There hasn't been a post here in awhile. I was thinking of getting rid of it. But was convinced otherwise. I have changed focus onto something I can feel more comfortable writing on. I'm going to kick off the new blog with an AW Blog chain blog post. This month's blog chain is question and answer. The first person in the chain answers a question asked by the last person in the chain. Then poster one asks poster two a question. Lady Cat was the previous poster in the chain and she asked me:
Do you believe in writer’s block, and if so, what do you do to combat it? If you don’t believe in writer’s block, do you ever suffer from days where the writing just doesn’t want to come and how do you overcome this?
I don't believe in writer's block. I think writer's block is an excuse not to write because the writer doesn't feel like writing that day, or they lost interest in what they are writing and cannot see how to make interesting again. I also believe that it affects newer writers more than writers who have been writing for awhile. Why? The new writers are still learning that writing is work and one can't always be inspired in order to write. I think this where the "myth" of writer's block come from.
How do I overcome when I just can't seem to write? Well, sometimes the best thing to do is to not write for awhile. I'm currently in school, planning my wedding, working, and packing to move in with my fiance. Since I do not depend on writing for my income I don't allow myself to feel guilty for not writing at this point in my life. You have to when you do this I believe set a date when you will start writing again. Otherwise, you'll never get back to it. I'm going to start writing again in the beginning of August after I move and I am out of school. While I will have to find a new job I won't be in school and I'll be done moving. So I'll have more time to focus on writing without having to worry about something else suffering.
During this time I didn't stop thinking about writing. I've come to the conclusion that at this time I'm not really a novel writer. I don't have the attention span needed for a novel right now. So I have decided to focus on short stories. Looking at a lot of magazines the average short story should run around 2,000 words. This I can do and the short story helps me focus on the story because I tend to ramble. The great thing about short stories is if I get stuck or I feel that the story is not going to work I can easily put it aside until later or work on something new without feeling like I'm abandoning a project that I've put loads of time in. There are a lot times when working on a new piece of writing I come up with an idea that will fix or at least change an older work enough in order for me to regain my interest in the story and fix it.
Reality: Mostly because I have not been writing at all I have not really tried out this new method of writing so I don't really know if it will work. During this time I was planning and doing research for a novel but have since decided to write it as a series of short stories and I did come up with an idea to fix a short story I have that I haven't sent out yet for submission. So this new blog is really where I'll be talking about writing short stories and how it works for me.
The next person in the blog is aimeelaine and my question to her is:
Do you write short stories or novels or both? What made you choose that medium? If you write short stories does is it disheartening that you can't make a living writing short stories like in the heyday of short story writing? If you write novels is it discouraging that it is a longer time period to see any return on your writing or that it gets rejected after all the time you put into it?
Here is everyone else in this months blog chain. Please visit their blogs and leave a comment.
DniC
BigWords
Fokker Aeroplanbau
harri3tspy
razibahmed
Forbidden Snowflake
bsolah
jen.nifer
Lady Cat
rosemerry
aimeelaine
Proach
Apelle
lostwonderer5
upsidedowngirl
JamieMT
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
10 comments:
Being one of those new writers, I agree with you on the block=less enthusiasm. It doesn't just happen to writers -- it's applicable to ALL careers, I think writers just have a very good term for it!
Good luck with the wedding, moving, etc. etc.! :)
And thanks for the question(s)!
I definitely agree that there is no such thing as writer's block, but it is also not easy to write all the time.
I decided to write a book years ago, then I decided that I wanted to be a writer of more than one book, but it's taken years to try different things (often with many months of not writing a word), to learn about the craft and to attempt to find ways to discipline myself.
It's only in 2009 that I have acquired some form of discipline and regular writing practice as well as some direction. I am hoping it will stick, but it sure wasn't piece of cake.
The destruction of the Writer's Block myth will take much, much more than a few of us shouting at walls, though I'm willing to give it a shot.
The insights you have shown in the post are wonderfully thought out, and - yes - it is mostly the domain of authors who have begun writing recently.
I would like to point out that any major shifts in lifestyle, personal tragedies and unforeseen interruptions to routine may also have the effect of stunting the inspiration which normally fires off ideas - but, yet again, The Muse is another myth, right...
I like the idea of tackling the causes and solutions to Writers Block. It seems a lot of people have problems with it, judging ny the numerous pleas for help I come across.
My full treatise on the subject will have to wait until a more suitable arena, but this is an interesting subject, and one to which I will probably return.
Well done Rosemerry, you've managed to add another idea to my to do list. I'm going to go away and invent another day in the week so I can fit everything in...
I think it depends entirely on the definition of writer's block. That you absolutely can't write anything....not true. You absolutely can still continue to write on, just at a slower and probably more frustrating pace.
Sounds like you've got a lot of on your plate. Yikes. =] Good luck with them!
Some wise and well-put words.
Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I mostly wanted to put out that if a person doesn't want to write then it's okay to not write. We writers don't need a made up disorder to not write.
Great post, rosemerry. I think the term "writer's block" was probably created just specifically to encompass all those excuses we use not to write (wink, nod), and it's interesting that in an age where people seem to avoid responsibility whenever possible, writers are actually *taking ownership* of their excuses by tearing away at the writer's block term.
Good luck with all you have going on - sounds like a lot! :-)
Good answer rosemerry!
I actually think writer's block was created to justify a writer not writing. It sounds so much more important to say "I'm blocked" than "I just didn't feel like writing today." :-)
Some excellent observations, especially that writer's block is a situation of our own making. The solution is different for every writer, I imagine. Good luck with all of upcoming events!
You're right. I think Writer's block probably was created to justify procrastination. That's why I'm sticking to it.
Post a Comment