Cintia
asked
Sherry Jones:
Hi, my name is Cintia and I'm from Argentina. Being a writer is what I want the most in this world, nothing makes me happier than writing, but I'm more and more frustrated with each passing day, because I've been blocked for 3 years. And it is not that I have an unfinished story. I have NOTHING AT ALL. A blank page in front of me, that only makes me sadder... Is there a way to overcome this? How do you handle it?
Sherry Jones
Ernest Hemingway famously said, "The first draft is always shit." Everything you write, you're going to have to rewrite, anyway -- so why not just glory in its badness? Why not set out deliberately to write something really, really terrible? You're going to re-write, anyway, right?
I think what gets in the way of our creative process is the fear of failure. Sigmund Freud said writer's block comes from having an "ideal" in our minds and fearing that we won't be able to meet it. Don't put pressure on your writing this way! Think, instead, of your first draft as a lump of clay that you're going to sculpt later.
Does this help? Natalie Goldberg calls the critical editor inside our thoughts "monkey mind." Her books "Writing Down the Bones" and "Wild Mind" suggest daily "writing practice" in which you keep your hand moving at all times, not stopping long enough to let the "monkey" in. She also includes writing "prompts," such as suggesting you take a walk and pay careful, deliberate attention to everything around you: the cracks in the sidewalk, the birdsong, the people you meet, etc. Then, you hurry home to your computer or notebook and write everything down as quickly as you can, recalling every detail. I think her books are wonderful antidotes for writer's block, and great muscle-flexxing tools for everyone who writes.
I am sorry to take so long to answer this question! Apparently, I don't have my notifications set correctly here -- and I will change that right away.
If you have more questions, Cintia, please do feel free to ask. At any rate, let me know you're doing against that bully "writer's block"!
Sherry
I think what gets in the way of our creative process is the fear of failure. Sigmund Freud said writer's block comes from having an "ideal" in our minds and fearing that we won't be able to meet it. Don't put pressure on your writing this way! Think, instead, of your first draft as a lump of clay that you're going to sculpt later.
Does this help? Natalie Goldberg calls the critical editor inside our thoughts "monkey mind." Her books "Writing Down the Bones" and "Wild Mind" suggest daily "writing practice" in which you keep your hand moving at all times, not stopping long enough to let the "monkey" in. She also includes writing "prompts," such as suggesting you take a walk and pay careful, deliberate attention to everything around you: the cracks in the sidewalk, the birdsong, the people you meet, etc. Then, you hurry home to your computer or notebook and write everything down as quickly as you can, recalling every detail. I think her books are wonderful antidotes for writer's block, and great muscle-flexxing tools for everyone who writes.
I am sorry to take so long to answer this question! Apparently, I don't have my notifications set correctly here -- and I will change that right away.
If you have more questions, Cintia, please do feel free to ask. At any rate, let me know you're doing against that bully "writer's block"!
Sherry
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Dec 07, 2015 09:35AM · flag