nick it, and then get those brilliant lawyers to sue them.

Good for you, if it works...

If it works for you, great. I found it dull, long, in serious need of some tightening, and indicative of possible multiple personality disorder. Different approaches work for different people.

LoneStreetlight said:

I know this has probably been shared here before, but I haven't seen it around anywhere. This is the best writing advice I've ever read, and I always make sure to re-read it when I'm stuck or having trouble starting.

http://menwithpens.ca/how-to-unblock-your-writing/

This has been absolutely invaluable to me! For the first time in my life, I have actually been able to write something and not stop after only a few pages. This is especially helpful as I'm a perfectionist.

I hope this helps someone, and I'm sorry if I'm posting something that's already here.

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Screenwriting said:

If it works for you, great. I found it dull, long, in serious need of some tightening, and indicative of possible multiple personality disorder. Different approaches work for different people.

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You know we're really serious about the Respect Your Fellow Writer thing here.

You might want to read the The Newbie Guide to Absolute Write again.

Either way, don't ever do this again.

Thanks for posting this! I found it very helpful.

I really liked this article, I was able to identify with all of the stages of struggling with work the author talked about and could definitely benefit from some of the advice

That article starts with a good idea; but it could use another going over by the guy's Editor. At least some proofreading.

Here, let me give it a try:

"Imagine the individual tasks involved in writing a piece are personified as a staff of employees under your supervision. Make sure to let each of them do their job without interference from the others. I could belabor this metaphor for thirty paragraphs, but I'm sure you get the idea."