So what if I told you that writer’s block wasn’t a real thing…
I know, I know! Blasphemy, right? Being able to play the “Writer’s Block” card is one of every writer’s favorite tricks of the trade.
I don’t like to write when I don’t feel “inspired” either. I’m just not sure it’s a valid excuse for not writing—especially when my job as a professional (or a student!) is to write.
As best-selling novelist Philip Pullman put it, “I don’t believe in [writer’s block]. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working and then expects sympathy for it?”
He has a point.
Honestly, when writers—myself included—cry “Writer’s block!”, what we’re really trying to say is we haven’t done the best planning. In other words, we haven’t taken the necessary pre-writing steps to be successful when we finally do sit down to write.
Luckily, we can train ourselves to avoid writer’s block by doing four simple things:
1. Write in an environment that is conducive to writing
Every writer has the right to determine her own sacred writing space. But regardless of whether that space is a coffee shop or a hidden alcove in the library or the wooden desk in your dorm, it needs to be set apart exclusively for the act of writing. It also needs to be distraction-free. That means no distracting things (e.g., phone, T.V., social media, etc.) and also no distracting people (e.g., friends, significant others, parents, pets, or roommates). Everything you love and everyone you hold dear will still be there once you finish writing. And once you write, you’ll be able to experience all of it/them guilt-free.
2. Gather everything you need to write before sitting down to actually write
These items may include a pen or pencil, a notebook, a computer, any notes, readings, or assignment instructions, a snack, a drink… You get that idea. When we take the time to prepare our writing space for our writing sessions, we ensure that once we begin, we’re able to continue uninterrupted until we’re finished or, at least, until we’re ready to take a break.
3. Reward your progress
Stepping away from your writing when you need to is more than O.K. In fact, it’s often necessary to ultimately turn out your best product. But in order for your writing breaks to be the productive brain recharge that you need, you’ll want to build in the time to take them. You’ll also want them to be rewarding. Maybe after you write the introduction to your essay you get to spend 15 minutes obsessively refreshing your Facebook feed. Or maybe after you finish outlining your research paper, you get to binge watch the next episode in your Netflix queue. The key is to set clear goals and deadlines for yourself up front so that when you meet them, you can celebrate. And you really should—you deserve it!
4. Be real with yourself about writing
If you don’t like to write, accept this and do what you can to make peace with it. But also acknowledge that whatever you do school- or career-wise, you’re going to write in some way. You don’t have to like it, but you’re going to have to do it. And by being realistic with yourself about the days, times, and places you personally can and cannot write, you’re making a hard thing that much easier.
For example, despite being a writer and loving writing, I cannot and will not write at night. I am a morning person. When I was an undergraduate at Concordia, I would much rather wake up at 3, 4, or 5 a.m. to finish a paper than try to do any type of thinking after 9 p.m. My roommate was the exact opposite. She’d snooze her alarm for hours. But that’s because she knew that when I embraced my inner octogenarian and went to bed right after Wheel of Fortune, she’d have the entire night to herself to study, research, and to write. One approach was not better than the other. We both graduated from Concordia University Irvine having done well and on time. It was simply what worked for our different personalities. And a cultivation of such self-knowledge—both your strengths and your own limitations—will take you far in both your academic and professional lives.
So the next time you find yourself stuck when it comes to writing, take a step back and try to figure out why specifically that might be the case:
- Have you set clear goals for the writing you want to accomplish?
- Have you taken into account the assignment, as well as your own personal, deadlines?
- Have you motivated yourself with a clear reward system?
- Have you found a realistic time and an appropriate space in which to write?
- Have you brought everything you need to write with you?
- Have you rid yourself of everything that will keep you from writing?
- And if you need help figuring out the answers to any or all of these questions, do you know where to go or who to turn to?
At the Writing Studio, in addition to reviewing and discussing your writing, we’re also always happy to help you figure out the unique things that you need in order to make yourself the best writer you can be. So don’t hesitate to visit and share with us any difficulties you may be experiencing! I mean, we’re all pretty much human Drāno® when it comes to unclogging other writers’ blocks at this point.
For additional resources and tips on how to overcome the myth of writer’s block, please see this excellent handout and series of worksheets from the Writing Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.