A page in the life
Where do I find my ideas? Do I follow a schedule to write? Do I travel to be inspired? Have I always been a writer?
I don’t even wonder about questions like these. I just do it. Usually my approach works and when it doesn’t, I regroup.
That day, I was about 15,000 words into a new story set in South America. Things were going well. I had digressed from my outline a few times yet the story remained on track. I was pleased with the process and my output. Then, by the end of the week, I felt exhausted, bored, burnt out. I had hit a wall. I lost my desire to write.
I was loathe to call it writer's block because I didn’t believe in such a thing. Nor do all writers.
“Do teachers get teacher’s block? Is there plumber’s block? Why are writers so special that they can say, ‘I can’t work today, I have the vapours?’ Screw that.”
The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2018
My take on writer's block was simplistic. To me, the opposite of writer's block was inspiration. Writing involves sitting down and drawing on the ideas that inspire me. If I ran out of inspiration, I would end up staring at the page. Naturally. It’s no big deal and not a good reason to stop forever. My strategy has always been to regroup and in effect, rediscover my inspiration.
Fifteen minutes of Internet reading changed my limited view. Writer’s block is actually a very complex topic with a long history and broad impact on writers of all levels and experience. Any denial of its existence on my part would be foolhardy.
“Writer’s block is going to happen to you. You will read what little you’ve written lately and see with absolute clarity that it is total dog shit. A blissfully productive manic stage may come to a screeching halt, and all of a sudden you realize you’re Wile E. Coyote and you’ve run off the cliff and are a second away from having to look down.”
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books/Random House, 1995, p. 176.
Much has been written on writer's block (no irony there) and how to beat it. My all-time favourite advice on writing is
“Write drunk. Edit sober.”
Creativity demands a wild, unbridled spirit and taming it too soon in the writing process leads to problems. Perfection breeds paralysis. Kills inspiration. Hemingway’s brilliant metaphor points to this dynamic: a first draft is the time to write freely. Save your second-thoughts for the editing process.
My approach to dealing with my writing “slow-down” last week was to immerse myself in a round of “planning.” As it happened, I went to work expanding on my lists of goals and timelines, and proudly pronounced them to be productivity tools to motivate myself. One thing for sure, my lists do help me focus on my priorities.
Another thing I do is take a step back to develop and improve on my customized tools, which include:
a chart to outline plot, character development, elements of conflict and suspense;
a chart to identify the story’s premise, development and resolution;
a spreadsheet of characters’ ages over time;
a style guide to ensure consistent spelling of names and places; and
a synopsis
So when I experience a slow-down, I invest time in these tools that need to be developed at some point anyway. Each of them serves a separate purpose and helps me to be accurate, consistent and stay on track.
My lists keep me focused on measurable goals and timelines. I have a dream/vision and I want to do my best to get there. Sure, there are times I have doubts, fears and self-delusions. But who doesn’t? I press ahead by focusing with confidence on my plan.
As the saying goes, ‘Make hay while the sun shines.’
Too much control, though, is not a solution for writer’s block; inspiration and creativity cannot be forced. Anne Lamott recommends reading, going outside for some fresh air, immersing oneself in ordinary life and waiting for your “unconscious to open a door and beckon.” When it does, to paraphrase Anne, you will need to rush to your desk with an urgency you had not believed possible (Lamott, p. 180).
Meanwhile, the day I spent planning and this day I spent reading about writer’s block and writing this blog have left me eager to get back to my story. I hope it all works! But first, I’m going out for another walk.
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