Writer's Block
I’ve been trying to expand my network both with readers and other authors on the Goodreads website. I’ve noticed that one of the questions that the Goodreads gurus always ask new authors is, “How do you deal with writer’s block?” I enjoy reading the responses to that question from other writers. The answers are as varied as the writers themselves, sometimes brutally honest and other times not. I am working on part 2 of Particularly Dangerous Work (PDW2) these days and have had some recent bouts with writer’s block. The manuscript is about 80% complete (first draft), and I am trying to make a push to get it finished.
The problems in getting to that 100% mark have been legion. My day job has been rather demanding lately – a good thing, but still a distraction. I am finding it difficult to sequester myself from the outside world so I can concentrate. No doubt someone is wondering why I am spending my time writing a blog post, but this actually creates an environment conducive to writing – writing about writing. It’s kind of like priming a pump.
This weekend I had been able to plan a quiet weekend aboard the Shtandart II, my sailboat. I was alone and had no pressing social obligations, so it seemed like the break I have long needed. I decided to use the opportunity to make some headway on PDW2. For awhile it worked. Friday night and part of Saturday afternoon and evening I cranked out some high quality prose. It all came to an abrupt halt when my neighbor at the marina decided to blast Phil Collins on his ship’s radio. All of the sudden my prose began to read like, “. . . me lookin’ at you, and you lookin’ at me . . .” Before I knew it, I couldn’t “feel a thing from my head down to my toes.” The serenade went on until midnight, and I had long given up on any productivity for the night.
Driving back to Lansing today, I thought about my distractions the previous night and my answer to the question about writer’s block. I realized that my answer was rather simplistic, and perhaps a little less than candid (though not intentionally misleading). In the interest of full disclosure, I thought it might be a good idea to dissect my answer, clarify, and correct as needed.
The answer I gave to the Goodreads question was: “Stop. Get up. Fix some tea. Move on to something else. Those blockages occur without warning. I will be in the middle of writing a critical passage, and all of a sudden I can't type. It usually results from some incongruity a few paragraphs (or chapters) back. It is as if my subconscious recognizes something illogical and is forcing me to go back and fix it.”
1. Stop: I don’t always stop when I should. When I hit a block, I try to force the issue by continuing to write drivel with the hope it will somehow jar me back into writing good prose. It never works, and I eventually have to stop.
2. Get up: Eventually I get up after I stop, usually after having starred at the silent keyboard for half an hour.
3. Fix some tea: If tea tastes like scotch, then yes, this was an accurate statement. It might also be nachos or a ham sandwich. The point is food and beverage can cure anything, right?
4. Move on to something else: This statement is completely accurate. Once I’ve realized I am not being productive at writing, it is better to spend energy elsewhere – go for a bike ride, do some laundry, work in the yard, work on another project, anything to distract and divert.
5. Those blockages occur without warning: I think this is a mostly accurate statement. Sometimes I see it coming, but it usually takes me by surprise. All of the sudden the characters just stop talking.
6. I will be in the middle of writing a critical passage, and all of a sudden I can't type: What I just stated.
7. It usually results from some incongruity a few paragraphs (or chapters) back: This statement is dead-on accurate. I might have stated in chapter two that Bob had green eyes, but in chapter six someone gazes into his piercing blue eyes. More often than not, for me, the cause of a writer’s block is something like this.
8. It is as if my subconscious recognizes something illogical and is forcing me to go back and fix it: This statement is also perfectly accurate. If an incongruity is the cause, I can’t move forward until I find the problem and fix it. Once I do, my fingers fly across the keyboard with new found vigor.
I think my answer was mostly candid so far as it went. Where I missed was in the part about causation. There can be many causes of writer’s block and the solutions have to fit the specific cause. I think what I described is what afflicts me the most. As for other causes, the only cure for demanding projects is to finish them. The only cure for Phil Collins blasting in my eardrum is more scotch. “I've been sitting here so long wasting time, just staring at the . . .” keyboard.
https://www.bluewatertales.com
The problems in getting to that 100% mark have been legion. My day job has been rather demanding lately – a good thing, but still a distraction. I am finding it difficult to sequester myself from the outside world so I can concentrate. No doubt someone is wondering why I am spending my time writing a blog post, but this actually creates an environment conducive to writing – writing about writing. It’s kind of like priming a pump.
This weekend I had been able to plan a quiet weekend aboard the Shtandart II, my sailboat. I was alone and had no pressing social obligations, so it seemed like the break I have long needed. I decided to use the opportunity to make some headway on PDW2. For awhile it worked. Friday night and part of Saturday afternoon and evening I cranked out some high quality prose. It all came to an abrupt halt when my neighbor at the marina decided to blast Phil Collins on his ship’s radio. All of the sudden my prose began to read like, “. . . me lookin’ at you, and you lookin’ at me . . .” Before I knew it, I couldn’t “feel a thing from my head down to my toes.” The serenade went on until midnight, and I had long given up on any productivity for the night.
Driving back to Lansing today, I thought about my distractions the previous night and my answer to the question about writer’s block. I realized that my answer was rather simplistic, and perhaps a little less than candid (though not intentionally misleading). In the interest of full disclosure, I thought it might be a good idea to dissect my answer, clarify, and correct as needed.
The answer I gave to the Goodreads question was: “Stop. Get up. Fix some tea. Move on to something else. Those blockages occur without warning. I will be in the middle of writing a critical passage, and all of a sudden I can't type. It usually results from some incongruity a few paragraphs (or chapters) back. It is as if my subconscious recognizes something illogical and is forcing me to go back and fix it.”
1. Stop: I don’t always stop when I should. When I hit a block, I try to force the issue by continuing to write drivel with the hope it will somehow jar me back into writing good prose. It never works, and I eventually have to stop.
2. Get up: Eventually I get up after I stop, usually after having starred at the silent keyboard for half an hour.
3. Fix some tea: If tea tastes like scotch, then yes, this was an accurate statement. It might also be nachos or a ham sandwich. The point is food and beverage can cure anything, right?
4. Move on to something else: This statement is completely accurate. Once I’ve realized I am not being productive at writing, it is better to spend energy elsewhere – go for a bike ride, do some laundry, work in the yard, work on another project, anything to distract and divert.
5. Those blockages occur without warning: I think this is a mostly accurate statement. Sometimes I see it coming, but it usually takes me by surprise. All of the sudden the characters just stop talking.
6. I will be in the middle of writing a critical passage, and all of a sudden I can't type: What I just stated.
7. It usually results from some incongruity a few paragraphs (or chapters) back: This statement is dead-on accurate. I might have stated in chapter two that Bob had green eyes, but in chapter six someone gazes into his piercing blue eyes. More often than not, for me, the cause of a writer’s block is something like this.
8. It is as if my subconscious recognizes something illogical and is forcing me to go back and fix it: This statement is also perfectly accurate. If an incongruity is the cause, I can’t move forward until I find the problem and fix it. Once I do, my fingers fly across the keyboard with new found vigor.
I think my answer was mostly candid so far as it went. Where I missed was in the part about causation. There can be many causes of writer’s block and the solutions have to fit the specific cause. I think what I described is what afflicts me the most. As for other causes, the only cure for demanding projects is to finish them. The only cure for Phil Collins blasting in my eardrum is more scotch. “I've been sitting here so long wasting time, just staring at the . . .” keyboard.
https://www.bluewatertales.com
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