… of Strategies to Overcome 'Writer's Block'.

To be a good writer – you have to write. Just write. Sounds trite. Just write … a simple enough instruction to any aspiring writer. But when the words are not coalescing into coherent thoughts and refusing to transition from your noggin … one ends up sitting in front of a blank screen for hours on end, just staring at that stupid blinking cursor. That fucking cursor is mocking me. Daring my fingers to start poking away at the keyboard so that little fucker can dance across the page. It becomes a battle of wills – fingers versus thoughts! The fingers hover, ready to peck away but the thoughts refuse to form into some coherent stream. But that cursor remains relentless, persistently mocking me and the longer I stare at it … shit how long has it been? Three minutes of a mushy thought process and it still feels like I am wading through muddy waters. This could be just plain, old, run of the mill procrastination. I am in the middle of a full blown discussion, in my head, on why no firm ideas are quickly coming to mind. I really should concentrate on the writing rather than giving more life to this internal debate. I need to focus on that rather dim idea beginning to form on the periphery of my imagination. This is a good idea,  as every time I turn my attention towards those ideas, the closer I reach to getting this piece writing.

It is always a toss up between action and procrastination. There is hope, yet, as I start taking these baby steps towards starting to actually write this piece. Each small step towards settling on a specific idea is some progress towards getting this piece writing. I mean, the longer I sit here cogitating and not actually writing – the more frustrated I get. The more frustrated I get, the fuzzier the ideas get, and the longer I just stare at that cursor. Its an infinite loop and, if I am not careful, I will no sooner find myself up to my neck in the murky waters of self doubt and most certainly being silted to the gills. That image really encapsulates the whole writing process, does it not? That is the whole process - from ideation to proofing the final draft. It starts with the simple choosing of one idea from the many buzzing around your noggin and running with it to its natural death. One idea – even if half baked - will spawn other ideas and before long pages will be filling with ideas. A good writer should be comfortable and free enough, while developing a specific idea, to head off at a tangent and chase another idea. However, the secret to good writing, just as in a good conversation, lays in the ability to smoothly return to the original idea. So, be bold and never hesitate to wade into the murky recesses of your mind. Make that little blinker run across the screen. Type one word, type another, then the next, then a fourth, before long it seems like you are playing a game of word associations but the page is filling with words. Eventually these words coalesce into groups and become ideas that will form and organize into the semblance of a comprehensible line of thinking. You, as a writer, will have to tinker with that semblance to ensure that it flows and makes sense to your reader.

However, the question remains is there a surefire way of curing instances of 'writer's block'? There will be times when your mind just stubbornly refuses to engage. This is always a quandary for an otherwise eloquent, loquacious, logophile with a tendency to be sesquipedalian (that just means a well-spoken lover of words who enjoys using long words). There is a myriad of advice and college courses on how to become a competent writer but never on how to overcome the debilitating malaise of 'writer's block'. What strategies or techniques are available to a writer of any skill level to defeat the mental hesitancy or reticence to quickly formulate a concept to write around. It usually strikes at the top of the writing process – what should be the rather simple task of ideation becomes an arduous process until you are stuck counting how many times that cursor is going to blink before you peck out that first word ( 237 times :) It goes without saying that a good writer should not only have a broad and well developed vocabulary, but an awareness of some basic writing conventions. You know little things like noun and verb agreement; and knowing the definitions and proper use of small words. It's always the meaning and use of small words that causes the most confusion! My personal pet peeves are writers that do not know the difference between the contraction “you're” and the possessive “your”; and, seem to be unaware that “there, they're, and their” are three distinct words with different meanings and uses. Let me obviate that silly question – a dictionary is a good starting point and it goes without saying that a good writer will undoubtedly be also a voracious reader, too. A good writer should invest the time and effort to become competent in the minutiae of the mechanics of the language. A simple trick is to read your writing out loud – if it does not read out smoothly, that is usually a very good indicator that either your ideas are still half baked or your mechanics are off. These issues are easy to correct with practice and the help of a (friendly) proofreader.

However, there remains a fundamental difference amongst the major stops, to the creative process, of laziness, procrastination, and 'writer's block'. These are three of the worst stumbling blocks to the writing process. The most enervating remains the 'writer's block', as it is the most difficult to overcome. The first two are easy to define and can easily be overcome by sheer bloody mindedness, dogged determination, and by establishing firm deadlines. However, the third – writer's block – is always not only difficult to define, but is a tough cookie to crack. Some writers set aside a definitive period and time to write – an hour every morning, an hour every night, or every morning until I write a certain number of words. Or, you could just write whenever an idea hits you with the stipulation of writing a certain number of words each day, or every couple of days. Remember to choose the strategy that works best for you as this it might be enough to keep the creative juices flowing regularly. A scheduled time to write is a technique that works for some. If the muse refuses to be fed, are there any other ways to start the writing process?

A story is told (usually at graduations) of a sign post at the start of a gravel road. The sign warns travelers to carefully choose a specific rut as they will be stuck in it for the next 20 miles until they reach the next town. It is a neat metaphor that succinctly illustrates the importance of carefully selecting one's career as it will be the focus of most of the rest of one's life. It is also applicable to the writing process as you do not want to start writing about pixies only to lose interest a hundred words into your piece. Unfortunately, if one has identified writing as a chosen pursuit and runs into a mental stop or a simple 'stuck' in their creative process – navigating out of that rut can be even more mentally taxing. The following are various strategies to kick-start the creative process to writing: the word association strategy; the steam of consciousness writing; the observational technique; and the delayed observational technique in which an idea or issue is allowed to bubble and fester in a writer's subconscious for a few days before it is finally, fully formulated and given voice on a page. I usually reserve the last technique for issues that really piss me off and need me to calm down before I put pen to paper (so to speak). Ok, fine - before fingers start tapping keyboard.

The word association strategy is basically to write about the first fully formed idea that comes to mind. It starts by simply typing words onto the screen. As described earlier – one just starts typing the words that come to mind. The very mechanical act of typing words on the page should be sufficient to get the creative juices flowing and for writing to begin. The words should point to an idea or an issue which will be the impetus for a full treatment. This technique works best for writers that either have read or have been exposed to a wide variety of subjects.

The stream of consciousness writing can either be fun or disastrous. This is usually a fun approach to writing as it allows a writer to explore ideas that they enjoy and things with which they are also intimately familiar. This is a personal observation, but this strategy has the palpable downside in that its success could be dependent on the writer's emotional state. If a writer is in a dark or funky mood, then, stream of consciousness could be a disastrous - if not futile exercise. If the writer is incapable of navigating past the source of the bad mood. This style of writing could also be affected by a writer's comfort in exploring the ideas that might emanate from the obscure corners of one's mind. If one is so inclined, it is possible to find and wallow in a dark mood if it helps ignite the writing process. The use of a dark mood as a creative force can be a good source of inspiration if a writer is capable of easily confronting their demons. (Think Lewis Black.) This is an easy technique to employ, usually with pleasant results. It's even more fun when used during emotionally high or emotionally intense times, and could lead to some surprising results. Fall in love – go write a few thousand words. Use that post coital euphoria to write a few thousand words as the creative juices flow easier and faster when there is no energy being expended on trying to straighten outpoints in one's outlook and reality.

If, both the word association and stream of consciousness techniques fail to sufficiently motivate the writing of a piece (post?:)); then, the observational strategies seem to be the best ways to start the juices flowing. The observational technique is just as it implies – one observes occurrences in one's universe and simply writes about them. A writer has two choices in writing observational pieces: either to simply fill the page by answering the journalistic five Ws (What, When, Where, Who, Why or hoW) or to opine about a specific occurrence. Both choices will allow for the writer's personality and style to shine through in how the writer develops the piece and is able to draw in the reader. The delayed observational technique, on the other hand, is closely related to the dark mood stream of consciousness writing, with the only exception being that a writer delays the writing process until after the writer has holistically considered an idea or an issue. The issue is allowed to ferment at the back of the writer's mind until its full maturation – then, the piece is written. The dark mood stream tends to spit out ideas in an angry, dark, funky motif while the delayed observation tends to have the benefits of a balanced approach.

Writing, much like reading, is a solitary pursuit but if done well can be a source of great enjoyment. We are able to have great conversations and share ideas with writers from past epochs, from different cultures, and writings from speakers of other languages. Even though it still sounds glib – the real trick to writing is to write. Write often, write regularly, and Have fun always!!

Today's thought is from the poet Theodore Roethke (1908 -1963): May my silences become more accurate.

Have fun always!!
***Addendum (06/19/13): I watched the movie "Finding Forrester" over this past weekend. FF tells the story of an unlikely bond that develops between an inner city kid (Rob Brown) and a reclusive author (Sean Connery). It explores all aspects of writing; the reasons why we write, how to write, how to edit and refine written pieces, and how to appreciate writing - READ :). It also considers the debilitating effects of prejudice - real and imagined. I recommend that all aspiring, serious writers watch it. Have fun always!! -TTJ