Fighting Writer's Block
A few friends of mine have been checking my blog and queried if I was too preoccupied to write anymore.Now,the thought flatters me that I have a few folks waiting to read what I have written.But I am not yet brain dead.Came up with topics -social networking/school bus hierachy/bucket lists/ public transport /research to name a few.It just hasn't materialised completely was all I could say.
Which is when I was labelled with writer's block by one of my close pals.Waitamin,I said.I am perfectly healthy-mental and physical(sniggers all around-you all can guess what aspect they are mocking).Was i now a leper.outcast.unclean.
So,I did research on writer's block.Like a scientist.Like a mad scientist.Thoughts of controlling the literary wor(L)d spurred me on.Unblock this block and brighter the writer was a mantra.
Apparently writer's block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity(WIKIPEDIA).Thanks WIKI-now blame the whole mess on my lack of creativity and inspiration.
Anyways,i found lots of great ideas from other bloggers to get unstuck and the best ones are here. Add your own in comments.
Talk to a monkey - Explain what you're really trying to say to a stuffed animal or cardboard cutout.I don't have either but I have a housemate who I make do with.
Try freewriting - Sit down and write anything for an arbitrary period of time—say, 10minutes to start. Don't stop, no matter what. Keep writing, even if you know what you're typing is gibberish, full of misspellings, and grammatically psychopathic. Get your hand moving and your brain will think it’s writing. Which it is. See?
What I wrote was immediately shredded to prevent a visit by the moral police.
Take a walk - Get out of your writing brain for 10 minutes. Think about bunnies(Not PLAYBOY-Focus). Breathe.
Take a shower; change clothes - Give yourself a truly clean start.
Write from a persona - Lend your voice to a writing personality who isn't you. Doesn't have to be a pirate or anything—just try seeing your topic from someone else's perspective, style, and interest.
Get away from the computer; Write someplace new - If you've been staring at the screen and nothing is happening, walk away. Shut down the computer. Take one pen and one notebook, and go somewhere new.
Stretch your limbs and your imagination.
Add one ritual behavior - Get a glass of water exactly every 20 minutes. Do pushups. Eat a Tootsie Roll every paragraph(don't be guilty-remember the pushups).
Listen to new music - Try something instrumental and rhythmic that you've never heard before.
Write the middle - Stop whining over a perfect lead, and write the next part or the part after that. Write your favorite part.
Do one chore - Sweep the floor or take out the garbage. Try something lightly physical to remind you that you know how to do things.
Make a pointless rule - You can't end sentences with words that begin with a vowel. Or you can't have more than one word over eight letters in any paragraph. Limits create focus and change your perspective.
Write five words - Literally. Put five completley random words on a piece of paper. Write five more words. Try a sentence. Could be about anything. A block ends when you start making words on a page.
This is one of those things that can either cure you or kill you: pick up a couple of your favorite books, find a quiet spot, and read (and re-read, and read again, and again read, as much as necessary) your favorite passages. Half of the time, you are inspired; half of the time, you want to jump off a bridge because there's no way you'll ever reach those literary heights. It's a gamble, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Sometimes, the work I pick up is my own. I've got some things I've written which I think are works of incredible genius. (What everyone else thinks is probably another matter, but who cares?) Reading them for the nth time sometimes reminds me that I can indeed do this.
However,the best advice I've read on writer's block is that it doesn't exist, it's just the name we give to failing to make a decision. So if we are really stuck, we should try to figure out what decision we are not making, and make it.
So there it is.Anyway I am having mixed emotions.My sister says that I couldn't possibly be suffering from writer's block.Woohoo.She puts it down to me being purely lazy.Dammit.My creative juices are flowing.Next topic-To Kill A Sister.Until then,adios.
Which is when I was labelled with writer's block by one of my close pals.Waitamin,I said.I am perfectly healthy-mental and physical(sniggers all around-you all can guess what aspect they are mocking).Was i now a leper.outcast.unclean.
So,I did research on writer's block.Like a scientist.Like a mad scientist.Thoughts of controlling the literary wor(L)d spurred me on.Unblock this block and brighter the writer was a mantra.
Apparently writer's block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity(WIKIPEDIA).Thanks WIKI-now blame the whole mess on my lack of creativity and inspiration.
Anyways,i found lots of great ideas from other bloggers to get unstuck and the best ones are here. Add your own in comments.
Talk to a monkey - Explain what you're really trying to say to a stuffed animal or cardboard cutout.I don't have either but I have a housemate who I make do with.
Try freewriting - Sit down and write anything for an arbitrary period of time—say, 10minutes to start. Don't stop, no matter what. Keep writing, even if you know what you're typing is gibberish, full of misspellings, and grammatically psychopathic. Get your hand moving and your brain will think it’s writing. Which it is. See?
What I wrote was immediately shredded to prevent a visit by the moral police.
Take a walk - Get out of your writing brain for 10 minutes. Think about bunnies(Not PLAYBOY-Focus). Breathe.
Take a shower; change clothes - Give yourself a truly clean start.
Write from a persona - Lend your voice to a writing personality who isn't you. Doesn't have to be a pirate or anything—just try seeing your topic from someone else's perspective, style, and interest.
Get away from the computer; Write someplace new - If you've been staring at the screen and nothing is happening, walk away. Shut down the computer. Take one pen and one notebook, and go somewhere new.
Stretch your limbs and your imagination.
Add one ritual behavior - Get a glass of water exactly every 20 minutes. Do pushups. Eat a Tootsie Roll every paragraph(don't be guilty-remember the pushups).
Listen to new music - Try something instrumental and rhythmic that you've never heard before.
Write the middle - Stop whining over a perfect lead, and write the next part or the part after that. Write your favorite part.
Do one chore - Sweep the floor or take out the garbage. Try something lightly physical to remind you that you know how to do things.
Make a pointless rule - You can't end sentences with words that begin with a vowel. Or you can't have more than one word over eight letters in any paragraph. Limits create focus and change your perspective.
Write five words - Literally. Put five completley random words on a piece of paper. Write five more words. Try a sentence. Could be about anything. A block ends when you start making words on a page.
This is one of those things that can either cure you or kill you: pick up a couple of your favorite books, find a quiet spot, and read (and re-read, and read again, and again read, as much as necessary) your favorite passages. Half of the time, you are inspired; half of the time, you want to jump off a bridge because there's no way you'll ever reach those literary heights. It's a gamble, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Sometimes, the work I pick up is my own. I've got some things I've written which I think are works of incredible genius. (What everyone else thinks is probably another matter, but who cares?) Reading them for the nth time sometimes reminds me that I can indeed do this.
However,the best advice I've read on writer's block is that it doesn't exist, it's just the name we give to failing to make a decision. So if we are really stuck, we should try to figure out what decision we are not making, and make it.
So there it is.Anyway I am having mixed emotions.My sister says that I couldn't possibly be suffering from writer's block.Woohoo.She puts it down to me being purely lazy.Dammit.My creative juices are flowing.Next topic-To Kill A Sister.Until then,adios.
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