Seth Godin once wrote in a blog post:
No one ever gets talker’s block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down.
What a liberating concept! It reminded me of a great book by Joel Saltzman, If You Can Talk, You Can Write.
Of course, there are times when it feels like the well is dry and you have “nothing to say.” But that isn’t really true, is it? You can sit down with your spouse, your best friend, or your writers group and talk about your lack of inspiration. It may be that in that expression you can find the spark of creativity.
It is the same for writer’s block, if there is such a thing.
The key, of course, is to write something. Anything. Even if it is bad. Kevin J. Anderson suggests you should “dare to be bad and then fix it.”
Still don’t feel like you have anything to write? Just imagine a topic and think of what you would say if asked the question while sitting with a panel of experts. And then write your answer.
It would be interesting to hear what you do to get past any sort of “blockage” in your writing life. Please post your thoughts below.
I want to give up every day,
quit looking for a reason why
I should not down tools, and stay
at work on an aeroplane I shan’t fly.
The wooden wings, they mock my heart
with their quiet varnished glow
that tells me I am not a part
of the bright high world I used to know,
but then I hear that gentle voice
telling me to make investment,
that God’s healing counts on choice,
and that my choice is testament,
and to carry on is evidence
of faith in His kind Providence.
That reminds me of a quote someone said at a writers’ club. I can’t remember the writer she was quoting, but it went, “You can’t edit a blank page.” That quote has always kept me going and gotten me through any moments of writer’s block.
That’s the best explanation for overcoming writers block I’ve ever heard! Thank you. That is exactly what I do and what I advise my writer friends when they say they cannot write. I have some trusted author friends who I talk it out with, and/or I talk to my husband. I also pray for guidance from the Lord. It works 100% of the time and I am never stuck for long.
I don’t believe I get writer’s block. I know some writers aim to meet daily word count goals. I set goals to finish a rough draft within a certain timeframe, but I’m fine with not writing for a few days. It gears me up. And, I think it’s important to let things simmer sometimes. I may write 40 pages and decide to smooth it out for a few weeks before plowing through more blank pages. After the rough draft, I’ll revise it for a while and sometimes I won’t give myself an immediate deadline. Earlier drafts may call for a good deal of writing but it also calls for some cutting too. When the story seems nearly set, I aim to improve the prose, making it feel and sound more professional. Clearing the picture. Giving bland characters more definition. All that jazz.
I don’t think I’ve ever had writer’s block. Perhaps it’s because I write in different genres and forms, from essay to poetry, fiction and non-fiction, even a couple of plays. I do have “quiet times,” usually after finishing a project, but even then I’m writing in my head. The only time I fell into a time of silence was after the death of my father. The grief left me too numb to notice anything around me, let alone express any reaction to it. I’ve recently put together a memoir of my writing life , Pond’rings, to be released in March and it has been a humbling wonder to me to see how God has orchestrated both my life and my work. Soli Deo Gloria
Since I feel like I can talk about anything, it’s curious to me when I don’t know what to write, especially on Social Media. However, once I get a project started, I can write and write more.
Edit what your wrote yesterday and the creative process takes over from there.
I’m listening to some of the pioneers of what’s known now as contemporary music. Can’t do that without my cup running over. I could grab my laptop and dash something off. Or…let things percolate. Reading scripture baptizes the music and reading in the Spirit (if I get out of the way; if I don’t hurry the process).
It was refreshing to read a quick post one day from Tricia Goyer. She simply posed this question on Facebook: “What do you think I should write next?”
In doing that she certainly was tapping into people’s interests (for her novels) and/or their felt needs (for her nonfiction).
I have been at a standstill for weeks waiting for the next step. So I decided to write a story with pictures to one of my grandchildren. I had so much fun that now I’m writing one for another grandchild. This has allowed me to keep writing and be creative until I can move forward with my fiction novel. Creativity is always available? Just maybe in formats not thought to be I. Your genre. Never wrote a children’s book.
When I’m stuck, I go to my writers group and we brainstorm it out. So many people think writing is solitary, and it is a lot of the time. But as an extroverted writer, I need my tribe to help me think of things that simply didn’t occur to me.
The other advice I’ve heard is to kill off a main character and write that scene. See if it puts your story on a higher level. You don’t have to keep it, but it will get you writing again. I’ve never done that. It feels so drastic! haha! But I can see how it would get you going again.
I’ll find myself spending days THINKING about HOW to put something in a scene, and get nowhere.
If, however, I just start writing, or venting, or scribbling, or anything, it eventually comes together. I think we, as humans generically, are better at fixing, arranging, assembling, than literally creating. After all, there’s only one Creator. Everything we do, make, assemble, or arrange, even our own lives, is done with “stuff” already there. Like words. We write with existing words.
So, if I plop words on paper, they can then be fixed, arranged, assembled into something because I see them.
Enough theory. It seems to work for me. As you say, “Write something. Anything. Even if it’s bad.” At the least, it’s YOURS, and it gets the stuff out of your head so your brain can do what it’s best at. I also find, not so infrequently, that the Lord has a hand in it, too. Sometimes it’s not bad. Sometimes, we all, I’m sure, find ourselves saying, “Did I write that?”
Great post, Steve! I love the ‘ dare to be bad’ part. That will be the cure for me whenever I have the block! God bless you.
Blessings.