Since I started writing, I've gone 3-4 months without writing a few times. It's not really a block so much as a chance to recharge my batteries and/or focus on other things; it most commonly happens right after I've finished a book or I have something new being released and I shift into promo mode. I definitely try to think about my WIP or what I want to write next, but sometimes it takes me a while to get started actually writing. It doesn't bother me much - writing is the one thing in my life I can do on my own schedule and for my own enjoyment, so if I'm not feeling it from time to time I just set it aside until the muse feels like getting back in the game.
Writer's Block is a myth. There are no easy tips or tricks to get past being uninspired and fearful. Can you imagine going into the hospital for major surgery and your surgeon says, "I'm struggling through a bout of Surgeon's Block. We'll have to postpone your operation till I'm feeling inspired again."... yeah, that would be unacceptable. Writer's Block isn't a disease. It's a symptom of a deeper malady. Shaking your self-doubt, and finding the courage to go headlong into the unknown is what will get you over your Writer's Block.
It's nothing like Surgeon's block. A surgeon doesn't create something out of nothing. (OK, he thinks he's God, so probably believes he does.) He's got a problem that's been referred to him by a GP, and in order to rectify it he'll carry out a procedure he's done a dozen times before, copying the pioneering work of somebody like Christian Barnard. (OK, THAT'S pretty original, but even then it's simply solving a problem - the hard part is formulating the "question" that you've got to answer)
Writing is a choice. I make the choice to write over doing other things all the time. We make choices when it comes to how we want to spend our time. It sounds like maybe there has just been other things you want to do. That's fine. No one is going to make you be a writer. And this is also what I was thinking... (sorry)
Agreed. It's an analogy that doesn't hold up. Also, people are always looking for deep-rooted 'reasons' as to why someone is going through a spell where they're not writing. They never look at the possibility it may simply be sheer boredom or disinterest in the process. And it's not laziness either.
What works for me is sketching the scene. It's like super high-speed plotting. You hit actions and dialog almost impressionistically, in a fever-pitch, like Van Gogh on Absinthe. You don't correct mistakes because there are no mistakes. Then when you're done, you rescue the pieces that were nice and sort of glue them together with prose. (then you edit heavily) Sort of off-topic, not really. I love this song. Jeff Lynne had retreated to some chalet for a month to write ELO's new album. He sits there for half the time with nothing. He can't put anything on paper and he's utterly depressed. "It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next two weeks." It was his best album. I always find that inspiring. The song's about the weather, but really it's talking about writer's block, of all things.
Agreed, and sometimes its about shifting your priorities for a period of time. In the summer I do a lot of running outside and hiking because where I live there's only about 4 months out of the year where I can do that, and I'll push writing aside to take advantage of the good weather. Or as soon as I've got the edits to my current MS done I'm going to take a writing break because I have a couple of online classes I want to take for my job that might make a promotion possible in the future. Sometimes writing takes a back seat to other goals of mine from time to time, and I don't think that makes me lazy, just busy with other things.
You have enough time to post here so you have enough time to write. Be honest with yourself. Do you like writing or just the thought of being a writer?
It might be an interesting test... Anyone who says they have "writer's block" has to sit down at the computer and type words every day. If they don't have their own creative words to type, they have to just retype the day's news stories or something. Something boring, something non-creative... something procedural. If they do that for an extended period and don't find themselves drawn back to creative writing (and if they used to be able to create) then I think there's a pretty good case for writer's block being their problem. They're putting the time in, but they just can't get the ideas to flow. For myself, though? It wouldn't take many pages of copy-typing before I was ready to get back to my real work, I'm pretty sure. I've never had writer's block, but I've definitely had some times when I just didn't feel like putting the time in.
No, I live to write. And the fact is that posting here at dark-30 is not the same as sitting and getting into the zone for hours. My biggest issue is that I’m a perfectionist, and if I don’t have a solid chunk of time, I believe I can’t write the way I feel I need to write.
Hey, @No-Name Slob ! Great to see you back. I know you were having all sorts of life difficulties a while back (not your fault) and I hope they have sorted themselves. As to the writer's block ...I guess you need a story. If you've got some down time, let your imagination start running. Read something (maybe non-fiction in an area that interests you) and see if you get some ideas. Conjure up a character. Go for a walk, or a long bus trip somewhere. Start playing around with ideas. But don't feel you have to jump on the first one you get. Wait till one really grabs you. I'm a firm believer that you need more than the will to write. You need something to write ABOUT. So maybe cut yourself a bit of slack, and start dreaming again. Wait till the dream congeals, you get excited again, and you want to write that story. It will come, if you let it come. Don't beat yourself up because it hasn't come yet. I think we all go through down periods.
Why? Why do they have to do this? This just seems like an opinion everyone has adopted via Authority Syndrome. Some famous writer probably said it once, and now everyone sees it as Gospel.
Oh. I'd never heard it before. So rather than being repeated because everyone (but you, of course) has "Authority Syndrome" maybe it's repeated because it makes sense? If I wanted to do something and had trouble doing it, I'd want to figure out why I was having trouble. Doing this little exercise seems like a good way to start trying to figure out the source of the trouble. I'm not sure why you're objecting so vociferously... can you explain? I mean, if someone is just not interested in the process, then... why is it a problem? Why is it "Writer's Block" rather than "Being one of the many, many, many people who just isn't interested in writing"? I think the fact that people are complaining about it and giving it a name suggests that it's something they don't like and would like to eliminate, right?
Okay, why are you objecting at all? Why don't you think it would be a useful test for someone to perform?
Its more about whether its a profession or a hobby ... you don't get professionals of any description saying oh know I've got truckers/dentists/estate agents/accountants block, for that matter you don't get copywriters and journalists and people who have to write to get paid saying 'oh no im blocked today so i think i'll do jack shit' If its not a profession and you just don't feel like it then don't do it .... I carve and turn as a hobby, if i don't feel like doing it I don't do it... I lso do wedding photography as a part time business but I never tell a bride Oh I've got photographers block today
Because, as I say, the 'just write' logic seems to be everyone's default answer, and I think half the time people say it (and I don't necessarily mean you) because they think it's what they should say, and not because they believe it. It's like this (and again I'm not singling you out) Are you saying here that people who have a real passion for writing can't occasionally lose interest altogether? I just don't think the 'write everyday, even if it's garbage' advice is without its flaws.
That's because those things aren't creative. You keep using this analogy, but like others have said it just doesn't hold water.
So photography isn't creative ? really ? I tend to think it is - similarly copywriting, journalism, editting etc eotd if you've got to do something creative because you have to fulfil a commitment to a client then you do it regardless of whether you are feeling like it or not. Leaving aside those with depression (and similar conditions) who may have a clinical reason for losing interest in everything , if you want to be a writer you have to write.... if you've lost interest in writing then you aren't a writer QED. That's not to say that you have to write every single day, but if you continually don't feel like it, and its not your source of income then may be find a different hobby If it is your source of income, just do it because you have to
I think we're coming at it from two different directions. I agree that people may sometimes lose interest in writing, either permanently or temporarily. I agree that it's not a big deal if that happens. But I guess I assume that people who are complaining about Writer's Block are talking about something else. I mean, if I lose interest in a hobby, I don't go on a board dedicated to that hobby and complain about how I've got Crocheting Block because I just don't want to crochet any more. I just... stop crocheting. I've always understood Writers' Block to be a condition in which people really, really want to write but are for some reason unable to. Not that they've just lost interest. Maybe we need some clarification from the people who are complaining of Writers' Block. Have you just lost interest in writing, or are you still very interested but just unable to produce?
I don't recall the OP ever saying it was, and both you and I know we're not really talking about people who do this for a profession. The 'just write' advice is given to anyone that's ever dared to write a creative sentence.
I'm not slamming anyone, but a lot of people talk about writing, discuss ideas on stories, etc, etc. And in the end, they don't write a thing. Writing is hard, and despite what some would think, is a skill set that requires learning and practice. Also, I think people attempt stories well beyond their current capabilities and are unable to finish them -writer's block- because they don't have the technical skills to get them to the end. Even I've had to put stories on the shelf because they were far too ambitious for what I can accomplish at this time. Oh, you are terribly mistaken. Let's take 'accounting' an accountant can get real creative when they are looking for ways to save their customer's money from paying taxes. In fact, all creativity is born from learning how to manipulate the technical aspects of their craft. I am sure even a surgeon has to get creative in their approach when dealing with an extremely difficult procedure.
