Wrote this article on Writer’s Block when invited to typeset/guest-edit a couple of issues of Scope, the Magazine of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Qld). (Published November 1999 edition). A daunting task for an amateur who had only been writing for a couple of years.

“That’s awful!” snaps the editor-gremlin perched upon your shoulder. “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s ‘lie’ not ‘lay’? And why so many adjectives? Do you enjoy overwriting?”

A knot of panic grips your throat as you reach for the mouse, delete a phrase, cut and paste for a minute or so, add two, three, four new words …

“Look, you’ve made another spelling mistake!” hisses the demon, gesturing at the screen with its horny, great fingernail, “And what’s this nonsense about ‘slender yellow fruit’? If you mean ‘bananas’, write ‘bananas’. And you’re using passive voice again! Surely you’re not thinking of submitting this garbage to Scope?”

You sigh, make the necessary revisions, and tap out a lively rap medley on the keyboard with your fingertips. Suddenly inspiration strikes! You complete the sentence with a flourish and fix your tormentor with a malevolent glare.

“Cliché! Tautology!! Split infinitive!!!” cackles the gremlin with glee. It blows a raspberry into your ear, and implodes with an audible pop.

Defeated, you delete the paragraph you’ve been mangling for the past two hours, flick the computer off and crash to the bed in a fit of despair.

Then the self-flagellation sets in: “Why can’t I be more like so-and-so? They’ve just sold a sci-fi trilogy and won another competition. Woe is me, my stuff must be terrible. I may as well give up!”

If this sort of negative head-talk sounds familiar, check out fantasy author Lisa R Cohen’s website on www.sff.net/People/LisaRC/myown.htm for an in-depth analysis of writer’s block.

Whether your problem be lack of time, physical or mental fatigue, depression, poor health, money hassles, writing what you feel you should be writing instead of what you want to write, or my own personal demon of perfectionism, you’ll discover writer’s block is a self-propelling mechanism. The more you don’t write, the more you feel you can’t write. The more you feel you can’t write, the more you feel hopeless to try.

So, what’s the cure?

Simple: You write your way out of it.

Give yourself permission to do a lousy first draft. Commit your thoughts to paper – warts, wooden dialogue and all. Be daring, be decadent! Forget homework topics, genre and competition deadlines – write what you want to write. Let your imagination run wild! And remember, no one but you need ever see this draft. You can always go back and polish your work later.

In her article, Cohen interviewed several prolific writers on how they tackled difficult projects and how they avoided the writers’ block doldrums. Their answers contained these common elements:

1 – Don’t obsess on one thing – juggle several projects. If you get stuck on one, move to another.

2 – Commit to finishing everything you start – if you’ve left a project, commit to returning to it.

3 – Change the mode of putting down words – if you’re stuck on the computer, try a dictation machine or writing by hand; or change where you write – go outside, to the park or library.

4 – Get those jolly little endorphins pumping – take a walk, mow the lawn. Physical activity of the slightly mindless kind seems to generate mental activity of the kind that promotes creativity.

Cohen also advocates treating yourself like a recovering athlete. She says writer’s block can be a career-threatening injury, so you don’t want to rush the comeback and risk a relapse. By understanding your problem, you improve your chances of returning to the enthusiastic, dedicated writer you used to be. Writer’s block is not just an obstacle: it’s a sign there’s something that needs fixing.

So rest and recuperate if you must and, when ready, work toward recapturing that love of writing. And while recovering, take solace in the thought that even though you’re temporarily unable to commit words to paper, you probably still are writing – when driving, grocery shopping or weeding the garden. So keep your writer’s notebook handy for when those words start tumbling deliciously from the ether again.

And they will.

Cohen’s article helped me break through a lengthy block precipitated by two deaths in the family, major financial trouble and the loss of a career due to health problems. I’m sure her advice will help you too.

Reinette 58
warping2gallifrey.blog.co.uk