{"id":162,"date":"2020-04-28T11:49:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T11:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/?p=162"},"modified":"2020-04-28T11:51:21","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T11:51:21","slug":"writers-block-how-to-clear-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/writers-block-how-to-clear-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer’s Block & How to clear it."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start with, what is writer’s block?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I just sat down to write this post, and now I can’t think of a single darn thing to say. Oh well, I’m outta here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if this particular situation doesn’t sound familiar to you, we’ve all experienced the phenomenon of absolutely intending to sit down and write something, usually driven by a work project, school assignment, or personal-deadline that we have imposed upon ourself, when! Uh, I can’t think of what the word is. . . oh, yes, it’s on the tip of my tongue . . . it’s:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WRITER’S BLOCK!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whew! I feel so much better just getting that out of my head
and onto the page!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer’s block is the patron demon of the blank page.
You may think you know EXACTLY what you’re going to
write, but as soon as that evil white screen appears before you, your mind suddenly goes completely blank. And I’m not just talking about the Zen meditation stare-at-the-wall-until-enlightenment-hits kind of blankness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m talking about sweat trickling down the back of your neck, anguish, panic, and suffering that takes hold of you so tight until the closer the deadline, self-imposed or otherwise, the worse the anguish of writer’s block gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having said that, let me say it again. “The tighter the deadline, the worse the anguish of writer’s block gets.” Now, can you figure out what might possibly be the cause of this horrible plunge into speechlessness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is obvious: FEAR! You are terrified of that blank page. You are terrified that you have absolutely nothing of value to say. You are afraid of the fear of writer’s block itself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve done a decade of research and all you have to do is string sentences you can repeat in your sleep together into coherent paragraphs. Writer’s block can strike anyone at any time. Based in fear, it raises our doubts about our own self-worth, but it’s sneaky. It’s writer’s block, after all, so it doesn’t just come and let you know that. No, it makes you feel like an idiot who just had your frontal lobes removed through your sinuses. If you dared to put forth words into the greater world, they would surely come out as gibberish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s try and be rational with this irrational demon. Let’s make a list of what might possibly be beneath this terrible and terrifying condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Perfectionism. You must absolutely produce a masterpiece of literature with your first draft. Otherwise, you qualify as a complete failure.<\/li>
  2. Editing instead of composing with writer’s block seated firmly on your shoulder, yelling as soon as you type “I was born?,” no, not that, that’s wrong! That’s stupid! Fix it, fix it, fix it!<\/li>
  3. Self-consciousness. How can you think, let alone write, when all you can manage to do is pry the fingers of writer’s block away from your throat enough so you can gasp in a few shallow breaths? You’re not focusing on what you’re trying to write, you’re focusing on those gnarly fingers around your windpipe.<\/li>
  4. Can’t get started. It’s always the first sentence that’s the hardest. As writers, we all know how EXTREMELY important the first sentence is. It must be brilliant! It must be unique! It must hook your reader’s from the start! There’s no way we can get into writing the piece until we get past this impossible first sentence.<\/li>
  5. Shattered concentration. You’re cat is sick. You
    suspect your mate is cheating on you. Your electricity
    might be turned off any second. You have a crush on
    the local UPS deliveryman. You have a dinner party
    planned for your in-laws. You . . . Need I say more.
    How can you possibly concentrate with all this mental
    clutter?<\/li>
  6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite hobby. It’s
    your soul mate. It?s the reason you’ve knitted 60
    argyle sweaters or made 300 bookcases in your garage
    workshop. It’s the reason you never run out of Brie.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    FACE IT ? IT?S ONE OF THE REASONS YOU HAVE WRITER’S
    \nBLOCK!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Overcome Writer’s Block<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Okay. I can hear that herd of you running away from
    \nthis article as fast as you can. Absurd! you huff.
    \nNever in a million years, you fume. Writer’s block is
    \nabsolutely, undeniably, scientifically proven to be
    \nimpossible to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oh, just get over it! Well, I guess it’s not that
    \neasy. So try to sit down for just a few minutes and
    \nlisten. All you have to do is listen ? you don’t have
    \nto actually write a single word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ah, there you all are again. I am beginning to make
    \nyou out now that the cloud of dust is settling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I am here to tell you that WRITER’S BLOCK CAN BE
    \nOVERCOME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Please, remain seated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are ways to trick this nasty demon. Pick one,
    \npick several, and give them a try. Soon, before you
    \neven have a chance for your heartbeat to accelerate,
    \nguess what? You’re writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some tried and true methods of overcoming
    \nwriter’s block:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Be prepared. The only thing to fear is fear itself.
      \n(I know, that’s a clich?but as soon as you start
      \nwriting, feel free to improve on it.) If you spend
      \nsome time mulling over your project before you
      \nactually sit down to write, you may be able to
      \ncircumvent the worst of the crippling panic.<\/li>
    2. Forget perfectionism. No one ever writes a
      \nmasterpiece in the first draft. Don’t put any
      \nexpectations on your writing at all! In fact, tell
      \nyourself you’re going to write absolute garbage, and
      \nthen give yourself permission to happily stink up your
      \nwriting room.<\/li>
    3. Compose instead of editing. Never, never write your
      \nfirst draft with your monkey-mind sitting on your
      \nshoulder making snide editorial comments. Composing is
      \na magical process. It surpasses the conscious mind by
      \ngalaxies. It’s even incomprehensible to the conscious,
      \neditorial, monkey-mind. So prepare an ambush. Sit down
      \nat your computer or your desk. Take a deep breath and
      \nblow out all your thoughts. Let your finger hover over
      \nyour keyboard or pick up your pen. And then pull a
      \nfake: appear to be about to begin to write, but
      \ninstead, using your thumb and index finger of your
      \ndominant hand, flick that little annoying ugly monkey
      \nback into the barrel of laughs it came from. Then jump
      \nin ? quickly! Write, scribble, scream, howl, let
      \neverything loose, as long as you do it with a pen or
      \nyour computer keyboard.<\/li>
    4. Forget the first sentence. You can sweat over that
      \nall-important one-liner when you’ve finished your
      \npiece. Skip it! Go for the middle or even the end.
      \nStart wherever you can. Chances are, when you read it
      \nover, the first line will be blinking its little neon
      \nlights right at you from the depths of your
      \ncomposition.<\/li>
    5. Concentration. This is a hard one. Life throws us
      \nso many curve balls. How about thinking about your
      \nwriting time as a little vacation from all those
      \nannoying worries. Banish them! Create a space, perhaps
      \neven a physical one, where nothing exists except the
      \nsingle present moment. If one of those irritating
      \nworries gets by you, stomp on it like you would an
      \nugly bug!<\/li>
    6. Stop procrastinating. Write an outline. Keep your
      \nresearch notes within sight. Use someone else’s
      \nwriting to get going. Babble incoherently on paper or
      \non the computer if you have to.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Just do it! (I know, I stole that line from
      \nsomewhere?). Tack up anything that could possibly help
      \nyou to get going: notes, outlines, pictures of your
      \ngrandmother. Put the cookie you will be allowed to eat
      \nwhen you finish your first draft within sight ? but
      \nout of reach. Then pick up the same type of writing
      \nthat you need to write, and read it. Then read it
      \nagain. Soon, trust me, the fear will slowly fade away.
      \nAs soon as it does, grab your keyboard ? and get
      \nwriting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Helpful hints for overcoming writer’s block.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[3],"tags":[51,50,49,28],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions\/177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/site.giftkone.com\/blog3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}