Write through the block

Writer’s block.  That dreadful state.  It happens to everyone at some stage, and can be paralysing.  The good news is, it’s easier to deal with than procrastination, although if you get the two in combination, you’re in for a rough time.

Writer’s block manifests differently for each writer.  Some writers cannot form a coherent sentence.  Some endlessly write and delete and write again.  Others stare at a blank page, unable to produce a single word.

Writer’s block is our subconscious refusing to play.  We want to write, but we can’t, and the story stalls.  This can go on for days, weeks, even months in a bad case.

But it’s not the end of your writing career, nor even the end of your story.  Like any difficulty, once you identify the reason for the block, you have a good chance of being able to defeat it.  Today I’ll identify the common reasons for writer’s block and the steps you can take to break through the block and write.

Where blocks come from

There are two causes of writer’s block: you, and the story.  One is easy to deal with using some simple techniques.  The other requires some more complicated measures to defeat.  I’m sure you can guess which one is easier to deal with!

It’s not you, it’s the story

I wrote 16,000 words on my last novel before I came to a halt, unable to write another word.  I examined the story, realised where the problem was and started again, from scratch.  I made it to 26,000 the second time before coming to a juddering halt once more.  Review, revise, restart and this time I made it all the way to the end.

Third time’s the charm?  No.  Third time around I had recognised what was wrong with the story, and why I was being blocked, again and again, by a story I had plotted out, scene by scene.  You don’t necessarily have to rewrite from scratch when you get blocked, but it works for me, so that’s what I do.

There are any number of reasons why a particular story will block you.  Sometimes you can break the block by moving onto another piece.  If this happens, then you need to take a good, hard look at the story you left behind.

Don’t be tempted to abandon it.  Use this as a learning opportunity.  Because if you just put it away, there’s every chance that the issue will happen again.  And once you start getting regularly blocked, the fear kicks in.  (I’ll talk more about fear in the next section.)

How can a story be the cause of a block?  Too many reasons to list, but here are a few:

• Your character’s goals and motivations aren’t as clear as you thought they were;
• You don’t know enough about a technical aspect of the story to write it realistically;
• You’ve written your characters into a corner, and you can’t see a way out;
• There’s not enough conflict, either in the plot or between characters;
• The story bores you silly;
• You don’t care enough about the theme of the story;
• You’ve written ahead of yourself.

When the story is the problem, the solution is simple.  Review, reassess, and then get writing.  Work out what’s wrong, brainstorm a solution and then get back on the horse and move on.  Don’t dump the story.  That’s a bad habit that leads nowhere.

How do you know it’s the story, and not you?  You won’t find out until you sit down to tackle the problem.  If you can identify a specific issue within the story, you can beat the block with a little inspiration and time.  Don’t rush.  Brainstorm, push past the cliche ideas and start writing when the story starts to sing once more.

If you can’t identify a problem, and you feel you are struggling and frustrated, then the problem just might be you.

It’s not the story, it’s you

You’ve looked over your current story.  You’re stumped.  You’ve started a new story.  It peters out around the same length.  You can’t seem to make the words work.  Everything is frustrating and painful and you suck like the biggest literary black hole in the universe and why did you think you could be a writer, anyway?

Hello, writer’s block.  How nice to see you again.

The first thing I want to say is, you don’t suck.  Get that into your head.  Breathe in, breathe out.  You’re afraid, tense, maybe jealous, possibly a little paranoid and you’re second-guessing yourself at every turn.  Of course you are.  Such is the nature of writing, and writers.

The writers who get blocked by their own brains tend to be the critical, analytical types.  The ones who are striving so hard to improve, to reach that literary pinnacle, to be as good as their favourite author, or just better than the rest of their writer’s circle.  Being an analytical writer is great for the revision stage, but it is god-damned-hell for the first draft.

But any writer can get blocked by fear, especially after a few rejections have rolled in.  You take a few knocks to your confidence and suddenly that wonderful story you are halfway through just looks like cliched rubbish.

How do you know if it is your own brain that is blocking you, and what do you do about it?

1. Listen

What’s going on in that brain?  Positive thoughts?  Confidence that you will move past this problem in the fullness of time?  Or is it pretty dark and dreary in there?

It’s very true that what we think on the inside manifests on the outside.  Decide that you suck, and you will.  Convince yourself that you can’t write, and you won’t.  (Sadly, convincing yourself that you can write doesn’t automatically work – there needs to be a certain amount of drive, learning and talent before you get there.)

2. Talk back

Get yourself into a more positive frame of mind.  You need to start by not berating yourself.  Really.  Stop saying you suck.  Start some positive affirmations. 

I can write dialogue well.  I have a great imagination.  Maybe my grammar isn’t the best, but I can learn.  I have drive and dedication.  And writing is so much fun!

Yes, it does work.  If you spend your entire day concentrating on the negatives, you’ll be miserable.  Focus on the positive, and you will find yourself feeling better.

3. Silence the voices

If it’s your inner editor that is blocking you, the best thing you can do is just keep writing.  They do quiet down, those voices, though they will never go away entirely.  Don’t let them take over.

This is all very touchy-feely, but worth putting the effort into.  And it does require long-term effort.  You can’t defeat this fear overnight.

If you are seriously blocked, I recommend The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.  Even if you do nothing else from that book, the Morning Pages exercise is pure gold for working through your issues and finding out what’s really going on in your head, and why you are blocked.  But don’t take my word for it.  If you’re stuck, give it a try.

4. Refresh

I’ve written before about the need to refill the creative well.  Sometimes you do just need to stop and smell the roses.  If you find that inspiration is dragging and you just can’t find a way forward, stop.  Get out of the house.  Go look at something new and different.  Take the time to collect images and sounds and smells and all the wonder of life.  Go to a party, see old friends, sit in a cafe and listen to humanity.

You need to put things in, to get ideas out.  So take the time to refill.

5. Write

You knew I was going to say it.  I am a firm believer that the only true way past a block or a problem of any kind is to write.  Write drivel, write poetry, write thoughts, write fears.  Write serious, write silly, write absurd.  Write a blog post or a journal entry.  Write an e-mail to your mother, your friend, your critique partner.

I’ve heard people say that not all words are good, and I completely disagree.  Every word is a learning word.  Every time you use language, you become more facile with it.  Stretch yourself, as much as you can.  Write posts about specific topics.  Research and write something on history, or culture, or language.  Order your thoughts, or just spill them onto the page and see what results.

Open your mind, and learn.  No words are wasted.

How about you?  Are you blocked?  Have you been seriously blocked?  How did you deal with it?  What works for you? Have you tried all of these things and you are still blocked?