Writer's Block?

Question

Please tell me how to get rid of it. If there is a way.
It's driving me insane!
I love writing. But, writer's block has attacked me. And I want it to go away!
Please help me.
I want to write so badly but I can't.
Do you think there is a way to get rid of it?
Or, should I just let it play its course like I do all the other times it rests inside of me?

How, that "purple meditation" thing sounds really peaceful. Just...wow.

yeah, this is gonna be hard. I wrote, I think 4 or 5 pages a few nights ago. I just want to start writing again. Argh, this is driving me crazy!!

Answer 1

try meditation. at night in bed try to focus on all the sounds... count them... try to distinguish the farthest away sound... then imagine you slowly begin to float up into the air and that as you rise the only thing visible to you is the energy of life... all else is black. I imagine the life force like a purple haze and as I rise I can see all the purple shapes trees in my neighborhood and all the people walking, laying in their beds, cruising in cars, , etc... then as I rise higher, the purple blankets of grass across the hills, an occasional pulsating bird... and into space where the invisible Earth is alive with its own purple currents etc...

Answer 2

You never get rid of it. You;ll always be afraid of it. It's like stage fright with actors and nervousness with speakers..

You don't get rid of it, but you can work with it.

A general thing to loosen up is to think in terms of what Viktor Frankel, the logotherapist, calls paradoxical intention. Whenever you are afraid of something, exaggerate it till it is absurd. Speak out loud about just how blocked you are going to be as if you really want to be blocked and blocked through and through. Frankel found that if you exagerratedly move toward your fear, embrace it, play with it, it becomes so absurd that you start to laugh at it. Don't keep your block as a dirty little secret. Shout it out.

Then, another good exercise, based on Steinbeck. He started every day by writing a letter to his editor/publisher, Covici and put it in the mail. Do some such writing as this, not necessarily having to do with what you have to write — e.g., I do a lot of writing like answering questions on the Yahoo! Answers site as this kind of warm up exercose every day and do the same just before I go to bed. I write so much that it is the most natural thing I do.

Finally, write what you intend to do. Do your first draft in full realization that you are producing **** — you will probalby be better. Then revise and organiae and focus your writing. Only be a perfectionist when you come to the final editing, and do that more or less according to a schedule (otherwise you can patsy around for far too long). Get it in good shape, then toss it out (i.e., in the direction of an editor) like you're getting rid of the garbage. Most of the time you'll be amazed how good the thing looks when you see it in print.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I found this little thing called "freewriting." It has seriously saved me like ten thousand times. I write, too.

So, what you do is this: go sit down and watch TV. During the commercial break, pick up some paper and a pen, and write about anything that jumps into your head. Write about kidney stones, write about your uncle Fred's sunburn, write about your mother's flower arranging class. Anything. Once the show comes back on, turn the TV off and immediately sit down and write your story. Don't think about what you're writing, just do it. I've done this before, and then read back over it like, hey, that was good. I've also found that freewriting before I try to write anything serious helps me concentrate because then I'm not concentrating on other stuff.

Good luck!

Answer 4

When I get writer's block, I usually watch a good movie (or part of it anyways) with a message that makes you think a little. Or, I'll listen to music. The kind of music that really gets me thinking is a soundtrack from a musical or something. Like, the soundtrack to "The Phantom of the Opera" or, my personal favorite right now, "Jane Eyre". It always gets me thinking.

If that doesn't help, call a friend and talk about anything at all to forget about having the block. That sometimes helps.

Answer 5

Read two or more classic books before you even try to write again. Great books inspire you. Dont worry - eventually an idea will come to you. Listen to your "inner voice" - especially just before you fall asleep at night. It may sound wierd but some of my best ideas come just before the sandman. Of course, then I have to turn the light on and write them down. Also you might try carrying a tape recorder around with you and just taping thoughts and ideas. Read them back later and analyze them as potential works. Dont be afraid to put aside a WIP and come back to it. I have about 4 WIPs on my computer including one I started when my son was a baby - he is now 20 and I havent gotten the urge to go back to it. You never know when inspiration will strike. Also, try writing a memoir or about something you know - just to keep your hand in it. Eventually you will break through that block. C.

Answer 6

Unless you have deadlines and contracts, I suggest you just don't write until you feel like it. Writing is hard work, so why do it if you don't feel like it? If you have nothing to say, keep quiet. If you have nothing to write, go and play football, walk the dog, weed the garden or listen to music instead.

If you do have deadlines and contracts, sit down, fire up the computer and get on with it. After all, teachers don't have teachers' block. Shop assistants don't have shop assistants' block. Even farmers don't have farmers' block, though some of them may want to SELL their blocks!