A representation of writer’s block by Leonid Pasternak (1862–1945)

To be honest, I was struggling with what to write about for this week’s blog post. The obvious answer would be to write about either reading or writing. But my reading life has been quiet. I’ve been working on Sellout by Dan Ozzi on the nonfiction front, and I’m looking forward to reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which is more than inline with my Dark Academia wardrobe and aesthetic I’m developing. And unfortunately, there’s not much to report about my writing life. I received ANOTHER rejection from an agent and haven’t done much writing at all to speak of.

I could blame the lack of writing on the start of another school year, but I wasn’t writing in the summer. I could excuse my lack of productivity with the traveling and family emergency, but that would just be an excuse.

It’s like the Universe read my mind and I stumbled across this article by Andy Weir. It’s aptly titled, “4 Reasons You’re Procrastinating Instead of Writing.”

Andy Weir wrote The Martian, which went on to become a box office success starring Matt Damon. He’s somewhat of a self-made writer, gaining notoriety through self-publishing before being approached by agent. For me, that makes him an entirely reliable source. And as the title suggests, he offers up four reasons why the words might not be coming.

1. You don’t know which story to pick

Some writers, myself included, have a lot of ideas they love bouncing around their skulls, and that can make it hard to pick one and start developing a draft.

Weir’s Solution: “Write the first chapter of each story. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a better appreciation of which one you like the most. And if you finish Chapter 1 on one of them and really don’t want to stop, then there’s your answer.”

I don’t think this is my problem. My current work-in-progress has nearly 32,000 words. I’m not afraid to commit to this draft.

2. Stories are always more awesome in your head than on paper

What Weir’s really talking about here is self-doubt, which is a topic I’ve covered extensively on this blog. Words don’t go on the page because the writer thinks the words will be terrible, awful, very bad, etc.

Weir’s Solution: “Ok, so it won’t be what you imagined. But a story in your head isn’t a story. It’s just a daydream until you actually write it down. So write it down. What’s the worst that can happen? If it sucks, you can delete it.”

This reminds me of the old adage, “Get it write so you can get it right.” A story has to be written before it can be revised and enjoyed by an audience. So many writers have said to just write, to get the work done at the desk.

3. You’ve been telling the story instead of writing it

Every writer wants an audience, and some writers feel compelled to share their story through talking about it to everyone they know. Talking about it incessantly kind of mutes that desire for an audience, so the writing doesn’t seem as urgent.

Weir’s Solution: “Don’t tell your stories to anyone. You’ll be more motivated knowing it’s a prerequisite to having an audience. Also, your friends will be able to give real feedback instead of vague opinions about your unimplemented concepts. And you won’t have to wonder if the person you’re talking to is genuinely interested in your story, or secretly hoping they’ll have a heart attack so they can escape the conversation.”

This is definitely not my issue. I don’t talk about my writing a lot with my friends; my friends who don’t write sometimes have trouble relating, and my friends who do write have their own writing to be concerned with. I’ve actually been told I should talk about my writing more — along the lines of self-promotion.

4. You don’t know how it will end yet

This one’s pretty self explanatory.

Weir’s Solution: “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. Don’t wait for an inspired ending to come to mind. Work your way to the ending and see what comes up. When you actually write it down, you start to see all the avenues. You’ll finish the book sooner and you’ll get more ideas for the ending along the way.”

This is not my issue, either. I do know how my story will end, and I even have some of the ending written.

So What’s A Writer Girl To Do?

The solution to my lack of writing productivity is clear: I need to just sit and write. Maybe I’ll trick myself into getting some words down by going to Barnes & Noble this weekend and making a whole event out of it. Check back here to see how it goes.

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