How Do You Write – Writer’s Block

Jun 04, 2010 | Comments Off | @andrewmarcec

“It’s a fact, sure as day follows night, sure as eggs is eggs, sure as every odd-numbered Star Trek movie is shit.”

-Simon Pegg

Now I know that Simon here isn’t really referring to writers block per se, but I find that the quote works very well for this post.  A writer’s most lethal and deadly enemy is the dreaded curse of writer’s block, and you will get it.

No this isn’t a disease we catch, and you can’t diagnose it by looking at someone.  Writer’s block is an incredibly frustrating thing that nobody other than a writer can possibly come to understand.  It torment’s us through the day, it causes us to lose sleep at night, and the worst is it can bring on an apathetic mindset.

There is no way to prevent it, and you might not even realize you have it right away.  The only good defense against it, is a good offense.

I can speak from the heart on this, I recently did battle with this heinous syndrome a few weeks back as I worked on the latest episode of Oasis.  While I was working on the newest episode (due sometime soon), I just couldn’t think straight.  I had all of my ideas mapped out, knew where I wanted the story to go, but just couldn’t figure out how to get there for the life of me.

Many people will try their best to give helpful insight, saying things like “well, if you have it all mapped out just feel your way through it as you write and you’ll get there”, or something along the lines of, “it’s all in your head, so get out of it”.

However, though all advice is always welcome and appreciated, none of it is that simple.

As all writers know, we pretty much know the ins and outs of our stories before we sit down to write, but these ins and outs aren’t as detailed as one would like to believe.  These insights are more like glorified bullet points that we have really flushed out.  Once we have that flushed out bullet point, we then mold the story around that, adding dialogue, description, and action.

So where does the block come in?

It’s subtle, maybe you have a day where nothing seems to fit, as corny as it sounds, you just can’t find the right words to convey what you are looking for.  Maybe you spend the time you allot yourself for writing starting at a blank page, watching your cursor blink for an hour.  It sounds cinematic, but it really happens, sometimes you just can’t get words on the page.  Before you know it, a week as passed and that same blank page is glaring at you, or you re-read your third draft and realize you need to scrap and start a fourth.

Writing is a tedious process, it’s different from drawing a picture, or making a movie, or cooking a meal.  The time slot you want to hit for page count, word count, or deadlines will indefinitely end up varying.  You can’t put your story on 400 degrees and cook for 25 minutes and be done, I wish I could tell you all it was that simple, but it isn’t.

So how do you combat writers block?

Exercise – That’s right all you couch potatoes, you gotta get off your butt and get moving.  Getting that blood pumping through you, and having those endorphins release is a phenomenal way to take your mind off of the pressure you’re putting on yourself and just settle.

I recently started training for a marathon.  Which marathon?  I have no clue, but I’m doing one.  I’m about a month into my training, and I find on my off days from running (Monday and Friday) I have a substantially harder time getting not only motivated to write, but I find I have to force things sometimes.  Words don’t sound right in context and I hit that backspace key way more than I should.

After working out, I have a clear head.  All the stress from my day job is gone, and any stress from my personal life is put to the back of my mind.  So I have total focus on my work.

Now I say working out because I want people to pick and choose what works best for them.  You can run, walk, lift weights, anything so long as you’re moving.  I personally use my lunch hour at work to hit the gym and lift weights, then run immediately when I get home.

Showers- These are not just for getting clean people!  When you’re feeling your mind come to a strained halt get the steam room going and hop in!  The scents from the shower, and the hot steam will relax you, and the repetitive motions you make while cleaning yourself might just take your mind off of its grinding for a few moments and give you some great insight!

Sleep- Now I’m not saying take a nap.  I’m saying lay down and close your eyes, keep a clear mind and wait for that moment when you are just on the cusp of sleep.  You know that feeling, when your body feels like it is rocking back and forth on a boat, and your mind is racing through odd dreamlike images.  Once you feel this urge come on, go with it and then wake up and think about those dreams you had.  You’ll be surprised.

I’m plagued with nightmares, seriously, I have more nightmares than anyone I’ve ever met, but I welcome them because that’s how a lot of my stories get formed.

Those are just a few of the things that I do to keep  on the right track.  I’ve found that they work pretty well, they helped pull me from my writers block, and honestly I’m feeling very confident about this newest episode that will be released.  It was a rough month for me with the block, some family stuff, and then busy weekends, but I’ll get there.  So if you’re in the same boat as me, don’t get discouraged, get proactive!

What ways do you battle writer’s block?

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