Writer's Block - a
condition in which a writer loses the ability to write new work.
Causes of Writer's Block:
· Creative
problems within the work.
· Lack
of inspiration
· Distraction/procrastination
· The
project is too big for the writer.
· Physical
illness
· Depression
· Stress
(of any kind)
· Pressure
to write or create a best-seller.
· Feeling
of failure
All of these things can make it difficult for someone to
write. Personally, I have dealt with a few of them. When I was seventeen and
stopped writing completely, I had thought it was because my muse had run away.
In reality, I was having creative problems within my series. I had matured
greatly during the process of writing the original series and because of that I
felt disconnected from all of my previous work. So, I developed a battle plan
to fight the writer's block that threatened to end my writing for good.
Another form of writer’s block that I experienced was due
to physical illness after I had spine surgery. For several months my writing
was paralyzed while I recovered. To this day, whenever I have an illness, even
if it is just a simple cold, I can’t produce any writing until I am feeling
better.
The two most common causes of writer’s block that I
experience are due to distraction/procrastination and stress. If something
stressful occurs in my life, such as an explosive fight, then I am plagued with
writer's block for the rest of the day.
I've procrastinated about writing more than I like to admit.
When I realize that's what I am doing, I force myself to write and the end
result is often a gigantic writer's block that lasts anywhere from a day to
weeks.
Even if I am on a roll and in the midst of an action-packed
scene, I’ll get up and walk away from the computer, as if I’m searching for a
distraction. I yell at myself every time I do this.
I will say this about writer's block though:
If you have a detailed plan of what you need to write in
your book and if you can write something else, anything else (such as a song,
poem, article, short story, or even a list of things you love) then are you
really blocked?
See: Don't Give Up!
QUESTIONS:
#1: What forms of writer's
block have plagued you?
#2: How do you cope with
writer's block?
2 comments:
I agree with you, Chrys. The #1 cause for my writer's blocks is distraction. There's always something else that has to be done. So I end up putting my writing on hold a lot of the time. :\
Elaine,
A trick to try to fight the urge to pay attention to distractions or do something on the ever growing list of things to do is to carve out a specific time (an hour or even thirty minutes) each day to devote to writing. You have to tell yourself "This is my writing time, everything else can wait!" Good luck!
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