Ask the Author: Deborah Biancotti
Answered Questions (2)
Deborah Biancotti
Yikes, I really hate this question!
Mainly because I pursued a lot of writing advice when I was starting out. A LOT. I went to a lot of workshops and I talked to a lot of writers, and what I discovered was that there is a different answer to this question from almost EVERY SINGLE WRITER. It can be pretty confusing to be told to 'write every day' and 'be passionate' at the same time (er, hello, only insane people can be passionate every single day). Or to 'write for two hours in the morning' when you're a definite night owl (unless you want to write for 2 hours after midnight, which totally counts). Or 'write what you know' versus 'use your imagination'. Gah!
So I would say: write. Don't stop writing. Write as often as you can. Write whatever format that interests you, but make sure you WRITE.
The only thing writers have in common is that they write. The how and why and when and where, that's all up to you.
Mainly because I pursued a lot of writing advice when I was starting out. A LOT. I went to a lot of workshops and I talked to a lot of writers, and what I discovered was that there is a different answer to this question from almost EVERY SINGLE WRITER. It can be pretty confusing to be told to 'write every day' and 'be passionate' at the same time (er, hello, only insane people can be passionate every single day). Or to 'write for two hours in the morning' when you're a definite night owl (unless you want to write for 2 hours after midnight, which totally counts). Or 'write what you know' versus 'use your imagination'. Gah!
So I would say: write. Don't stop writing. Write as often as you can. Write whatever format that interests you, but make sure you WRITE.
The only thing writers have in common is that they write. The how and why and when and where, that's all up to you.
Deborah Biancotti
Hmm, that's an interesting question.
Writer's block seems to take many forms. For me, it's usually a feeling that I've stalled on some particular decision that needs to be made before I can move forward.
I then often end up in a spiral of frustration, becoming more and more intimidated by the decision, and then less and less able to make it! My thoughts become a swirl of chaos.
This decision might be something big, like 'which story do I tackle next?'. Or it might be much smaller and more specific. 'What happens next in this particular story I'm working on?', say. Both of these decisions have occasionally left me frozen in my tracks.
For both those types of decisions, I find it helps to actively pursue something else for a while. Usually something active. Like: take a day (or a week) to go to yoga classes, or knit a sock, or run errands that take you out of the house and into the world. Or catch up with a friend. All of these activities take me out of my own chaos and keep me busy while my subconscious works on the problem.
Other people suggest a more passive approach: sit with the story until the answer arrives. I can't bear that kind of passivity! It just adds to my frustration.
For other people, though, writer's block is a form of burnout. I collected some really interesting writer comments on burnout over on my blog:
http://deborahbiancotti.net/blog/blog...
Thanks for the question! May you never experience writer's block. :)
Writer's block seems to take many forms. For me, it's usually a feeling that I've stalled on some particular decision that needs to be made before I can move forward.
I then often end up in a spiral of frustration, becoming more and more intimidated by the decision, and then less and less able to make it! My thoughts become a swirl of chaos.
This decision might be something big, like 'which story do I tackle next?'. Or it might be much smaller and more specific. 'What happens next in this particular story I'm working on?', say. Both of these decisions have occasionally left me frozen in my tracks.
For both those types of decisions, I find it helps to actively pursue something else for a while. Usually something active. Like: take a day (or a week) to go to yoga classes, or knit a sock, or run errands that take you out of the house and into the world. Or catch up with a friend. All of these activities take me out of my own chaos and keep me busy while my subconscious works on the problem.
Other people suggest a more passive approach: sit with the story until the answer arrives. I can't bear that kind of passivity! It just adds to my frustration.
For other people, though, writer's block is a form of burnout. I collected some really interesting writer comments on burnout over on my blog:
http://deborahbiancotti.net/blog/blog...
Thanks for the question! May you never experience writer's block. :)
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