Most writers will experience at least some form of writer's
block in the course of their efforts. It takes different forms
for various people, as evidenced by the many expressions used to
explain it.
"I don't have any ideas."
"Everything I write sounds stupid."
"I just can't get motivated."
At the root of it, most writer's block comes from fear or at
least from uncertainty. Writing is like any other art - the
writer must create something that will go out before the public
for examination. This is a personal process, and carries with it
the risk of rejection. Any artist can understand the fear of
being mocked for his or her hard work, and it's equally
understandable that this would intimidate some people into
hesitating when the time comes to write.
Before going much further, it must be said that there is no cure
for writer's block — those who suffer it push through to the
other side with sheer willpower. The writer must exercise his or
her judgment and forge ahead. Be that as it may, there are a
number of techniques that can help rally a writer's
determination in order to bring them forward through the wall of
fear and into the realm of joyful writing.
Technique #1 - Stand on Giants' Shoulders
One of the most common instances of writer's block comes when
writing on a subject that many people have covered before. The
fear is that there is nothing new to contribute to the matter,
that anything additional would seem superfluous.
One technique, popularized in the movie Finding Forrester, is to
search out similar writings on the subject by other authors. When
a writer finds a piece they particularly like, they borrow a line
or two from the author, and try to write further material from
there. Once they hit their stride, they move on and produce an
article entirely their own.
Note that last proviso in the technique — this is not
permission to plagiarize. The original author's contribution is
simply to provide a starting point to the creative process, not
to add anything to the final article. Once the process begins,
the author must write his own work and not use anything from the
original article unless he is willing to include it as a sourced
quotation.
Technique #2 - Write in Bursts
Sometimes the psychological effects of writer's block feel like
a weight. Sitting down and writing becomes burdensome and
exhausting, and wears the writer out as surely as heavy exercise.
In these cases, it can be counterproductive to try and write
everything at once. Instead, the writer should sit down and try
to write to a certain goal, say 200 words. If she hits her goal,
she should try and keep writing. If she cannot reach it or takes
unusually long to do so, she should stop for five minutes and do
something else. Listen to music, eat a tasty snack or read
something enlightening — then try again. These repeated small
attacks on the subject will help wear it down without it seeming
quite so massive.
Technique #3 - Shut Down the Editor
An in-process version of writer's block was explained by Chris
Baty, the creator of the National Novel Writing Month
(NaNoWriMo). Baty argues that many writers sabotage their
productivity by constantly self-editing and self-criticizing as
they work, spending more time correcting what's already been put
down than putting out new copy.
The idea Baty suggests is to turn off this inner editor and write
constantly without correction. The article will still be there
when the writer finishes, so it can be corrected at the end
rather than throughout the process. This allows writers to focus
on the primary effort of creating their work rather than getting
distracted.
Technique #4 - Write Backward
Another symptom of writer's block is feeling that writing has
become routine and less enjoyable than it used to be. The process
is always the same, and has become predictable and stagnant. The
solution is to change the order of how one approaches things.
Instead of working from the introduction, through the body and to
a conclusion, the writer should work on the conclusion first.
Write up a spot-on end topic to the piece, then fill in the rest
accordingly. A story writer could begin with the ending chapter,
and then write the rest out of order in a Tarantino-style kind of
time-play. Whatever specific way it's done, the idea is to
approach writing from a different direction in order to awaken
its enjoyment factor anew.
Technique #5 - Don't Write, Speak
A lot of focus has been made lately on the technique of writing
the way one speaks. Instead of dividing the mind between writing
and speaking, one simply writes AS one speaks, getting the
material down in a more authentic way. This may not always be
appropriate, but it's rarely completely out of place.
The idea is to avoid complicated sentences that reference back to
parenthetical clauses and other assorted specialized writing
hang-ups. The focus changes to short and direct language, with a
clear message and point to each line.
This doesn't mean to include every verbatim tic of a writer's
speaking style. "Ums" and "ahs" must, of course, be excised,
since they don't add anything to the subject.
In short, writer's block doesn't have to be terrifying.
There's always a way around it, and with a little force of will
any writer can see that it isn't a brick wall so much as a cloth
sewn to look like one.
block in the course of their efforts. It takes different forms
for various people, as evidenced by the many expressions used to
explain it.
"I don't have any ideas."
"Everything I write sounds stupid."
"I just can't get motivated."
At the root of it, most writer's block comes from fear or at
least from uncertainty. Writing is like any other art - the
writer must create something that will go out before the public
for examination. This is a personal process, and carries with it
the risk of rejection. Any artist can understand the fear of
being mocked for his or her hard work, and it's equally
understandable that this would intimidate some people into
hesitating when the time comes to write.
Before going much further, it must be said that there is no cure
for writer's block — those who suffer it push through to the
other side with sheer willpower. The writer must exercise his or
her judgment and forge ahead. Be that as it may, there are a
number of techniques that can help rally a writer's
determination in order to bring them forward through the wall of
fear and into the realm of joyful writing.
Technique #1 - Stand on Giants' Shoulders
One of the most common instances of writer's block comes when
writing on a subject that many people have covered before. The
fear is that there is nothing new to contribute to the matter,
that anything additional would seem superfluous.
One technique, popularized in the movie Finding Forrester, is to
search out similar writings on the subject by other authors. When
a writer finds a piece they particularly like, they borrow a line
or two from the author, and try to write further material from
there. Once they hit their stride, they move on and produce an
article entirely their own.
Note that last proviso in the technique — this is not
permission to plagiarize. The original author's contribution is
simply to provide a starting point to the creative process, not
to add anything to the final article. Once the process begins,
the author must write his own work and not use anything from the
original article unless he is willing to include it as a sourced
quotation.
Technique #2 - Write in Bursts
Sometimes the psychological effects of writer's block feel like
a weight. Sitting down and writing becomes burdensome and
exhausting, and wears the writer out as surely as heavy exercise.
In these cases, it can be counterproductive to try and write
everything at once. Instead, the writer should sit down and try
to write to a certain goal, say 200 words. If she hits her goal,
she should try and keep writing. If she cannot reach it or takes
unusually long to do so, she should stop for five minutes and do
something else. Listen to music, eat a tasty snack or read
something enlightening — then try again. These repeated small
attacks on the subject will help wear it down without it seeming
quite so massive.
Technique #3 - Shut Down the Editor
An in-process version of writer's block was explained by Chris
Baty, the creator of the National Novel Writing Month
(NaNoWriMo). Baty argues that many writers sabotage their
productivity by constantly self-editing and self-criticizing as
they work, spending more time correcting what's already been put
down than putting out new copy.
The idea Baty suggests is to turn off this inner editor and write
constantly without correction. The article will still be there
when the writer finishes, so it can be corrected at the end
rather than throughout the process. This allows writers to focus
on the primary effort of creating their work rather than getting
distracted.
Technique #4 - Write Backward
Another symptom of writer's block is feeling that writing has
become routine and less enjoyable than it used to be. The process
is always the same, and has become predictable and stagnant. The
solution is to change the order of how one approaches things.
Instead of working from the introduction, through the body and to
a conclusion, the writer should work on the conclusion first.
Write up a spot-on end topic to the piece, then fill in the rest
accordingly. A story writer could begin with the ending chapter,
and then write the rest out of order in a Tarantino-style kind of
time-play. Whatever specific way it's done, the idea is to
approach writing from a different direction in order to awaken
its enjoyment factor anew.
Technique #5 - Don't Write, Speak
A lot of focus has been made lately on the technique of writing
the way one speaks. Instead of dividing the mind between writing
and speaking, one simply writes AS one speaks, getting the
material down in a more authentic way. This may not always be
appropriate, but it's rarely completely out of place.
The idea is to avoid complicated sentences that reference back to
parenthetical clauses and other assorted specialized writing
hang-ups. The focus changes to short and direct language, with a
clear message and point to each line.
This doesn't mean to include every verbatim tic of a writer's
speaking style. "Ums" and "ahs" must, of course, be excised,
since they don't add anything to the subject.
In short, writer's block doesn't have to be terrifying.
There's always a way around it, and with a little force of will
any writer can see that it isn't a brick wall so much as a cloth
sewn to look like one.
No comments:
Post a Comment