Writers block? A load of crock.
February 1st 2008 01:08
When I took up running about two years ago, I thought that as I got fitter, running would get easier and easier. But what I discovered instead is that no matter how fit you are, some days you will run as if you have wings on your feet and others as if you’ve got stones in your shoes and lead in your calves. And you’ll never know how your run is going to go, until you get out there. And, fuck, there’s no other way around it - you’ve got to do it every day.
Writing is just like running. There’s no such thing as ‘runner’s block.’ You run. Some days you plod, some days you glide. It goes the same with writing. So here are some of my tips for overcoming that poor excuse for not just getting your ass in the chair and your fingers on the keys:
1. Decide to write. Don’t give yourself the option of not writing: writing, like everything else that does not involve taking your clothes off, is work. Some days you think ‘this is the greatest career on earth.’ Other days you think ‘I am a wanker. Get a real job.’ More than other structured jobs that require you to pitch up in something other than just your undies, writing is something you have to give yourself over to. Some days the writing sticks. Some days you cannot (and will not, despite the best night’s sleep) get the voice right. Some days you tell instead of show. Some days you can’t think of that word… you know.. that word for… that thing… Write anyway. Just write. There are no rules about not writing crap.
2. When the urge comes, go. Have a fixed writing schedule and fill it. But inspiration (like labour or a bowel movement) can come at any time. Be prepared. Just go write when that whisper speaks to you. Doesn’t matter if it’s 3am, in the middle of a dinner party. Writing can be bad mannered and socially inappropriate. But that’s not your problem.
3. Talk to yourself. Really, have a full-on conversation with yourself, and be all the voices in that conversation: the critic, the enthusiast, the racist, the idealist, the misogynist, the prat, the pervert. You will find you are much more interesting than you think. One of the scariest things I ever wrote was from the perspective of a child abuser stalking his prey. I didn’t know I had it in me to be so creepy. Yeeuch.
4. The best writing is effortless – it feels like it just ‘comes from out of nowhere.’ So it’s best to get out of your head so you can invite that nowhere in. The best way to zone out is to take a walk. Whatever you do, do not THINK. Make space between your thoughts. Writing happens in the spaces in between thought. Being-too-clever is not an authentic voice and almost always sounds contrived.
5. Surrender control. Most people think you have to know where the writing is going before you start. I never know. As I write, I find out. Trust the process. Don’t bully the muse. And don’t try too hard. Homer Simpson says, ‘Trying is the first step towards failure.’ In writing, abandon the ‘trying.’ Doing is the only way. ‘Trying’ is way too self-conscious and self-critical. Or in Buddhist lingo, is like pushing the river.
6. Shift things around. Write in a different location. Julia Cameron in her ninety-seven books on writing, calls these ‘artist dates.’ Put yourself in a different setting – whether it is a museum, a hospital waiting room, a shop that sells candles. And write there. Somehow just facing a different view can act like a great laxative to the imagination.
7. Make a list of all the things you need to do around the house. Put it in your in-tray. You’ll get to it. But not now – now you must write. Do NOT surf the web, play Solitaire or start updating your Facebook profile. This, (unlike writing crap) is a waste of time.
8. Most writing requires some kind of research. If you seriously cannot write anything, do the research. Doing background reading or research is not a waste of time. It settles like sediment in the belly of the heart. Tomorrow, or the next day your mind will have transformed it.
9. If all else fails, write into the block. Write about your writer’s block. Write about how you can’t write a single decent sentence. Write about what a mediocre writer you are and how can you expect anyone to read anything you’ve written. Write about how you don’t have a single original thing to say, and you really should just get a job and quit kidding yourself you can write. There. Feel better?
10. Writing prompts are just a click away – there are hundreds of websites that will offer you first lines, words, idea combinations and exercises to help get your writing wheels oiled. Here are some good ones:
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http://www.anneschuster.co.za/
www.joannefedler.com
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Comment by Michaelie
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Comment by ozzed
Those are fantastic tips.