J.M. Lanham
This has got to be every writer's kryptonite. I've had my fair share of writer's block in the past, where I've gone weeks without getting down a single word (at least a single word of fiction; copywriting is the day job). And, the longer I've left a page blank, the longer it has taken to get back in the rhythm of locking down a substantial word count every day.
But, there is one way I've found to address this, and it helps me more often than not. It has to do with the way we sometimes draw a blank when recalling simple information like a person's name or a familiar street. When our brains are put on the spot, we have an inadvertent tendency to stress out about the very information we're trying to recall. And when we're stressed, the odds of connecting the dots go from scarce to non-existent.
There's actually a scientific explanation for this effect. When we get stressed, we naturally produce more cortisol—a stress hormone. More cortisol leads to more stress, which takes your brain's attention away from problems like your latest plot line, and closer to the problem at hand (in this case, the direction of your work in progress).
My solution? Get your mind dead set on another task. Now, I get how this is easier said than done. If you're obsessing over a scene or character development or tying up loose ends in a rough draft, then a long walk on the beach or a baseball game or diving into the latest Stephen King novel is going to be the last thing on your mind. But the trick here is to get your mind to relax; to calm the neural pathways that are essentially leading to the traffic jam in your brain that's keeping you from free and creative thinking.
If you're anything like me, abandoning a writing assignment to go on a bike ride is going to make you feel a little uncomfortable. In fact, your mind will likely be completely against it. But, if you get your mind set on another task, and do the actual work to forget the problems you're having with your work in progress, then eventually something strange will happen, just as it happens when you've completely abandoned the notion of recalling the name of your new neighbor down the street: the fog begins to lift, and solutions begin to present themselves.
Steer your mind away from the task at hand, and eventually the gears will start turning again. I can't tell you how many times I've hit a complete roadblock trying to solve a narrative problem while sitting in my office, only to have the solution presented to me when writing fiction was the last thing on my mind.
So next time you get hit with a nasty case of writer's block, do whatever you can to get writing completely off your mind. If you can accomplish that, then I believe you'll start filling up those blank pages again sooner rather than later.
But, there is one way I've found to address this, and it helps me more often than not. It has to do with the way we sometimes draw a blank when recalling simple information like a person's name or a familiar street. When our brains are put on the spot, we have an inadvertent tendency to stress out about the very information we're trying to recall. And when we're stressed, the odds of connecting the dots go from scarce to non-existent.
There's actually a scientific explanation for this effect. When we get stressed, we naturally produce more cortisol—a stress hormone. More cortisol leads to more stress, which takes your brain's attention away from problems like your latest plot line, and closer to the problem at hand (in this case, the direction of your work in progress).
My solution? Get your mind dead set on another task. Now, I get how this is easier said than done. If you're obsessing over a scene or character development or tying up loose ends in a rough draft, then a long walk on the beach or a baseball game or diving into the latest Stephen King novel is going to be the last thing on your mind. But the trick here is to get your mind to relax; to calm the neural pathways that are essentially leading to the traffic jam in your brain that's keeping you from free and creative thinking.
If you're anything like me, abandoning a writing assignment to go on a bike ride is going to make you feel a little uncomfortable. In fact, your mind will likely be completely against it. But, if you get your mind set on another task, and do the actual work to forget the problems you're having with your work in progress, then eventually something strange will happen, just as it happens when you've completely abandoned the notion of recalling the name of your new neighbor down the street: the fog begins to lift, and solutions begin to present themselves.
Steer your mind away from the task at hand, and eventually the gears will start turning again. I can't tell you how many times I've hit a complete roadblock trying to solve a narrative problem while sitting in my office, only to have the solution presented to me when writing fiction was the last thing on my mind.
So next time you get hit with a nasty case of writer's block, do whatever you can to get writing completely off your mind. If you can accomplish that, then I believe you'll start filling up those blank pages again sooner rather than later.
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