What writer has not encountered this little monster lurking
in the dark recesses of his mind crushing all inspiration, threatening any
muse who dare approach. He is the ogre of imagination, the troll of creativity.
Whether it be the search for some new story to commit to
page, or that dreaded assault that stops you dead in the middle of a story.
Writer’s block is a curse that comes to us all.
Volumes have been written on how to overcome this onerous creature,
detailed instructions on how to slay the dragon that bars our path and
threatens our sanity.
The demon knows that the writer must write, as he must
breathe, to live. This devil will stand
above you and laugh as you struggle. Delight in your suffering, and nourish
himself on your anguish.
His victory is to watch as you surrender, quit, give up.
Here then, comes the moment of truth. Many writers might
display the white flag. But not so the author. And what is an author? A writer
who did not quit.
I am no quitter. I have published works on the market. On my hard drive, right now, I have nineteen completed
novels.
I have been spending
a lot of time editing and rewriting those unpublished works, which as we all
know is a major part of writing. However, I long to create a new world and fill
it with people and creatures. To develop new heroes, new villains and to see
them clash over stakes as high as the fate of the universe, the world, or
perhaps…love.
I sat and opened MS word, at the top I typed “Page 1”. That’s
as far as I’ve gotten.
At night I dream of a hollow tree that swallow me and I crawl
through earthen tunnels choked with roots and teaming with all manner of
horrible insects, spiders, and snakes.
Ahead of me I can see a wondrous light emanating from a magnificent
cave bedazzled with precious stones. Sights of such beauty abound within this
magical subterranean realm as to bring the most hardened man to his knees, his
eyes filling with tears as he beholds such wonders.
Somehow, I am aware of all this, and more. My desire to
reach this place is unmatched by anything in my experience. Yet―I cannot reach
it. I claw my way through the dirt, gnaw through entrapping roots, suffer the
bites of hundreds of bugs. But as I reach that marvelous cavern unseen hands
grip my ankles and drag me back into the darkness.
I awaken from this nightmare, covered in sweat, breathing
heavily, staring into the softly glowing face of my alarm clock. In my delirium
the face of that clock begins to slowly spin and to morph until it becomes the
face of an angle, perhaps my muse herself. She whispers…“Just write…just write.”
And so, that is exactly my intent. I will face that blank page
and just write. Whatever comes to mind, I will just write. In so doing I truly
believe inspiration will come to me.
Doubtless many of you have been here, confronted by the
monster. What have you done to slay the beast?
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I've encountered writer's block twice. I had my story outlined and was in the middle of writing it when everything in me just shut down. I froze in place like a rabbit. So, I took a workshop on it and found some interesting things about writer's block and its cause. I also found a way to get out of it which has proven helpful to me ever since.
ReplyDeleteI know Hemingway thought writer's block was just the writer being lazy, but that is a demeaning idea and not true. Writer's block is about our fears, mine being the feeling of not being good enough.
The instructor in the class I took had us set a timer for 10 minutes and in that time we were to write about anything we wanted without worrying over punctuation or grammar. For some reason, maybe just moving away from the procrastination I get into with writer's block, that little exercise shakes things loose for me.
This was such a wonderful post, Mike, because it's something we all get into and your way of writing about it in a humorous way helps us take a step back from our anxiety about writer's block. I think it's a good idea to take a deep breath and look at "the little monster" from a different perspective. Thank you for that, Mike.
Thank you, Sarah. I agree with you, a lot of the block is a result of feelings of inadequacy, fear you're not as good as your false confidence.
ReplyDeleteI read a little blurb on FB a short time ago, it went something like, "When you start to feel your plot line is too weak or your writing is not good enough, remember, someone made a fortune with a story about sharks in a tornado!"
Now that is some powerful perspective!
Oh, and you're right about Hemingway, too. ;)
Lovely article, Michael. The beast wakes me too, and I force myself to get up, face the computer and start writing. "Writing what?" says the nasty little voice in my head. "You have nothing to say." But I forced myself to start, and it works! Well...sometimes it does. And, by the way, I also have those many unpublished works kicking around (although not as many as nineteen.) I must admit, some are fairly awful. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteYes, the beast can say some mighty nasty things to keep you down. It's sometimes hard not to listen. But you have to make up your mind going in that the beast's nast words and self doubt will not become an obstacle. Just remember the immortal words of Gandalf the Gray, "Why are your not writing...right now?"
DeleteI'm sorry, the above comment was my own. Seems the beast hid my profile...even from me! ;)
Delete