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Neil Pavitt

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Neil Pavitt One of the worst and most damaging things is calling it writer’s, or creative, block. If it is a “block” it makes it a thing; it gives it power. Reall…moreOne of the worst and most damaging things is calling it writer’s, or creative, block. If it is a “block” it makes it a thing; it gives it power. Really, it is about feeling blocked and it is something you need to work through.

Also, by calling your mental struggle creative block, it lets you off the hook. It’s not about you: it’s about the block. It’s something that stands in your way like a huge wall. But it’s not. It’s not a thing and it’s not a condition, it’s all in your mind and you just have to work through it.

Feeling blocked can feel very different depending at what stage you are in your project.

At the start it’s about looking for an idea. It’s always better to sit down with an idea, and then you don’t have to fear the blank sheet of paper and can get started straight away. It also helps if your ideas have been maturing in your head for a little while. It’s much easier when the ideas are fighting to get out rather than you having to go in search for them.

The filmmaker Werner Herzog says, “The problem isn’t coming up with ideas, it is how to contain the invasion. My ideas are like uninvited guests. They don’t knock on the door; they climb in through the windows like burglars who show up in the middle of the night and make a racket in the kitchen as they raid the fridge. I don’t sit and ponder which one I should deal with first. The one to be wrestled to the floor before all others is the one coming at me with the most vehemence.”

Once you’ve got an idea you need to just dive into getting it down on paper and don’t worry about the quality of the writing. If you start writing straight away you’ll engage the mind much quicker and it’ll get easier and easier as the minutes pass.

The trouble is, if you spend too much time just sitting there staring at the blank piece of paper/screen, your mind will get restless and procrastination will take over. You’ve got emails to read, pencils to sharpen. If you let your mind distract you from writing, it’ll just be harder the next time you try to start writing again.

If you're in the middle of a writing project and you don’t know where to go. It’s like walking through a forest and suddenly finding yourself back where you were five minutes ago. It can be very dispiriting. The thing is you should be proud of how far you have managed to come.

You will find an answer – you just need to keep thinking and not get too stressed. You need to think about the problem for a while, but then take a break and keep it on the back burner. If your unconscious can see that your conscious mind is really desperate for a solution, it’ll put its full processing power behind solving it.

The thing with being blocked is it’s all mental. If you fear it, you give it power. You’ll feel totally lost and dispirited. Have faith and keep gently persevering and embrace being blocked. Because when your unconscious offers up a solution, it will have been worth waiting for.

When I’ve been writing the chapters of 'Brainhack', I’ll often move on to a new one before I’ve finished a previous one. I’ll then come back to the first one a day later and it’s suddenly a lot clearer what I need to do to finish it.
The main thing to remember is: feeling blocked is all in the mind.

If you’re about to start something, just dive in and don’t give your thoughts room to start to play mind games with you. If you’re in the middle and feeling blocked, don’t get stressed. Just keep thinking about the problem and your unconscious will eventually come to your rescue

From Chapter 37 from my book Brainhack(less)

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Neil Pavitt The satisfaction of being stuck and then sticking at it and getting it to work as an idea.

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Neil Pavitt’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 159 ratings · 20 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Brainhack: Tips and Tricks to Unleash Your Brain's Full Potential 3.83 avg rating — 154 ratings — published 2016 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How To Be Creative: Demystifying the creative Process 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Neil is Currently Reading

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Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity

by Lawrence Lessig

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Feb 17, 2013 12:11AM

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Kidnapped

by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Feb 17, 2013 12:08AM

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The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 1: The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford

by Philip K. Dick

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Feb 16, 2013 12:14PM

Quotes by Neil Pavitt (?)

“When Quentin Tarantino was asked if he went to film school, he said, ‘No, I went to films’.”
― Neil Pavitt, How To Be Creative: Demystifying the creative Process

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“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso Venn”
― Neil Pavitt, How To Be Creative: Demystifying the creative Process

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“If you can break your routine, you also break certain cognitive patterns.”
― Neil Pavitt, How To Be Creative: Demystifying the creative Process

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