Help! I've got Writer's Block
I really want to write, but as soon as I sit down and set pen to paper, my mind goes blank.
I can't think of anything to write. Sometimes I stare at my screen for hours; doesn't help.
If I do think of something, it feels stupid, it won't work, it's cliche, etc. Can someone tell me what to do? Am I too anxious, have too high expectations, or trying to think too hard? I simply cannot write.
How do I get over this? Have other people coped with this problem successfully? How?
(24)24 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
Artists Way, Julia Cameron: three pages a day, longhand, first thing in the morning.
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott: Start with a 1" picture frame and describe what you see. (Also, shitty first drafts.)
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Start with the brick in the corner of the building. Describe it.
They're all saying the same thing. On Writing, Stephen King. Art & Fear, Bayles & Orland.
Do it, and do it again, and again, and again, and again. I've been at it since 1973. Disconnect "having a pen in your hand and paper on your desk" from "having anything to say." Get the pen moving, and when it's ready, you'll start having something to say.
You just need to shut off the inner critic, and start writing.
There are two main approaches: pantsing, and plotting.
As I answered in the question linked above, pantsing works for very few people. Plotting is a better approach, for me at least.
Write down a rough, one page summary of what you want the book to be, create a few characters, create 30-40 scenes which move the story forward, and start writing.
As you write, you don't have to stick to the plan. If you dont like a character, just ignore them and continue writing, but don't go back to edit your novel. If you don't like the plot, again change it on the fly, and pretend that's what you wrote. You can always fix any plot holes in editing.
The dilemma you are stuck in happens to everyone, and the only way out is to type out 50-60,000 words, without criticising yourself or trying to edit. There is no easy way, you just have to slog through the process.
A way to make this easy is to write what you love. This may or may not be what you like reading, or the type of writer you want to be. For a long time I wanted to be a serious writer, the type that wins awards & stuff. But every time I tried to write such books, my muse revolted, and like you I ended up writing nothing.
Accepting that I have my own style, and it may never win me the Pulitzer award was one of the biggest challenges for me, harder than how to create a plot/character, things all the blog writers want to talk about.
I will end with a quote from Scott Berkun:
This means that when people can’t start they’re imagining the precision of the end, all polished and brilliant, a vision that makes the ugly clumsy junkyard that all beginnings are, impossible to accept. Good voice, tone, rhythm, ideas and grammar are essential to good writing, but they’re never introduced all at once.
and
Have you ever been blocked while playing Frisbee? Eating doughnuts? Dancing naked in your living room? Those are joyful things and there’s nothing at stake: if you fail, who cares? Nobody. If there are no rules, and no judgment, psychological blocks are impossible. And remember writers like making names and overthinking things: there is no term for architect-block, painter-block, juggler-block or composer-block. Every creative pursuit faces similar pressures, but they don’t obsess about it the way writers seem to do.
You could try a more structured approach than just sitting down and writing something. When I run into this issue, I start branching out my ideas using a snowflake model. You don't have to follow any strict guidelines, just jot down some simple ideas and keep branching off. Sooner than later ideas will pour in faster than you can type. When they stop, go back to your model.
First of all; Craig had some really good advice in his post! Thank you Craig for these, I must try out the association tree. Anyway, I thought I'd share a tip of mine about how I practice my flow of words.
When I feel the urge to write I have set up a journal which I can reach over the internet. I write what ever comes in my mind and I have one and only one rule; I am not allowed to go back and change or delete anything I've written. This simple rule has changed my way of writing a great deal to be honest.
Before I used this rule for my journal I tried numerous times to write down ideas and short stories but I always got caught up in the work of re-writing and re-touching before I was done. This of course led to that I did not finish of anything I wrote which made me think I could never write.
By using the rule of no re-write in my journal I have eradicated the pressure of writing anything "wrong" since all I write is as it is. My only way of change it is to continue to write and by doing so change the context.
So my advice to you on how to start to write is simply, just write and don't look back while your doing it. Let your thoughts and feelings flow and then read what you've written afterwards. By doing this the writing itself will become more and more natural for you and you will have an easier task of writing an actual story in a more relaxed way.
Previous Page Next Page
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.