No such thing as 'writer's block'

Garrison is a god. I've loved his outlook and perspective for years. His gentle sense of humor and his laid-back delivery are much needed today.

As for his take on 'writer's block' - sounds good to me.

As I'm currently struggling through my WIP, I'd have to agree. There were times when I didn't want to write or couldn't write because I thought the book was too big and complex for me now. I have thought maybe in 20 years I could really do it justice. But you know what? I AM writing it NOW. In 20 years there will be other stories to tell.

He's got a great web site where you can listen to many of his past broadcasts.

I don't think that's the only emotion/fear/problem that people categorize as writer's block, but I think it's definitely part of it.

Elodie-Caroline said:

Maestro. Another thing this guy said yesterday, was that as you get older, your writing gets better. I have to agree with that too. To me, in my 47 yrs, I've gained a lot more knowledge about the world and I get more inspiration from the tiniest of things

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So that's my dilemma. Should I wait to write this "grand" story when I'm 65? Or should I write it now when I feel that my skills are not good enough yet? Would I ever be good enough? Should I just write and stop worrying about the rest?

See that's why he's right: "our ambition outshines our talent."

I agree. While one story may have you stumped, there's always more writing to do. Being blocked from writing anything means you don't have the will to keep writing so you succumb to the road block. Anyone with a will to write will write something to feed their need to write and find a detour around that block.

Lets see how many more times I can say the word 'write' in this post!

GK is famous for his radio program, "Prairie Home Companion" where a lot of the humorous scenarios take place in a fictional small town in Minnesota (Lake Woebegone). I'm from northern Minnesota and spent years looking for that town, never finding it. But then I realized that the small town I lived in was inhabited by the same people that lived in Lake Woebegone.


He always ended those stories with "Lake Woebegone, where all the men are handsome, all the women are pretty and all the children are above average." (or something like that). That's my hometown also.

Elodie-Caroline said:

Yesterday afternoon, on bbc radio 5 live, they had an American guy called Garrison Keillor as one of their guests. To be honest, I'd never heard of him before, but gathered from the show that he was a radio talk show host and a writer.

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If you're on the other side of the pond, I'm not all that surprised you've never heard of Garrison Keillor. His humor and insights are American-centric and play on how Americans see themselves, instead of how others see Americans.

I'd heard of him.

GeorgieB said:

He always ended those stories with "Lake Woebegone, where all the men are handsome, all the women are pretty and all the children are above average." (or something like that). That's my hometown also.

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I think you mean--

"all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average"

Nevert heard of him, but I have to agree.

My writer's block boils down to two things

a) laziness

b) fear of failure.

My solution. Stop being so pathetically lazy, understand that failure is part of the process, and I learn from my mistakes, and will only get better *if* I try.

I don't completely agree. At times, there are personal problems that muddle up our brains and we are subconsciously thinking of those things and unable to concentrate fully on our writing.

For instance, money may be short, which causes stress. You sit down to write but you are blocked by the stress.

It can work the opposite way, too. I find that when I am very emotional I tend to write like a madman. It’s one way I release frustration and pain. I also release it by banging away on the piano. Tons of Beethoven. Or Chopin if I need a good cry.

brianm said:

I don't completely agree. At times, there are personal problems that muddle up our brains and we are subconsciously thinking of those things and unable to concentrate fully on our writing.

For instance, money may be short, which causes stress. You sit down to write but you are blocked by the stress.

It can work the opposite way, too. I find that when I am very emotional I tend to write like a madman. It’s one way I release frustration and pain. I also release it by banging away on the piano. Tons of Beethoven. Or Chopin if I need a good cry.

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That's the best (and only) definition of "writer's block" I've ever agreed with, and I don't believe in "writer's block." Under this definition, I'm willing to concede that it exists.

What most people call "writer's block" isn't writer's block at all. For many, it's the very thing that Nakhlasmoke said:

My writer's block boils down to two things

a) laziness

b) fear of failure.

My solution. Stop being so pathetically lazy, understand that failure is part of the process, and I learn from my mistakes, and will only get better *if* I try.

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People also call it writer's block when they can't think of a story idea. That's not writer's block. That simply means that person can't find anything interesting to write about.

If a person is working on a story and thinks they've hit writer's block, it usually means that they've either not researched, or thought through, the story. This is a down-side to shooting from the hip and writing as you go. It works for some people, of course, but not for everyone. If this is how your writer's block develops, try changing your approach to writing. Research it. Outline it. Plan it more before you start writing. Find the method that works for you and use it. This takes time.

Writer's block can also mean that a person has played their hand too soon in the story. Again, take the time to plot it out a bit more. I'm not saying you need an extremely detailed outline. But more details than what you went into the story with originally.

I don't completely agree. At times, there are personal problems that muddle up our brains and we are subconsciously thinking of those things and unable to concentrate fully on our writing.

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Thank you for pointing this out! I've been going through this exact situation (life won't stop throwing curve balls at me) and it's been causing a lot of career problems . . . namely, writer's block. I was reading through this whole thread thinking, "well, geez, what the heck is wrong with me if writer's block doesn't exist? Am I a fraud? Do I need to find another thing?" I breathed a sigh of relief when I got to this post, though . . .

I have to jump back in here though. Horrible things happening in your life that are stopping you from writing isn't what I call writer's block

When bad things happen, or stressful things, sometimes we *need* to take a break. For our sanity. I don't think anyone has not gone through a period like that, depressed and stressed and barely capable of getting out of bed to face the day, let alone work on their novel.

My concept of writer's block is having the time and the inclination, and then not doing anything because it's too hard.

Writer's block can also occur if you have an internal critic telling you that writing is a self-indulgent waste of time. That kind of harsh self-judgment isn't conducive to putting words on the page!

Simple Living said:

If a person is working on a story and thinks they've hit writer's block, it usually means that they've either not researched, or thought through, the story. This is a down-side to shooting from the hip and writing as you go. It works for some people, of course, but not for everyone. If this is how your writer's block develops, try changing your approach to writing. Research it. Outline it. Plan it more before you start writing. Find the method that works for you and use it. This takes time.

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That's funny - my experience is completely the opposite. The only time I've ever had something that I would come close to describing as writer's block was when first starting the second book in my contract, the one that I was contractually bound to outline prior to starting. I chafed for a long time, trying to start writing, because I felt I had already told that story (in the outline form).

I feel much better now that I've abandoned said outline (at my editor and agent's suggestion).

Which just goes to show you can't generalize, and that it really does take all types.

While in the middle of a 10-hour "shift" finishing my senior thesis, I was brought to a full stop by a sudden and inexplicable inability to spell the word, "of." I had to scroll back through my ms to find another example.

I'm not sure if the condition is rightly called 'writer's block,' or 'vapor lock...' But, I believe there are times when the proper neurons simply do not fire.

I'm not much of a fan of Keillor's stuff, and I also disagree with him.

I'm a firm believer in writer's block. (Probably the only one here.) I've had it off and on. I couldn't write one blasted word of fiction, nothing came to mind. It's a horrible feeling and if you've never experienced it then you're very lucky.

On too many occassions I have what Tiger describes as "vapor lock," too. That horrifying feeling that you've forgotten a word that should be simple as... as... that pastry thingie sometimes made with apples...

Shadow_Ferret said:

That horrifying feeling that you've forgotten a word that should be simple as... as... that pastry thingie sometimes made with apples...

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Ummmm.....crostata?

I had three years of writer's block.

Trust me. It's real.