Is there ever a time when Writer's Block is justified?

I had writers block for four years...all because I decided to go to college and then chased boys...what a waste

I have no idea, but I ask myself this question every day. So when you get an answer be sure to report back to me.

I had self-imposed writer's block for about 7 years. I just gave up because certain things in my life seemed to be getting in the way. As it turned out, I was just letting them get in the way. I needed to come up with a schedule.

You just need to set priorities. How important is writing to you?

That's not writer's block. That's quitting.

Big difference. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win. But those who never quit AND never win are idiots." Demotivational poster of the day.

I block when I'm angry. I know I should just take it out on some poor fictional ba**ard, but what did they ever do to me?

Go work out. Run until you can barely breathe. If you still feel like quitting then, you have my permission. Get some oxygen in that brain before making decisions.

Siddow said:

That's not writer's block. That's quitting.

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Exactamundo.

Writers block is when you want to write, but the words wont come. You try, but putting a coherent thought together seems impossible.

Getting rejected for years then saying "Why bother" is quitting.

You should write because you love it. If being published is your only justification for carrying on, then writing isnt for you.

You have to set your own priorities. Sometimes quitting is an intelligent thing to do. Look at it this way, at the end of your life, if you've never been published, would you look back and say "I wish I had done X instead of spending that time writing?" If the answer is yes, maybe you should consider doing X. But there are a lot of things that need to be weighed here and it can't be reduced to a simple formula.

If being published is important to you - and I, for one, do not find that crass at all - then maybe you should try to figure out why you are getting rejected and see if it's fixable. Has your work ever been critiqued?

Writer's Block doesn't HAVE to justify itself. It just comes and whacks you across the head with the SandBag of Fate and it's up to you to pick yourself up and sit back in the chair (if you don't need hospital treatment first).

J.S Greer said:

Writers block is when you want to write, but the words wont come. You try, but putting a coherent thought together seems impossible.

Getting rejected for years then saying "Why bother" is quitting.

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But the latter might cause the former, which is how I interpreted the OP.

I'd say a Writer's Block is justified when you have to go save the world.


Eh....

"Let me just write one more paragraph and then I'll get on it..."

Janet is writing your passion?
If so a few little tricks may help overcome this...
Change of scene...Little things...go outside on a nice day and try writing.
Change your computer area...spice it up, by simple cheap decor'. Or make it a serene place...
Go to the bookstore often...
Take frequent breaks in between writing and exercise to stimulate your mind...


kimmi

Writer's block happens to me when I'm going in the wrong direction and don't realize it.

Push out in a new writing direction. Write something you wouldn't normally write. Something wonderful might come out of it. Experiment with short stories, or maybe some poetry. Stretch yourself.

But don't give up something you love.

When I stop writing, it's because there's an intelligent little voice in the back of my head which is saying "Hang on. Something stinks."

It means I'm doing the scene wrong, or I've started it too soon or too late, or I'm going down the wrong path, or the character is in the wrong place, or something like that.

It's my sub-conscious telling me that something is not jiving. Generally, I'm blocked on that project until I figure out the problem, and then I rush happily onward.

janetbellinger said:

S you have to admit it gets discouraging to keep changing your novel after five years of working on it,

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Maybe it's time to set that one aside and write something else. You'll be able to put everything you've learned towards something new.

PeeDee said:

When I stop writing, it's because there's an intelligent little voice in the back of my head which is saying "Hang on. Something stinks."

It means I'm doing the scene wrong, or I've started it too soon or too late, or I'm going down the wrong path, or the character is in the wrong place, or something like that.

It's my sub-conscious telling me that something is not jiving. Generally, I'm blocked on that project until I figure out the problem, and then I rush happily onward.

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Wow, Pete and I "block" alike! Ditto for me on all that Pete said...and also ditto for the idea of working on something else. WIP #1 may not be the "one" to get you going. So work on others. I have many. MANY. The more output you have, the more chances you have to "hit".

If you've only worked on one book all this time, for sure branch out and try new things -- different genres, different lengths, different voices. If you have plenty, then pick up an older one and see how it reads now; fix it up if it needs it and if it doesn't, send it out. And on and on. It's very hard to push past the rejection, but some of us just have to persevere longer than others. (I was originally hoping to be in the fast group, but I guess I get to be in the "good example of perseverance" group instead. Happy, happy, joy, joy.)

I would still write even if no one else wanted to read anything I wrote, but I am with you in that there is a point where you want someone else to read your stuff and give you some form of validation. Maybe a critique partner, even just a sample over at the SYW forum? If you're already past that, then just keep on keeping on. Maybe that "YES!" is in the next query you send out.

writer's block is for whiny graduate students. get back to work!

Honestly? Look...

If I couldn't publish anything that I wrote...

....I would take a type writer and I would go sit in the mall. I would write short stories, hunched over it, and I would take each page and tape them up on the wall.

I would do this as people read them, and I would do this as people didn't read them. I would eventually get kicked out, and then I would come back the next day, and I would do it again.

It's just who I am. I need to read, I need to write, I need to tell people stories. It's how I'm built.

janetbellinger said:

I don't want to spend the rest of my life struggling with scenes that nobody will ever read. What's the point?

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You will read it. That's the point.

janetbellinger said:

Simon, being published isn't the only reason people write, but you have to admit it gets discouraging to keep changing your novel after five years of working on it, and getting absolutely no encouragement. Nobody likes banging their head against a brick wall. We all need recognition in our chosen career. If nobody ever reads your book what is the point of writing it?

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I know what you're saying. But first and foremost, what I write, I write for me. When I'm at that stage where I'm thrashing out the idea for my next project, one of the most important questions I keep asking myself is 'will I like writing this?' This comes way before 'will anyone like reading it?' If I'm not interested in, or happy with, the basic premise, writing the book will be torture. In fact, I think most writer's block comes from the writer not really taking enough time to consider the project, before they put pen to paper.

PeeDee said:

When I stop writing, it's because there's an intelligent little voice in the back of my head which is saying "Hang on. Something stinks."

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I have the same thing happen. In my case it's usually The Whole Thing.

Hi Janet,

How many books have you written?

I have completed five, have several partials that have hit blocks because my writing was improving faster than I could finish them and they need to be seriously revised before I can continue.

The reason why I ask is because it sounds like you are focussed too much on one or two projects.

After completing five books and editing them and such my writing has grown more than I can express and it keeps growing. Had I stuck with the first one or two books and kept revising rather than submitting and keep writing, I wouldn't be nearly as far along in my writing as I am now.

My suggestion is if you wish to keep writing, start a new book, like now. Get it finished, then start another one. Get the new one edited while finishing up the second and let it sit and start on the third. Don't let large chunks of pause between writing books just because one needs editing.

Anyway, good luck in your decision making and if you haven't passed the one million words of crap (I have woohoo!) I strongly suggest working towards that because you wouldn't believe what a difference it makes in your writing after that.

It doesn't mean you have to write 1 million words before your work becomes publishable, but it really is a good goal to work on and it does help.

Sara

icerose said:

I have completed five, have several partials that have hit blocks because my writing was improving faster than I could finish them and they need to be seriously revised before I can continue.

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I'm glad that I'm not the only one this has happened to. I had a year or so there where I produced nothing useful, though I produced a great deal of stuff, just because I was growing in leaps and bounds. It was like being a kid growing too fast for his jeans.