Let’s confess. At one time or another all of us have experienced writers block. You sit at your desk, paper or computer in front of you. You feel emotionally unsettled, don’t you? You want to get started –indeed, you need to get the ball rolling. Nothing happens-except a feeling of quiet desperation.
Whether you are an experienced writer or not –and whether your status is that of ESL or are a native English writer- writers block happens to everyone. Don’t let anyone fool you. Are writers literally born with wonderful talents that transcend time and space? Not at all.
Anyone can write. It’s true. Experienced writers do not expect to get it right the first time. Writing is a process, and many people forget this. Good writing takes time and patience. Good, patient writers who take the process seriously expect to revise their texts. “Re-vision” simply means going back over your text and making sure the message you want or need to deliver is the intended one for your audience.
There’s a myth out there in which many believe that writers must spell every word and use every grammar ruler with the utmost perfection the first and only time around. Nonsense! Write and go back and check your work. Indeed, use a dictionary, thesaurus, and a handbook to check your grammar rules if you need to.
Many beginning writers tend to put too much pressure on themselves to be perfect. If you are demanding that your sentences and paragraphs be extraordinarily stylish from the start you need to relax. I read that author Joan Didion discovers her ideas as she writes. For Ms. Didion and others the activity of writing is a way of thinking and learning. “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” Later on she goes back and revises her text.
To understand why you are experiencing writers block it’s important to honestly look at what is going on in your life. We are influenced by a variety of factors impacting our individual lives. If, for example, you are experiencing financial hardships, marital challenges and other things its only natural that things that worry us will have an impact on our writing. I think it is best though not necessarily easy to honestly confront what our worries are and deal with them. Do an assessment on your circumstances.
I have good news! There are tried and true ways of becoming unstuck! That’s cause for celebration!
First, stop judging yourself. Give yourself permission to NOT criticize yourself before or even after you focus on the writing process. You’ll have more than enough time to evaluate your work during the revision phase.
Stop staring at blank pieces of paper or your computer screen. Relax. Many writers will engage in focused free-writing. That’s when you think about your topic and writer about it nonstop for ten minutes or until a fill a few pages. Bear in mind this is part of the preliminary phase of writing, not the end.
It’s been often overlooked that people tend to work best during different hours of the day or night. If you work better in the early morning as I do then budget your time for that period. If you are a night owl do the same for evenings. Try writing at different times of the day. If the mornings do not work for you then by all means shift to a different time.
When I teach speech communication courses or coach individuals on their speaking skills I often engage them in visualization activities. These are intended to motivate individuals to visualize themselves in front of an audience where all goes well. Try visualizing yourself engaged in writing. Conjure up an image of yourself in the place where you write. One writer I know adopts a persona unlike his true self. That is, he pretends to be someone else, causing him to be a bit less inhibited.
Where we write is important, too. Many writers need absolute quiet in a setting free of distractions. Yet others do their best work sitting in public places such as a state library, the neighborhood Starbucks or coffee bar of their choice. I’ll confess that I like to change from the absolute quiet of my bedroom to a public place such as a sidewalk café. In addition I’ve done some of my best work during thunderstorms and heavy rain.
A friend suggested this: in your initial drafts write about your topic as if you were writing a letter to a friend. This often results in an informal draft. But remember that you can always go back and revise your text towards a more formal tone.
Do you usually use a keyboard to write? Something I’ve done is to put the laptop away and simply handwrite using pen and paper. You can always go back, make changes and transcribe your text on your computer. Since the battery of the average laptop computer lasts up to four hours writing by hand might be your best option if your battery needs recharging.
Finally, most written material is structured to include and opening, introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. This does not mean you must start your writing process the same way. If the urge is there for you to write your first or second body paragraph then do so. Again, when you revise and format your text you can always do that later.
Below are some links with similar perspectives on writers block and the writers process. Check these links out. Good luck!
Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Kapiolani Community College, Continuing Education Arts & Sciences
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