Writer’s block. Those that don’t know any better, consider it a myth.
Forgive them, for they know not what the heck they’re talking about.
The trashcan (sometimes known as File-13) can be friend or foe to writers. File-13 is friend when it’s empty of discarded printed pages: it loves everything we’ve written thus far and thus needs nothing from us, keep up the good work. And it’s a foe when it’s dissatisfied and … hungry: for pages of our poor, stupid, worthless, nonsensical, need-to-keep-the-day-job (or get a day job) writing.
Writer’s block is more than just a matter of ‘not being able to write anything.’ It can often be episodes of actual writing. However, stuff gets on the page or pages, and you hate it: every word, every sentence. Sometimes it’s a matter of being unable to assume the proper mindset to put anything on paper. So, it goes beyond the mind simply drawing a blank. A writer can have stuff in their head, but that ‘stuff’ isn’t necessarily what you’re trying to put down; you’re ‘blocked’ from getting your true message, what it is that is ‘supposed’ to be on the paper, out. Writer’s block is also not necessarily for an extended period (months, years); sometimes it lasts for only an hour or so.
Any time the act of translating ideas from head to page seems ‘impossible,’ a writer is ‘blocked.’
So, what lies behind staring at a blank page or producing pages immediately relegated to File-13? Here are six possible causes (I’ve experienced in one form or another):
You’re tired. Yep. Sure, you love writing. It’s all you’ve ever wanted to do, day and night and all periods in between. But, with all that passion driving you, the brain still gets tired: of thinking of new ways to say it, of processing words and words and … more words. You have a relationship with your writing that, at times, grows tenuous—like relationships with people. Speaking of which …
Relationship woes. You’re speaking but it’s still clear one of you is unhappy, or you’re not speaking and neither of you are happy. Not necessarily referring to romantic involvements, any interpersonal relationship holding a level of importance in your life, that has now hit some sort of snag, can affect writing productivity. And, as discouraging as it sounds, letting go of a said relationship or putting it on ‘hold’ may result in words flying off the pages. Yep.
Other Distractions. Your relationships are fine, but the house is burning, and a loved-one is sick, and money’s short and … Well, who can write anything now? Writers have been known, while fingers move across a page or keyboard, to not notice someone approach, call their name. When in the ‘zone,’ the house could be burning—and we wouldn’t notice until the fireman bursts through, hose in hand. I’ve used a bit of exaggeration of course, but distractions, big or small, physical or mental, can get in the way of generating solid text or prose. Wanting to write but needing to address other pressing matters, throws the writing mindset off and the page or screen stays blank: you’re blocked (and File-13 is neither friend or foe: it’s Switzerland).
There’s nothing left to say. Huh? Yep. Believe it not, maybe you just need to put a period and let things be. Sometimes we don’t believe we’re done, that there’s a little more we can add to those five, fifteen, twenty-five pages to ‘punch it up.’ So now, the brain, getting tired enough as it is, begins processing words again, trying to squeeze one more round of excellent phrasing from the keyboard or pen. Forcing yourself to write more (unnecessarily) is sort of like that square-peg-round-hole thing: it’s frustrating because it won’t work—and now you’re ‘blocked,’ liking none of what you’ve written. Where’s that File-13?
There’s nothing left to say (part 2). In this case, it isn’t only that there’s nothing left to add, it’s that there was little there to expound on to begin with. It was a good idea at the time. Sure, it was. And you’re a good writer, excellent at turning a phrase or spinning a story. But you’ve finished writing/typing, having only produced a paragraph or two: so maybe it wasn’t pages-worth of good idea. Writers get determined sometimes: determined to make that good idea be the pages of good idea it was meant to be. Yep. … Nope.
Great Expectations. Nothing to do with Charles Dickens’s masterpiece, this is more about biting off more than one can chew. That great idea actually is pages-worth of good idea: too many pages, maybe—creating a daunting writing project looming before you. If you’re writing for yourself and could give a flying-fig about anyone else, it’s easy to scrap the idea and move on. But if you’ve somehow committed yourself to the task for others (including your readers and fans) …Project underway, you get on a roll, but there’s still so much left to write. The brain, not necessarily tired or burnt-out, just doesn’t want to—or spits out whatever works to fill the page and get to the next one. This may take a while: File-13’s appetite is voracious right now. Oh, yeah.
Writer’s block is a painful pain in the— And while I’ve identified a cause or six from my experiences, doesn’t mean I’m not a repeat ‘victim’; I still fall prey to the frustrating occurrence. But there are ways to combat it, which I’ll touch on in my next blog. Until then, check out Like Sweet Buttermilk and/or Obscure Boundaries as samples of my ‘non-blocked’ moments.
