Writer’s block doesn’t really exist
Writing by Jana on Sunday, 23 of March , 2008 at 9:21 pm
Earlier today as I was having a conversation with a friend about writing, the topic of the dreaded writer’s block came up. See, I’m one of those people who believe that writer’s block doesn’t really exist.
I do believe life can be overwhelmingly stressful and busy.
I do believe a particular scene(s) or character(s) can be challenging.
I do believe you can be a victim of your own fear.
And I’m firmly convinced that the last point is the one writers are often suffering from when they claim to be going through a bout of “writer’s block.”
You have this beautiful scene or image of a character in your head, or this great idea for a story; but after picking up that pen it can suddenly become as if you’ve forgotten even the basics. That beautiful thing in your mind’s eye turns awkward and daunting. You’re afraid of it, because you feel like you cannot do it justice.
As a general rule, my first drafts of anything and everything suck donkey balls. I cringe inwardly every time I reread a work in progress as it’s usually rife with common spelling and grammatical errors and cliches.
And I find it hard to quell that nagging inner critic which demands I stop my flow of writing and go back to edit the hell out of that paragraph. I have this inane fear of allowing this hypothetically less-than-perfect prose to continue existing in its deplorable state because somewhere along the line, I got this ridiculous idea into my head that it must be perfect right away. If it’s not flowing beautifully; if the character isn’t a fully developed, living and breathing entity, than the work itself is simply not good enough. Not now, not ever.
But I’m slowly learning to let go. I’ve discovered that it’s more important to get the words out, no matter how clunky the prose. It’s more important to not stop up that flow of ideas, because if you stop, the momentum can be lost forever. Get the words out on paper before attacking them line by line with Elements of Style.
So absolutely no editing until the work is done. It still drives me crazy. My left eye still twitches with the wanting. But I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that the first draft will never read the way I want it to.
And that’s just fiiiine! Really.
*twitch*
Category: writer's block, writing
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Comment by Vivi
Made Monday, 24 of March , 2008 at 5:37 pm
I do not believe in writers block. I cannot buy into the theory that something could put a chokehold on my imagination. I believe in distractions. I believe in losing focus. But I believe it can all be overcome if managed correctly.
My first drafts are always the biggest bags of wank. They’re frightening and I often make myself laugh/cry/scream/dry heave. I’ve discovered that I don’t actually WRITE books; I REwrite books.
Comment by the Wandering Author
Made Tuesday, 25 of March , 2008 at 1:13 am
I agree with you that most cases of “writer’s block” are just excuses for lesser problems. But, I’ve had experiences I can only describe as writer’s block. Example: last September, I found a friend dead on his kitchen floor. I’d been writing pretty regularly; I wanted to keep writing. I wanted to start a new novel in honour of Jim, in fact (based on a story I heard from the funeral director the day we planned his funeral that Jim would have loved). I sat down. I put words on paper. They were crap. Not a first draft that would need editing; not “I’m insecure about my work”. Utter crap, that led nowhere. I tried writing exercises; I couldn’t even do a decent job at those. My mind was just too emotionally shaken up. The 2YN class is finally helping me get back in the writing groove. If only Life would leave me enough time…
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