Writer's Block

Actually I don't believe in "writer's block" in the way people traditionally define it. At least not for me. I believe that other people believe in it and I suppose I should feel more sympathetic towards them, but most of the time when I'm going through something like writer's block it's more out of sheer laziness on my part than anything else and I assume if a writer really buckled down, they'd get over it.

However. That is not to say that I don't get clogged now and then. And this I am sympathetic about, because I feel it always stems from a reason. And if you look at that reason, you can unclog yourself and start writing again. There are two types of clogs: idea clogs and flow clogs.

Idea clogs happen when you can't think of anything to write about. I would suggest that you have an idea before you sit down to write, coming up with one on the spot can indeed be difficult. The trick is to be sponge. Open yourself to material while you are reading, watching TV, listening to the radio, talking to your friends and family. Soak it all in and if you have the glimmer of an idea, ANY idea, WRITE IT DOWN. It doesn't have to be good now, you just don't want to forget that you had it. The act of writing it down will reinforce it in your memory and while it's there in your head it will bump and mingle with all the other ideas you have and eventually when you need to squeeze something out ideas will come.

Or if this doesn't work and you still have trouble thinking of ideas, there are all sorts of writing prompts that you can use. Or you can pick some technique a favorite author uses and try and imitate it, starting with the technique first rather than an "idea."

This probably isn't very helpful, because I don't usually have a problem with ideas. I have more fantasy novels in my head than I'll probably be able to write in a lifetime.

The other type of clog is the flow clog. This happens to me a lot. It's happening to me right now actually. This is what happens when you are writing something and for some reason you lose the thread or the spark and it stops flowing. For me this state results from one of two things. Either I have just lost focus and/or are avoiding writing for some reason that has nothing to with the story at all or there is something wrong with what I have written before or what I am planning on writing that my subconscious recognizes needs to be fixed before I continue. Sometimes if I identify to myself what the problem is and promise to fix it later, I can continue. Sometimes I can't.

This is where strength of will comes in. If it is a lack of focus, I just have to buckle down and do it. If I sit in front of the computer for two hours and actually try to write, word WILL come, probably close to 2,000 of them, it it's a work in progress, but if I don't give myself that time because I'm not focused the words don't have a chance. If it's a problem I see, there may be something to letting my subconscious stew on the problem for awhile, but eventually, I have to again actually sit down and focus on what the problem is.

Writing is hard. Anyone who doesn't think so hasn't tried it. But blaming lack of progress on "writer's block" instead of taking responsibility for your process, will not help you move forward. Identify what kind of clog you have and start plunging! Take control of your writing. It might be slow at first, but eventually, the flow will come back.