David Joiner
I sometimes bow down before it. I don’t mind terribly when it happens, either. But when I do allow myself to give into it – because I believe that ideas germinate even when I’m not actively writing – I limit myself to how long I’ll let it stop me from writing.
At other times I make myself go where I’ve got nothing else to do but write (i.e., a library or a café where I don’t expect to see anyone I know).
Sometimes I bring up a completely blank document and play with whatever idea first comes into my head. These attempts, which are basically free-writing exercises, end up bringing a newness to bear on whatever I’m stuck on. Sometimes I end up keeping the result, and sometimes I end up dragging it into the trash. But either way, it always puts me back on track.
Most times, however, I just grit my teeth and refuse to let myself be stopped by writer’s block. It’s no sin to write only a paragraph a day. Sometimes you’ll manage ten pages, but as long as you’re taking the book forward, that’s what really matters.
In end, the issue is quality rather than quantity, anyway. Sometimes a little writer’s block can be helpful in figuring out a way to make your writing better.
At other times I make myself go where I’ve got nothing else to do but write (i.e., a library or a café where I don’t expect to see anyone I know).
Sometimes I bring up a completely blank document and play with whatever idea first comes into my head. These attempts, which are basically free-writing exercises, end up bringing a newness to bear on whatever I’m stuck on. Sometimes I end up keeping the result, and sometimes I end up dragging it into the trash. But either way, it always puts me back on track.
Most times, however, I just grit my teeth and refuse to let myself be stopped by writer’s block. It’s no sin to write only a paragraph a day. Sometimes you’ll manage ten pages, but as long as you’re taking the book forward, that’s what really matters.
In end, the issue is quality rather than quantity, anyway. Sometimes a little writer’s block can be helpful in figuring out a way to make your writing better.
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