Figuring out if and why you have writer's block is about half the battle. The rest is trying to work your way over, under, around or through the block itself. Many of our initial, intuitive responses to being blocked -- buckling down, barelling through, giving up -- may end up being less than helpful, and can even backfire on us. Here are some alternative strategies:
1. READ ABOUT WRITER'S BLOCK
Just what you're doing now is one way to learn more about the problem, find workable solutions, and reassure yourself that you are not alone and doomed.
The sheer volume of books about writer's block in the bookstore and in libraries is a testament to the idea that writer's block probably hits most write's at some point in their careers. A quick search of 'writer's block' in Amazon.com's database shows at least 10 books on the subject you can order online. Two books I can't say enough about are Victoria Nelson's eloquent "On Writer's Block: a new approach to creativity" and Anne Lamott's hilarious "Bird by Bird: musings on writing and life." Both books are comforting, encouraging, and full of helpful information. I highly recommend them as a starting point for your recovery.
2. WRITE ABOUT WRITER'S BLOCK
Another way to work through the block -- that also keeps your writing muscles from atrophying -- is writing about writer's block. For me, the exercise of creating these pages has been immensely helpful in recognizing and working through my own block.
Writing self-dialogues, doing exercises, keeping a journal, and jotting down ideas are all possibile ways to keep yourself in touch with writing in short, manageable doses. And if you have thoughts about writer's block you'd like to share, please submit them for posting on the reader comments page.
3. TAKE A BREAK
If your writer's block has been going on for a while and the very thought of even trying to write makes you feel ill, it might not be a bad idea to take a deliberate break or sabbatical from writing. This is not the same as quitting or giving up writing. This is taking action against a sea of troubles. Give the sabbatical a definite time frame and use the time to actively work on the writer's block problem. At the end of the time frame, test the waters to see if you feel like writing again. Lather, rinse, repeat until your eagerness to write, or to try to write, returns.
4. FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG AND ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM
This may appear self-evident, but sometimes writers need to be reminded that writing isn't really magic, even though it often seems a magical and mysterious process. And since writer's block shakes our confidence in the process itself and our sense of competence, it can sometimes feel like we've simply "lost the gift."
Whatever your philosophy about the source of your writing, that take on writer's block leaves the writer helpless and passive, hoping the "writing gods" will once again smile upon him. A more viable position is to approach the block as the sign or symptom of a specific problem, something that can be understood, and possibly solved or adapted to or even used as a way to stretch ourselves as artists and craftspeople.
In practical terms this means regularly putting aside time work on your writer's block. How long, how often and what you do is up to you. If you're at a loss for where to begin, try some of the exercises suggested on the exercise page, or take a bunch of books out of the library and start reading. If you need to stop for a while and mull things over, then stop, but do it with a sincere committment to return to the process when you can. The important thing to remember is that getting over writer's block is a process, much like the process of writing. And like with writing, if you force it or neglect it, it doesn't work very well.
5. TREAT YOURSELF LIKE A RECOVERING ATHLETE
This doesn't mean WALK IT OFF. This means take your writer's block difficulty seriously. Writer's block can be a career threatening injury, so you don't want to rush the comeback and risk a relapse or re-injury. Nor, on the other hand, do you want to leave the healing to chance and neglect. By taking an active role in your own recovery -- by understanding the problem, keeping in mind your goal of returning to work and progressing toward that goal at a pace appropriate for you -- you improve your chances of being able to go back to being the impassioned, hopeful and committed writer you started out to be.
In fact, you stand a good chance of coming back even stronger than before. Writer's block, as Victoria Nelson points out, is not just an obstacle, it's a sign to the writer that there is something that needs fixing. As with an athlete whose injury is caused by bad form or poor technique, if the training works to correct that inadequacy, the athlete returns with less chance of reinjury. This then is your opportunity to not only tape yourself back together, but to actually get yourself in prime writing shape, ready to tackle the projects that excite and challenge you.
6. TALK TO OTHER WRITERS
It's good to have people around that you can talk to openly and honestly about not being able to write, but it's particularly good if you can talk to another writer about it. There is something to be said for communicating with people who've shared your experience -- who have been blocked and survived, who have never been blocked and have a philosophy you can learn from, or who may be just as blocked as you but can offer some real sympathy and understanding.
If you're not comfortable with revealing your blocked state to other writers, consider broaching the subject by asking if they've ever had any experience with being blocked. Another ice-breaker that worked for me was to submit an exercise dealing with writer's block (the 3 lists exercise) to my writer's group.
The internet is another place to contact other writers. Usenet groups like misc.writing and rec.arts.sf.composition are friendly forums for discussion of all things writing. SFF NET, the host site of these pages, has many more intimate newsgroups relating to all manner of writing, including a companion newsgroup to this page, sff.writing.writers-block.
Here are 5 exercises I've found helpful. The first two come from Victoria Nelson's wonderful book On Writer's Block and are helpful for sorting out the whys of your block and pointing you toward a way out. The second two come from Ann Lamott's equally wonderful book Bird By Bird and are a fun and gentle way to get yourself back into the writing habit when you feel you're ready. The last is from a friend of mine, and should be treated like the game it is.
1. Self-dialogue
The purpose of the self-dialogue is to better understand the part of you that creates so that you can better harmonize your writing goals with your creative process (i.e. - so you're not always kicking yourself and making yourself too miserable to write). You can label this creating part of yourself any way you want: creative unconscious, id, muse, inner child, right brain, Bob Watson from Arkansas -- whatever feels right to you. My personal pet name for it is the 'undermind' (kind of an unintentional, ironic pun, actually -- but that's another web page). Here's what you do:
Start a spontaneous and free-form dialogue between your conscious self ("I") and your unconscious creative self. Give your creative self a separate identity, even a name or let the name come out of the dialogue. You can do the dialogue any way that's free-flowing and comfortable -- writing, tape recording, on the computer -- but you want to express it some way and also have a record of it afterward. After you've finished your dialogue, sit down and describe the personalities of the two speakers and the tone of the conversation. Two friends chatting? Mortal enemies baring teeth? You get the idea.
Identifying the areas of conflict and harmony between the "I" person and the creative self could give you some insight into where your problem may lie.
[It may also lead to years of therapy, but hey, we're doing this for *art*. -- peanut gallery/web designer]
2. 3 lists
The purpose of this exercise is to try to get a handle on what is at the root of the block:
Think of a project you have been struggling to write, with no success. Make a list of thoughts about the project, beginning each item on the list in the following manner: I ought to write X because...
Now write a new list: I refuse to write X because...
"Your second list of reasons may be more powerful that your first. Can you learn to value your refusals consciously as much as you do unconsciously -- that is, take them seriously enough to act on them instead of trying to steamroller over them?"
Now write a third list: I would love to write Y...
"List everything your would feel eager and enthusiastic about starting, no matter how trivial or silly your ego judges them to be." Victoria Nelson goes on to recommend that you consider trying one of these items, just for the fun of it.
3. Shitty first draft
Anne Lamott's 'Bird by Bird' is not only the honest and sensible musings of a writer on craft, it's also hilariously funny. I'm just including a short paraphrase of the ideas in the chapter of the same name, but for the full amusement value, go and read the book.
The idea of the shitty first draft, is that one of the most common causes of writer's block is setting out to write something 'good'. This opens the door to all the demons of self-disparagement, self-judgment and perfectionism -- for of course, its not really enough that the work is 'good', it needs to be 'great', or really it should be 'the best, most insightful piece of prose that has ever been seen by human eyes...' which, the writer soon discovers, the piece she's working on obviously is not. Many blocked writers will recognize the self-defeating cycle of finally starting to write again, only to find themselves compulsively rewriting the opening paragraph over and over until whatever magic they found in the original idea is completely obliterated in the struggle to make it 'good'. The result? The piece is abandoned and the writer is further demoralized and blocked.
To break out of this Ann Lamott recommends simply writing a shitty first draft. Really shitty. Let it be as bad as it comes out -- clumsy word choice, incomprehensible run-on sentences, wooden dialogue and all. Even go with a poorly thought out idea and moronically improbable ending. The only rule about getting out a shitty first draft is that you finish it.
This is a hard thing for perfectionists, but remember, no one will ever see this draft. This is not the piece you will show to your writers' group or send to an editor -- the purpose of the shitty first draft is simple and twofold: It gets your idea down on paper where you can work on it and it allows you to finish something -- which goes a long way toward restoring your sense of competence as a writer.
There are variations on the shitty first draft idea. My own, after a block of about a year's duration was to write some hard-core pornography. Three reasons: 1. Good writing is not necessarily a desirable quality in whacking material so I felt no pressure to make it pretty, 2. I knew I wasn't going to publish it and it wasn't part of my career track so I had no pressure to make it 'impressive,' and, 3. It was fun and created its own motivation to finish.
4. 1" frame
Another Ann Lamott suggestion, to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed by a project that seems unfathomable, is to start out by writing just what you can see through a 1" picture frame. She even keeps a 1" frame on her desk to remind her that she doesn't have to write everything about the character or story all at one time -- just what she can see through the frame.
The 1" frame idea is a way of calming your fears about not being up to the task and allowing you to focus yourself on a do-able starting place. For instance, at this moment, you may not be up to creating an entire new planet, complete with history, ecology and a complex alien society, but you might be able to write a paragraph describing one particular alien eating what looks like a lizard kebab on a street corner one particular rainy afternoon.
5. Improvisation
This last suggestion came from a friend of mine. She's a fan of improvisational comedy and decided to try applying it to writer's block. Here's the game:
Have a friend give you three random words, then use those words in any way, shape, or form. Write a vignette. A poem. A novel. Use the past participle of the word. Use the poetic concept that means nothing to anyone but yourself. Go nuts.
The idea is to shake loose parts of your brain you weren't even considering using for fiction, without the pressure of coming up with a premise or concept, and it can produce some surprising results.