Tag Archives: writer’s block

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A Light Bulb Going Out: The Weird Way I Cured My Writer’s Block

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized, Writing

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On Friday, I had a bit of a meltdown. It had been a hectic week, I was jealous about the successes my writer friends were posting on their Facebook pages, and when someone honked at me for no reason on the ride home, it was the last small indignity to push me over the edge.

I had been sitting in the downstairs bathroom for about 10 minutes with the lights out, feeling sorry for myself, when my husband poked his head in the doorway and astutely said that this did not seem like normal behavior, and that he had deduced that probably something was bothering me.

Obviously there was more than one problem on my mind that evening, but one of the things that came out in my tearful rant in the bathroom was that I was in the worst stretch of writing my current story: unsure of the ending, doubtful of the characters, hearing the disdainful voice in my head that pops up to suggest I scrap the whole thing. I knew taking time to get productive writing done would make me feel better, but all my inner negativity made it harder than usual to get my butt in the chair and do it.

So I wrote in the bathroom while Andrew made dinner. Silence is good. Privacy is good. Even darkness was good that night (that’s right, I sat in my powder room for 25 minutes typing by the glow of the laptop only!). I realized that in the depths of my self-conscious stretch, what I needed in order to function creatively was to feel like no one would be able to tell if what I was writing was bad. Being in a quiet space where no one could ask me how it was going (or know not to ask by my expression) helped ease my nerves. In the dark, I could even, oddly, pretend the room was truly empty–that I wasn’t even there–and use that to confuse my inner critic into silence. I felt a little silly, but by dinnertime, I had almost 400 words written.

Tonight I’ll be back in my usual spot for writing, but I’m filing away the weird trick of literally shutting myself away and turning off any other distractions–even the lights.

Let me know if you try a dark writing session, or if you have other weird rituals that help you shake off a block!

Writing Exercise #1: What Bothers You?

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Writing

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The first thing that comes to mind when I think of writers of substance (read: writers who create the kind of work that can support at least 90 minutes of thoughtful discussion) is that they see problems that really bother them. Social injustice is a big one; race, gender, sexual identity, and other power dynamics crop up a lot in the writing that has that ring of importance. Unfortunately, I am one step away from being politically illiterate. I’m straight, in the racial majority, and while I’m female, I have no dramatic stories of oppression to share. There was one time someone mistakenly called me a secretary because they saw me sitting at the front desk, but that’s about it.

But I still want to write something meaningful, so I took out a sheet of paper, set the clock for five minutes, and started listing things that bother me (no matter what they were). Here’s what I came up with*:

  1. “God” being an embarrassing word to say, never mind entity to believe in. I am religious, and I am rather intelligent. Not that I’d ever have the opportunity to verbally spar with Christopher Hitchens, but if I did, it frustrates me that he’d already think less of me for believing in God. This also goes for some believers who reject clear evidence in favor of literal interpretation–they make science-embracing, faithful people have to justify one or the other aspect of their belief. It’s annoying.
  2. Public schools
  3. Busywork
  4. The fact that I kind of like “Bridezillas.” How tacky 😛
  5. Cooking meat in milk
  6. Thoughtless cruelty
  7. Rape
  8. Rape or sexual abuse victims who go on to abuse others
  9. Narcissism
  10. Empty apologies
  11. Wearing shoes in the house
  12. Trash on a table
  13. People thinking they know a country just because they’ve visited (sadly, I have been guilty of this one)
  14. Patronizing people
  15. Laziness
  16. People who ask you how to do something, especially something simple, and then say something dismissive like, “Oh, I could never do that.” Why did you ask in the first place?
  17. Making inconvenient personality traits into illnesses (apparently being shy or introverted is an illness now)
  18. Wiccans
  19. Not having enough money, even though I work a lot
  20. Serial marriages and divorces.
I feel more strongly about some than others, and some definitely make better writing fuel than others, but I was surprised to see how many things I had a strong opinion about. I’m tinkering around a bit, trying to see which ones appeal to me most to start putting some new thoughts and characters on paper.
Now that I’ve put my list out here, I’d love some company. What bothers you? Make it as trivial or deep as you like–either way, I’d love to hear your perspective.
*A brief disclaimer, of sorts: I am not posting this list with the intention of being incendiary. This list was written as a writing exercise, and is not necessarily meant to condemn any person or group. They are opinions only, and I fully appreciate they may not be shared.

6 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

17 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in Writing

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It’s happened, people. I’ve hit a wall. The weird thing is that over the last few weeks, I’ve actually had a spike in writing productivity. I’ve started getting up 15 minutes early to write, and have been churning out as much as 350 words even in that quick little sitting. Combined with some evening writing, I did almost 2000 words last week, not counting blogging. That sounds like the opposite of writer’s block, doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s not so much a block on writing as it is on writing fiction. Every day gets me 24 hours closer to the end of my MFA program, and makes me that much more aware that I need to have a book written in order to graduate (yeah, it’s still a year and a half away. So what?). A book of short stories, polished and thoughtful and linked enough in theme or tone or whatever to nestle harmoniously with each other. It freaks me the heck out. And being freaked out is not conducive to creativity.

The words need to come regardless, though, so here are my top tips for when I’m in a funk. Maybe they will work for you as well!

1. Write something else. Nonfiction works best for me–retelling a story from my life in as engaging a way as I can. I can always change characters or details later to fictionalize it and give it better narrative flow.

2. Read the headlines. News is cool because journalists and editors have already cherry-picked the wildest characters and most intense stories. One way to get a different angle (so you’re not just writing a fictional version of the news article) is to imagine how the story affects a family member, friend, or ex-lover of whoever is in the news.

3. Do something radically different for a day: refuse to drive, paint yourself all over with henna, cross-dress, eat backward (dinner for breakfast, dessert for lunch, breakfast for dinner and lunch for dessert), and so on. Write a story about someone who does that every day. Why do they do it? What problems do they run into?

4. Start a story-writing group with your friends. Assign a genre, a key word that needs to appear in the story (the more incongruous the better), and a deadline. Now all your friends are going to have stories written! Sometimes writer’s block is a matter of getting a solid kick in the pants.

5. Go to asofterworld.com. Click the “fnord” button to go to a random strip. Write the expanded, story version of what the strip says.

6. Write a story using only one vowel. It is possible, and it’s like drinking water upside down to cure hiccups–weird, but effective.

Disclaimer: I have not actually tried #3 myself, but it seems like it would work. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

That’s what I have to offer. How do you beat writer’s block?