There’s no such thing as writer’s block. At least, that’s what Neil Gaiman and some writers say.
I don’t really believe in writer’s block, but I absolutely believe in getting stuck…The difference is one is imposed on you by the gods, and one is your own d*mn fault.” (Neil Gaiman, The Huffington Post)
I agree with him, in a way. But I also believe it’s all just a play of words because whether you call it ‘writer’s block’ or ‘writer getting stuck’, it’s all the same banana. It’s a temporary obstacle writers face, something most writers go through at least once in their lives. That makes it real. It exists because it happens and is experienced.
A writer acknowledging he has a temporary writing problem does not necessarily make him lazy. The only question is, what must a writer do to not get stuck for long?
Of course, the best and most correct answer would be to continue writing. Unfortunately, not all writers are the same when it comes to how they get stuck and how they try to ease out of it. So I thought it would be fun to know what weird or unique ways writers do to battle the block. I made use of my new bestfriend, Quora, and posted this question:
“How do you personally deal with writer’s block?”
And then we have Adam J. Taylor, writer and a whole lot of other things–Sherlockian, Fannibal, TFOL, Partial Whovian, etc.
There were more answers shared that I’m not able to post here. How about you, how do you go around the writer’s block? Please feel free to share!
If you are curious about what the others had to say, you can find the whole Q&A page HERE.
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Well, I’m glad you’re back here from last time, or if this is your first time here, welcome, friends! Come back again tomorrow, alright? In fact, come back every weekday and on Saturdays this whole month of April (and maybe I’ll post stuff on Sundays, too) 😉
This piece serves as my Letter B post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.
I like the idea of changing the format. I rarely get stuck when I’m writing, mostly because I’ll just drive the whole story right off the tracks if need be and come back later on. Kind of like going back to the last save point in a video game. Anything I did after that just never happened… unless its something truly crazy… then Ill save it for something else.
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If it works best for you, why not? Based on the answers, people really have different approaches to dealing with it, and I think that’s because they’ve tried other solutions which haven’t worked well for them.
What I’m really not good at is free writing because I kind of have this tendency to keep going back to what I’ve just written to make sure I did it right.
Thanks for your input!!!
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When I’m stuck, I post a picture and write a few words – a picture speaks a thousand words. Thanks for dropping by my blog.
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Null problemo, Miss Suzy! And thanks for the input. That’s a good way to do it, for sure.
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I’m ALWAYS inspired by word/picture prompts.
Just give me a word or picture, and away I go! Free writing works for me!
Thanks for this detailed post and also for being a regular visitor to my blog. Much appreciated! 🙂
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Thanking you back 🙂
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Writer’s block is more about self-doubt than anything else. At least that’s what I’ve learnt over time. 🙂 Sometimes, it’s just freewriting or writing by hand or taking a break to help overcome the hump.
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I’m not so good with freewriting as I tend to edit myself a lot while in the process of writing (bad, bad habit!). I do write by hand at times.
Thanks for the visit and the input, Sanch!!! 🙂
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Knock on wood I have not had this issue. Instead I have more ideas and flashes than I can managed to jot down for when I have time. Not sure when that will be, but I do write everyday and maybe that also helps. Keeping this bookmarked just in case.
Thanks,
You can find me at: https://johawkthewriter.com/2017/04/03/a-to-z-challenge-b-is-for-benevolent/
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Yes, knock on wood! And I feel ya about getting ideas and flashes from time to time and just jotting them down.
Thanks for reading and the comment!!! 🙂
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I haven’t had writers block for a long time, but when it does decide to try and attack me, I generally just surround myself with creativity and my writing starts flowing again.
You can visit my “B” post here: https://lydiahowe.com/2017/04/03/b-is-for-backstory-atozchallenge/
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I so like your answer!!! Thanks for visiting and sharing your answer 🙂
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Great ideas. I really need to work on the first part of it, just getting my butt in the chair everyday. I need to prioritize writing. But it’s hard because… responsibilities, adulting. Ugh.
Doree Weller
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“Adulting”. LOL. I feel ya.
Thanks for visiting! 🙂
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Lots of good advice here and I’ll return to read more of it. If I’m stuck, what works best is to just get away from it for awhile and do something else. It clears the mind and I come back refreshed.
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That’s what I do, too, and some of the writers who responded to the question 🙂
Thanks, Debbie.
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Great advice.
Melissa @ My Creatively Random Life
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Thanks, Melissa.
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There is a wealth of great advice here… thanks so much for compiling all of this!
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My pleasure, John. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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I’ve never acted out my scenes! But this seems like a fun way to get around the writer’s block. Some great advice here! Thanks!
Aditi
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You’re super welcome. And thanks for the visit 🙂
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