Breaking Through Writer’s Block
I read somewhere that writer’s block comes from overestimating expectations about what someone needs to do as a writer. That is at least partially true. Writers can beat themselves up when they think they have nothing to say. Imposter Syndrome sets in. I didn’t apply to colleges my senior year because I couldn’t get started on the personal essay. I know what writer’s block looks like.
I’ve reminded myself I have written something beautiful or even brilliant before, but I convinced myself it was a one off. I was certain today was not going to be the day that will happen again. In fact, probably tomorrow won’t be either
None of that kind of self-talk is true. Maybe there are writers who joyfully write everyday for hours, cranking out perfect first drafts, but I’ve never encountered one. Perhaps some poets are able to do that, but I don’t think that’s a reasonable goal to strive for.
In my world, writing is fun, sometimes it is easy, but writing can be very hard. Sometimes it feels impossible. So what can we do to break through and do that work when it is difficult? Here are some ideas about how I get past the difficulties and start writing when I get stuck..
Five steps to get your pen flowing
1 -
A computer is so formal. I could sit in front of a computer all day, trying to write and get nowhere. It’s intimidating for me. Even if what I’ve written is objectively terrible, everything comes out looking like it should be finished. I feel like everything should come out polished and ready to be set free into the world. This is impossible for me.. Computers have a nasty habit of underlining every misspelling or perceived grammatical error, which I think is just rude. I’m not a great speller, so spell check helps later in the game, but the red or green squiggly lines distract me from getting things down on paper and definitely slow me down. Why would I put the pressure on myself to sit at a desk, in front of a computer?
It’s no wonder I became a long hand writer.
I start with yellow pads. A yellow pad tells me it’s time to write and I’m on draft one. Draft one means we’re just getting things down on paper. Nothing has to be brilliant, or poetic (it might become poetic, especially, like during National Poetry Writing Month when I wrote a poem a day) because I only care about pouring out my words. I can write anywhere on a yellow pad; An airplane, a doctor’s waiting room, church. I don’t have to think about what I exactly want to say, I’m just trying to say something. The legal sized yellow pads are best for me, but other people like to use beautiful journals. My immensely talented friend, Ruby, makes packets of discarded documents that are printed on one side. She feels free to write whatever because it all starts as something someone else would have thrown away. She’s recycling!
I used to use Ticonderoga pencils. I bought an electric pencil sharpener for upstairs and another one for downstairs so there would always be one handy. I switched to roller ball pens when I realized I could write faster that way. Once my ideas get going, my thoughts flow at a fast pace, and it’s hard for me to keep up with my brain. I like the feel and speed of the roller ball pens, but do miss the ability to erase, but it’s faster if I don’t edit along the way, so I can cross things out instead of erasing, which allows the words to flow more quickly. Now, I’ve trained myself not to give in to that temptation. When it’s time to write, I write. When it’s time to edit, I edit.
It probably takes more time in the long run to scribble things out and later type them into a word processor. There are days, like today, when I choose to struggle through writing something on the computer, but it is unkind to me. I’m not a good typist. That slows me down. Trying to write a first draft on the computer would probably take just as long for me to write it out longhand and go back and type it up later.
2 -
Struggling is a part of writing, and writing can often be solitary, but you don’t have to go at it alone. Writing workshops are a fabulous way to break out of writer’s block. I lead or attend three writing groups, two of which follow the AWA model. I know it’s time set aside to write and I arrive ready to do it. The prompts the leader provides help give me focus and sometimes spark new ideas that I can use elsewhere. So much of my finished work begins in writing workshops. Sharing what I’ve written with other writers encourages me. I usually go back later and type what I’ve written, feeling free to edit as I go. I know those groups help me become a better writer. Zoom has made it possible to write with people all over the world, and I have done so.
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If you have a writer or poet you love, take the book off the shelf, or your bedside table, and open up to a favorite part. In longhand, write it out – I like Pablo Neuruda’s poems, writing books such as Annie Dilliard’s, “The Writing Life” and the Wisdom Literature in The King James Bible, Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Copying beautifully written words gets you in the habit of writing beautiful, wise things. Don’t pass them off as your own, of course, this is just to lubricate your creativity.
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My grandfather ate lunch at noon every single day, so about 11:50 he got hungry. You can train your brain the way he trained his stomach. Stephen King says he writes ten pages a day, every day except the 4th of July and his birthday. Most of us aren’t going to write everyday, but having a schedule helps even emerging writers. A woman who I met writes Science Fiction novels and she has a three book contract with Simon and Schuster. She writes only in the morning once her kids are at school, five days a week and is done for the day by noon.
As for me, I can edit whenever, but I am a night writer most of the time. My groups meet during the day or evening, but when I’m writing alone, I generally wait until everyone in my house has gone to bed, about nine o’clock at night, to begin working in the quiet. Sometimes I work at my desk, but most nights I set up shop in my bedroom, with a yellow pad on one side and the laptop on the other, dogs at the foot of my bed. It’s the afternoon here now, and those dogs and people all have different, very specific ideas of how I could be using my time, like playing fetch or finding their shoes. If I wait until they are safely tucked in, my time is my own.
