{"id":4082,"date":"2020-07-01T16:25:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T23:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.myliquis.co\/alane-adams-studios\/?p=4082"},"modified":"2021-07-07T20:35:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T03:35:20","slug":"breaking-up-with-writers-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.myliquis.co\/alane-adams-studios\/breaking-up-with-writers-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Up with Writer’s Block"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to The Iron Jaw, a monthly column on the writing life. This month we will be talking about writer\u2019s block. Let me preface by saying: there is no such thing as writer\u2019s block. That\u2019s right\u2014it isn\u2019t real. Writer\u2019s block is an excuse, a convenient crutch, a way of explaining why you\u2019re not writing. Why you\u2019re not putting the time in. Why you stare at the computer and come up empty. Hey, I\u2019ve got writers block. Jeez, that\u2019s tough. Yeah, I wish I was writing but there it is, a case of writer\u2019s block, <\/em>like you\u2019ve got a disease you have to recover from. Writing is the only activity for which we claim to have a legitimate excuse to not do it just because at times it is frustrating and requires us to work harder than we\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe me? Let\u2019s use the example of cooking dinner. It\u2019s your turn to cook only when you get into the kitchen you freeze up. You can\u2019t think of a single thing to make. Your spouse comes in and asks what\u2019s for dinner and you say, \u201cSorry, honey, I have cooking block.\u201d He or she, immediately grasping how serious this is, leads you to the couch, pours you a glass of wine, and pats your hand until you recover. Sounds ridiculous right? Or how about a soccer player who shows up to practice and says, \u201cCoach, I can\u2019t kick the ball today, sorry, I have soccer block.\u201d The coach would look at you like you\u2019d lost your mind, then tell you to get out on the field and stop being ridiculous.<\/p>\n

So if writer\u2019s block isn\u2019t real, what is it? What\u2019s going on? Why aren\u2019t you able to write?<\/p>\n

What most writers call writer\u2019s block I call fear. Paralyzing fear of writing something that might\u00a0 not be any good. Fear that what you wrote last time was the only great thing you had. Fear that people will laugh. Fear that you will be told writing is not your thing. Fear that you will fail. Worst of all, fear your writing will viewed as mediocre<\/em>. Fear paralyzes writers into a state of inaction, into believing they have lost their touch, their desire, their spark, leaving them to wonder why on earth they every wanted to write in the first place. It\u2019s like being locked away in a room with four white walls with no exit, no sounds, no colors, no life. The brain is frozen, choked into a coma by a deep-seated belief that the author has nothing original to say<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is a lie.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writers are born with an endless<\/em> imagination and infinite story possibilities exist. Sure, everything\u2019s been done a hundred zillion times, but authors find new ways to write about the same old stuff. Lord of the Flies becomes Hunger Games. Dracula becomes a glittering Edward Cullen. The only thing stopping you from writing is the inner critic who shouts so loud it\u2019s all you can hear. Don\u2019t write, it might be bad! Stay away from the computer, you might be laughed at! Don\u2019t even look at what you\u2019ve done, it\u2019s all terrible!<\/em> This is the voice the paralyzed writer hears inside their head every single day<\/p>\n

So how do you break down the blank walls trapping your mind?<\/p>\n

By facing your fears. By standing up to your inner critic. By accepting that the words you write today might not be great. Yet<\/em>. But until you let the story out, you\u2019ll never know what it can become. Writing requires fearless joy, like the kind of feeling you get when the top\u2019s down on the convertible and you\u2019re exceeding the speed limit, wind in your face. Words don\u2019t fall onto the page as polished gems. Most of the time they\u2019re stuttering and choppy because the creative process is chaotic and raw, but it is the engine that shapes and forms the story. If you can face your fear of being less than, of being not good enough, then you can stop trying to be so important and just have fun. Write from your gut. Laugh at yourself. Let your character sing off key in the shower. Bust it out with joyful abandon as you seek out the heart of your character and let him or her roar with life. Newly formed writing is plastic to be molded and shaped. If you just let the words out without judging them, with disciplined editing you can turn your choppy words into something beautifully polished and moving.<\/p>\n

So if you feel you are suffering from writer\u2019s block, take heart. There is a cure. It involves doing the very thing you believe you can\u2019t: writing. You must write the most painful words, the most awful sentences, the most poorly constructed paragraphs you have ever written! Now that that\u2019s over, do it again, write the next page, and the next, and each page you write will be less painful than the one before until writer\u2019s block is a thing of the past. Write through the pain, write through the fear, and one day, the story you were born to tell will exist within the pages of your finished novel.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve read this far and you\u2019re still stuck, here are some tips on things you can do and things you should avoid:<\/p>\n