The Writers Block Thread

Nice.

 

I've suspected the same thing as @Freethesea for some time now as well. And I think, in a very general sense, it might be true. Obviously there will always be people who are the exception and fall on the outside edges of the bell curve, but in a broad view, I think many writers would fall into the empathetic category. That does not mean that we are people-persons (people-people?) because being an extrovert and being empathetic are two completely different things.

In my personal experience, I'm not tremendously social. I find being around others draining. Once in a while I enjoy a social gathering - though I tire of the companionship quickly. But maybe there is an aspect of this theory that causes that need for seclusion. Maybe being around people is tiring because the entire time our inner writer is running observation and trying to understand the characters all around us, their motivations, their choices, their inner person beyond the facade we all put on in social encounters. Even if we're not conscious of it, our minds are trying to find the narrative that makes sense. Or maybe some of us just plain don't like people and the inane, meaningless conversation that happens in most social situations, nothing deeper happening than vague annoyance at the human race.

*shrug* It's interesting food for thought, at least.

As to the OP, plain and simple, no. Not everyone can be a writer. Everyone can learn to write, but some people will never be able to craft a story cohesively or string a sentence together in a pleasant way. Humans are incredibly varied. It's a depressing thought to me that everyone could be anything, like we're all the exact same robot model and could become the same thing if the right "upgrades" were made in specific areas of our hard drive.

 

That's exactly what I'm talkin bout.

 

While I'm not actually disagreeing with your overall premise, I think that I wouldn't combine compassionate and empathetic in quite this way--at least, not the way "compassionate" is often used. "Compassionate" is frequently a term used along with "seeing the best in" people, and coming up with rose-colored-glasses explanations for why people behave the way they do.

"He hits me because he loves me."
"Your father texted you with abuse-filled rants several times an hour for sixteen hours because he was hurt that you wouldn't come to his birthday party. He just needs some reassurance of your love."
"Your brother stole that money from you because he wanted to get his girlfriend a birthday present. Well, yes, he was high afterwards, but that doesn't mean that's how he spent the money. You really need to have more compassion."
"Your mother picked up your toddler from school and took her across state lines to Disneyland because she feels that she's not having the opportunity to bond with her. You should give her more time with your kids."
"Your aunt comments on your weight and what you put on your plate because she's worried about you."

I'm on various forums about people with dysfunctional family members, and the usually-new members who talk compassion are generally unprepared when disaster hits, while usually-older members who don't talk compassion very accurately predict when violence or other chaos is about to ensue. I'd say that the older members are exercising empathy of the sort that is more useful for writing fiction--they understand motivations, good and bad and selfish and twisted, and they can tie them to behavior.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write that Chickenfreak. And for helping others on dysfunctional family abuse forums. I imagine it's a pretty thankless job since people get into patterns of mistakes and yanking them off the merry-go-round by the throat isn't an option. Hard to watch.

Compasion to me is empathy with five bucks. You're empathetic to people with dysfunctional family members but you show compassion by actually participating on a forum as way to help them.

The etymology of compassion is Latin, and means 'co-suffering' which can result in the active desire to alleviate another's suffering.

By the way, you're only strengthening my suspicion because you DO partcipate on these forums. Bet you're a good story teller.

 

I think you are correct Bay View. Some types of writing do not need strong empathy.

 

I think some it comes down to mood. If I'm in a bad mood or had a bad day then I'm not interested in writing much.

 

not(?)

 

Sorry about that. Changed it.

 

Skill is writing, talent is storytelling. We need both to convey our message. Skill is pointless without talent, imo, because you're right — talent can't be taught. That's the soul of it, if you ask me.

 

Hey I resent that math quip. I am pretty smart, but math is like a foreign language to me at a certain point.

Yeah everybody is wired differently, no matter how close the similarity they share with others around them.
For all intents and purposes of the main discussion at hand, some would say I am somewhere in the middle ground.
Not the best nor the worst, when it comes to either writing or storytelling. (Though it hurts to have to give up my
self proclaimed title of being the worst writer on here. )

The better the writer, doesn't make them a better storyteller. And vice versa.
Problem is one can work on becoming a better writer with help, where as
one can not be taught how to have a more involved and intricate imagination.

I suppose the point is no one here can say they are the pinnacle of both
command of the skill of writing and the art of storytelling. That would be
arrogance based on ignorance.

Think of the process like sex (forget about all the kinky stuff for a moment, and focus on the main components).
You want it to build up to a satisfying result, before you ease your partner back down from the all those lovely
chemical reactions in their brain/body and ease them in their euphoria to allow them the thought to occur that
they wouldn't mind having it a second time in the future.

Basically a bad ending will not do you any favors, no matter how great the climax is.

 

My main problem is not that I don't write clearly. It is not that I struggle to come up with rhythms of the kind that I desire. It is not that I doubt I can revise my words and put those rhythms in them.

All these things proceed out of four other issues: my failure to practice, my failure to write a complete and louzy draft, my failure to think of a controlling idea, and my unwilling and forgetful attitude toward following advice for resolving them, and toward revising my work until it is perfect.

It is not that I doubt I can develop a great style, but that because of laziness and empty mindedness I do not have content to practice with, nor the strength to write them in full and revise.

And I have not felt like writing fiction in a long time, giving myself no permission to make things up.

Not many years ago, when I diligently wrote and revised five paragraphs, each one at a time, I wrote something clear and poetic. Now the circumstances of my life keep me from trying. Whatever seems too hard, I give up on too quickly.

There are several approaches I can take to developing style, but without content, the act is pointless, and with certain approaches, fruitless.

 

What is it that you want to do with your writing? Tell a story that keeps people up all night? Make your readers marvel at your word choices? Make people think about the world? Make people think about philosophy?

Taking the other tack. What do you read? What do you like to read?

Your problem sounds to me as if you're not quite focused on what you want to accomplish. I'd say get that straight in your head, and maybe the other problems would vanish.

 

I don't think writimg has to be about accomplishing anything. It's about being honest.

 

Then honesty is what you want to accomplish.

My point in the thread was to get HIM to pinpoint (if he hasn't already done so) what he wants to accomplish with his writing. If he just wants to 'write' ...well, maybe that's the problem he's having. Just wanting to 'write,' without having any reason why, is bound to run out of steam, sooner or later.

He posted this thread because he says he has a problem. I'm just trying to help him get to the bottom of what his problem (for him) is.

 

I wouldn't say that. Honesty is a means, not an end. You're not trying to accomplish anything. You're just expressing. Personally, I think this is the best reason to write.

 

So what would be your suggestion to help solve his problem? I do think if you're going to write 'honestly' you've got to have something to say. At least I can't think of any kind of honest writing that doesn't. Unless he just likes to play with words.

His quote here:

It's hard to continue with this thread until we hear back from him. But 'expressing' by itself is just gibberish. Unless you have something you want to express, or by 'expressing' (like freewriting) you come to discover what that something is. I think he should probably pinpoint what his 'something' is. He seems frustrated that his writing lacks content, the spark that might make him stay with it. It's that spark I'm trying to ignite here. But I'll wait till he comes back to the thread.

 

I remember a few of your threads and I think you've hit on your problem. You're very focused on style and rhythm and language, I think at the expense of actually writing a good story. The two aren't mutually exclusive, but the balance has to be right. There's no point saying nothing beautifully, because it's still nothing.

 

Well I have different reasons for wanting to write.

Sometimes I want to write an epistle in the style of the Apostle Paul in the King James Bible.
Sometimes I want to write a speech like a politician.
Sometimes I want to write a treatise on some subject.
And sometimes I want to write fiction.

I feel like I can't focus on one because I might need to do one of the others.

But in most cases, I want to play with words, but not for its own sake. I want to say something important or tell an entertaining story.

If I write a story, I can't use the style of Paul. But I still want to create some kind of rhythm.

One exercise that helps people learn new ways of expressing themselves is sentence imitation. I can do that, but once I have done that for so long, when it is time to make serious sense, what will I say?

That is the problem.

If I focus on fiction, I might be able to come up with things. But I don't know how to structure a story, and I have trouble finding free books to read that interest me or that are good. I think it is partly to do with my medication causing me some form of anhedonia.

Also, when I write a series of simple sentences, I worry they won't be joinable into a more complex one. That is one of the reasons I won't do free writing. Another reason is that I will need to stop to think.

Sometimes I just want to read fiction, but I can't find anything to read, nothing good and free, nothing interesting either. I found one book but it was written in the present tense. I can't stand that. I read some Harry Potter when I was younger, but I don't have the books anymore.

I want to write various kinds of things for different reasons. I can't get focused on one goal because I feel like I would be abandoning the others.

I want to become a professional writer of some sort. But the problem is I want to do everything at once. I have a lot of problems of this nature.

I can read books on story structure. In fact I have one. But right now I feel so tired. I can't sleep at the proper time and I am constantly uncomfortable about certain things. Worrying prevents me from accomplishing things. I was uncomfortable about something before but I could not figure out what it was.

I don't want to write at night, and but I am stuck awake all night, and I sleep during the day.

I was a decent computer programmer before. Now I forgot how to learn things in porgramming.

I would like to be a speech writer, but I have nothing to give a speech about for practice.

I guess the problem is that I refuse to make things up. I want to address someone in real life. But for a story it would be different.

I want to focus on writing fiction now, not imitating Paul, but nonetheless writing in a poetically rhythmic style. I know of two ways to develop such a style. One involves imitating sentence structures only as an exercise. The other involves playing with words on my own. Either way, without content, the act is pointless.

And I need to get myself to write a whole draft without editing.

I know a lot of the things I need to do. I have so many books. I just haven't really been practicing. I don't practice, and then I forget.

But I want to write a book and get published. I've always wanted to. I thought it would be easier for me because I am me, but it turns out I am not intelligent, even though I am supposed to have a 120 IQ. I thought I was inteligent, but I am not as inteligent as everyone else.

 

It sounds like you're one of many who wants to be a writer, but doesn't really want to write.

I'm assuming you're getting adequate and responsive care for whatever your medical condition is, have given your health care providers feedback about the effects of your medication, have had a discussion with them about the symptoms of depression, etc. If you haven't done all that, I think it should be your priority.

Other than that - you sound young and angsty. Restless, but without the drive to do anything about your dissatisfaction. You're far from unique, but knowing that won't make it any easier for you to break out of the pattern. We can come up with lots of solutions to your smaller problems (you can get good free books at the library, and if you're in a rural area you may want to look at Overdrive or other library services for free access to e-books; there's no reason not to write at night if that's when you're awake, etc.) but I really don't think there's any point.

Until you have not just the ambition but also the self-discipline to do something about your ambition, you're going to have a difficult time achieving anything. That's the reality in any field, but especially in writing, where the payoffs are so long in coming. Being a professional writer without a lot of drive? I just don't think that's going to happen. So... either find another ambition or find some self-discipline and get things done. There's really no easy way around it.

 

It sounds like you're struggling with medical issues, which complicates the whole thing. However, I do believe if you want something bad enough, and don't expect it to happen on its own, you can certainly work to get it.

I'm not sure what your issues are, and if this suggestion doesn't apply, just ignore it. But you seem to want to produce something. Something in real life. Or a piece of fiction. Or poetic, rhythmic style. Or all of them. Etc. But what you need to address is what you want to say. Until you do this, you're just going to swither around, experimenting with this and that, dabbling and fooling around and probably producing nothing. You said it yourself, in your original post: without content, the act is pointless. So work on your content.

Decide what you want to say. Don't allow yourself the excuse that there are so many things you want to say that you can't pick one. You must pick one. Refusing to choose is also a choice—one that will lead you nowhere. Better to choose something important to you, stick to that choice even if things get tough or boring and get something finished. Then move on to something else. Right now you're allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by all the possibilities and you can't get off the ground.

Your IQ of 120 is high enough to be a writer, that's for sure. Intelligence isn't the issue. Focus is. If you struggle to focus because of your medical condition, that's not easy, and I have no miracle advice to offer. But if focus is something you CAN do, but just don't want to, then I'd say that's your problem.

 

Back in the early 1990s, my writing partner and I were in a story meeting and trying to sell the director and producer on the idea of our movie WIP having a structure instead of what they wanted: random exciting scenes that barely related to one another.

Anyway, after one particularly fervent plea to have an actual reason (read: motivation) for Rae Dawn Chong to screech to a halt beside Mark Hammill, fling the passenger door open and say, "Get in!" (before that, they not only didn't know each other, but didn't even know of each other's existence) the director turned to us and said: "It's not math."

Which, of course, my partner and I laughed about after we'd left the meeting (we tried not to get too upset since we would be paid just as much for turning in the pile of shit they were asking for). In fact, we found it so amusing we assembled a sort-of guidebook containing everything we knew about screenwriting and called it Math for Screenwriters. It's never seen the light of day, but I pull it out now and again when I need a giggle.

In the sequel to this math story...

We were eventually fired because we were trying to save their damned movie... which translated into: 'too hard to get along with.' Other writers were subsequently hired, then fired (perhaps they were also trying to save the movie) and the director and producer took on the final drafts themselves. By the time shooting started, the actors were writing their own lines based on scene ideas the director came up with based on 'cool' locations the producer found. A total fiasco.

And the moral of the story is, never try to save someone else's film. They'll just resent it.

 

You study psychology or hire someone who has. Influencing people is a matter of knowing how people think and react rather than caring about them. I'm not saying writers don't; I'm saying that stories are a way of manipulating people on an emotional and intellectual level and one doesn't have to be a caring individual to learn how to do that.

 

Then it seems your main problem (to use this thread's title) is you need to change your life.

And I'm not being facetious here. It may not be easy; it may not even be desirable for whatever reason(s) you have. But that's what's gotta change.

You may have to, in the course of things, get away from people of negative influence, too.

But only you will know how to go about this. And I wish you luck. It's gonna be tough for a while, but it is very possible to come out the other end. I wish you Godspeed.