Seven Kinds of Writers Block (?)

Mine was inhibition. Mostly with a specific idea of writing a story set on Mars. To me so many other big name authors have written stories on or about Mars that I thought I couldn't compete. Then realized that it's not really a competition.

Now, it's just trying to get the words to say what I want them to say. But I don't consider this writer's block at all. The idea is still stewing.

Depression keeps you from doing anything. I know people who have and suffer from depression. One doesn't take anything for it and one does. I don't think depression is writer's block.

Mostly, I don't believe in writer's block at all. It's a figment.

I suffer from a mild form of writer's block on an almost weekly basis, one that definitely falls under the 'lack of clarity' category. I'm sure this is something that everyone experiences, but I'm still finding mechanisms to work around it.

Basically, I'll sit there with a brief section synopsis, and find myself completely unable to find a starting point from which to begin writing. Even if I try to start from a midpoint in the section, or move to a different section, it's a massive challenge.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the concept of Flow (c.f. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)) but I'm pretty sure it's strongly related to that. When I'm in Flow, I can write and write until it's 3am, and emerge with such a heavy mind-fuzz I can't sleep for another 45 minutes. But getting into Flow is really hard for me.

Sheer incompetence is a form of writer's block that I come across often. I fix it by getting off my butt and writing.

As for the others... Depression, yeah I get that. When I get it, I end up writing a mixture of WIP and diary entries (I'm currently writing my WIP in my diary.) since I can't seem to ever fill a diary with diary things. I find it quite comical at times: read some story; **** my life; read more story. Writing is how I cope with a number of things.

There are times where I just won't sit down and write my story. Happened a lot back when I was working it on my computer. Times where I could not take this luggard of a laptop with me, I lamented not having something on paper to work with. Now I do have a hard-original to work with.

Another one was inconfidence. I kept thinking of it as something for someone to read and get garnished with praise from. You know, an epic to publish and put through the crucible of the public eye. I've since learned that isn't always the best goal to have in mind. So what if there are famous writers? Better it is to write for love of what is being written than for the critical, often cruel pulp of the peanut gallery--or select ones--or for the fame attributed to people who have written good novels.

Comparison with already established authors is stifling for most anyone starting out. I stopped doing that. I stopped picking up books to compare and assimilate and throw my own work against. Because I have always found someone who has written something that makes me want to change what I am writing, thus detracting from progress and my own individual literary voice.

Music helps, substantially. I'm always niggling over what song fits what scene. Rarely do I update my music library, but I own what works for me. When i sit down to write I always have some music in my ears, since it helps drain out distractions from what is going on in my mind's creative eye. At that point it just comes down to a matter of having enough ink in my pen. Which is almost out.

The final, absolute writer's block I do think I will have at some point is money; life, and money. I need a new pen, I need a red-ink pen, too. Sadly these two things cost a hard-earned dollar that i do not possess. Soooo... eventually...

Blocked Writer.

My blockage often comes from dealing with the daily grind. When I can actually find the time to write, I can't concentrate enough to write a simple sentence because every minute of every day is filled with things that need to be done. I've found myself actually feeling guilty when I take an hour to write rather than doing an extra load of laundry, staying later at work to finish charts, or reading an extra bedtime story. I find it's becoming more difficult to retreat into my imagination and articulate what's lurking there.

For me, it's generally the "Why the hell am I doing this?" question. The likelihood of publication is vanishingly small, so what's the point?

caw

I think the situation "Think you ought to write but deep down don't want to write" often gets labeled writer's block. And I guess it is, if you consider not writing to be immoral or otherwise wrong/bad, rather than accepting that it's OK to not write.

blacbird said:

For me, it's generally the "Why the hell am I doing this?" question. The likelihood of publication is vanishingly small, so what's the point?

caw

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I feel like this - not because the likelihood of publication is small, because I'd just self publish, but because of the related idea that there isn't an audience I want to speak to.

Writer's block is usually a form of procrastination. Procrastination is a completely logical, if impractical, way of avoiding the unpleasant feelings of anxiety, fear and shame often associated with demanding, identity-relevant tasks. Essentially, our mind is trying to protect us by stepping on the break pedal, assuming we are unable to deal with the challenging situation that is potentially threatening our sense of self.

Mine differs for different ideas that I have in mind.

Mostly, it has to deal with trauma. I have anxiety disorder and I've been working on a teen fiction novel about bullying and anxiety disorder, but haven't been able to finish it. Why? Because since I was 15 when I started writing it, I've been bullied to the point where I was suicidal. And every time I tried to write the novel, I had nightmares about being in school again with everyone laughing at me.

This is something I need to discuss with my therapist to get over it, but I don't know if the nightmares are a sign that I should stop writing it. The same goes for a TV screenplay I'm working on in the crime drama genre.

Orchestra said:

Writer's block is usually a form of procrastination. Procrastination is a completely logical, if impractical, way of avoiding the unpleasant feelings of anxiety, fear and shame often associated with demanding, identity-relevant tasks. Essentially, our mind is trying to protect us by stepping on the break pedal, assuming we are unable to deal with the challenging situation that is potentially threatening our sense of self.

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I agree! What he/she said!

musicduchess20 said:

Mine differs for different ideas that I have in mind.

Mostly, it has to deal with trauma. I have anxiety disorder and I've been working on a teen fiction novel about bullying and anxiety disorder, but haven't been able to finish it. Why? Because since I was 15 when I started writing it, I've been bullied to the point where I was suicidal. And every time I tried to write the novel, I had nightmares about being in school again with everyone laughing at me.

This is something I need to discuss with my therapist to get over it, but I don't know if the nightmares are a sign that I should stop writing it. The same goes for a TV screenplay I'm working on in the crime drama genre.

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You brought out my nurse/mom side. Instead of letting the memories torment you, use your writing as therapy. Your MC can change the outcome of any situation. By helping her/him deal with it and move on, you'll be helping yourself heal. People only draw attention to others to draw attention away from their own inadequacies(sp?). Hang in there!

Some serious stuff here. You never know what's going on with somebody. Very kind of you, Nightingale, and I know you're not the only one putting good thoughts out there.
I hope folks don't mind if I lighten things up just a little bit. I was reading the postings and I remembered that in my first novel, two of my mc's had writer's block. One of 'em wrote:


You’re humming along at the computer and then, just like that, you’re STUCK: the well is dry, and the next thing you know, you’re sitting there banging your head on the keyboard, repeating the writers’ mantra over and over:

What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—

When we writers reach that point—and sooner or later, we all do—it seems that nothing short of divine intervention will save us. You know what I always thought would be great? If you could just call the doc and explain what’s going on, and he could give you a magic pill that would get the words flowing again. . .

. . .the next thing you know, you're swallowing three or four of those fuckers dry; then, somehow, you get yourself home and you force yourself to sit down at the computer and wait for those magic pills to take effect, and all the while, you’re rocking back and forth and praying, Come on, come on, Jesus Christ come ON, and then you start to feel it seeping in, and now it’s washing over you, and finally, finally, the words start flowing again; they start flowing right out of you, nice and warm, like a long, satisfying piss. . .

Oh, boy.

Does anyone get this type of block where, you CAN write but you don't because you're terrified that once you start writing the dam is going to break and entire story is going to consume you to the point where you're going to be writing or thinking about the story nonstop with scene after scene just oozing out of your very pores and you're going to not be able to go to work or function in society and you're just going to have to hole up in your house without food or sleep until you can get it all out of you, so you just write a little bit at a time or avoid writing altogether?

kkbe said:

Some serious stuff here. You never know what's going on with somebody. Very kind of you, Nightingale, and I know you're not the only one putting good thoughts out there.
I hope folks don't mind if I lighten things up just a little bit. I was reading the postings and I remembered that in my first novel, two of my mc's had writer's block. One of 'em wrote:


You’re humming along at the computer and then, just like that, you’re STUCK: the well is dry, and the next thing you know, you’re sitting there banging your head on the keyboard, repeating the writers’ mantra over and over:

What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—

When we writers reach that point—and sooner or later, we all do—it seems that nothing short of divine intervention will save us. You know what I always thought would be great? If you could just call the doc and explain what’s going on, and he could give you a magic pill that would get the words flowing again. . .

. . .the next thing you know, you're swallowing three or four of those fuckers dry; then, somehow, you get yourself home and you force yourself to sit down at the computer and wait for those magic pills to take effect, and all the while, you’re rocking back and forth and praying, Come on, come on, Jesus Christ come ON, and then you start to feel it seeping in, and now it’s washing over you, and finally, finally, the words start flowing again; they start flowing right out of you, nice and warm, like a long, satisfying piss. . .

Oh, boy.

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Hahahaha!!! I freakin LOVE that!!!

Nightingale said:

You brought out my nurse/mom side. Instead of letting the memories torment you, use your writing as therapy. Your MC can change the outcome of any situation. By helping her/him deal with it and move on, you'll be helping yourself heal. People only draw attention to others to draw attention away from their own inadequacies(sp?). Hang in there!

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Thanks, Nightingale! I'll keep that in mind. I'm actually using my writing as a kind of therapy in some cases, like with my last novel, which is all about seeing how beautiful you really are and believing in it. But this one that I'm working on will be a little tougher because it's dealing with stronger, tougher issues.

Thank you so much!

kkbe said:

Some serious stuff here. You never know what's going on with somebody. Very kind of you, Nightingale, and I know you're not the only one putting good thoughts out there.
I hope folks don't mind if I lighten things up just a little bit. I was reading the postings and I remembered that in my first novel, two of my mc's had writer's block. One of 'em wrote:


You’re humming along at the computer and then, just like that, you’re STUCK: the well is dry, and the next thing you know, you’re sitting there banging your head on the keyboard, repeating the writers’ mantra over and over:

What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—What do I WRITE—

When we writers reach that point—and sooner or later, we all do—it seems that nothing short of divine intervention will save us. You know what I always thought would be great? If you could just call the doc and explain what’s going on, and he could give you a magic pill that would get the words flowing again. . .

. . .the next thing you know, you're swallowing three or four of those fuckers dry; then, somehow, you get yourself home and you force yourself to sit down at the computer and wait for those magic pills to take effect, and all the while, you’re rocking back and forth and praying, Come on, come on, Jesus Christ come ON, and then you start to feel it seeping in, and now it’s washing over you, and finally, finally, the words start flowing again; they start flowing right out of you, nice and warm, like a long, satisfying piss. . .

Oh, boy.

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Funny! Love this!

lolchemist said:

Does anyone get this type of block where, you CAN write but you don't because you're terrified that once you start writing the dam is going to break and entire story is going to consume you to the point where you're going to be writing or thinking about the story nonstop with scene after scene just oozing out of your very pores and you're going to not be able to go to work or function in society and you're just going to have to hole up in your house without food or sleep until you can get it all out of you, so you just write a little bit at a time or avoid writing altogether?

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Yep. Sometimes it happens.

I can be blocked out the ying-yang and just as soon as I turn my light off to go to sleep, here come the words. It's like my subconscious is playing with me.