5 steps to overcome writer’s block

Hello, beautiful people!

Today I will share some secrets I have learned to overcoming writer‘s block. They have been extremely helpful to me and I hope that you will find them helpful as well.

1. As a novice who still has no idea what I’m doing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and nervous about what people will think about you or feel under pressure to write up to  a certain standard. Sometimes I would even find myself imagining what someone might say about my work. I found that this not only made me more anxious, but actually made me resentful and made me not wish to continue or make changes for other people (e.g. taking out adult language for the fear of what my mother will think if she actually reads it). Clearly, the story was no longer mine, I was a prisoner of pleasing my imaginary readers. Once I reverted back to the story I wanted to tell, I felt that I got my voice back and the story flowed more naturally and felt much less forced. I know that letting go of expectations or comparing your work to the works you admire is harder than it sounds but I promise you that once you stop paying attention to those internal hijacking voices and begin moving in the direction of your values (e.g. writing, creating, etc.), you will find yourself much more fulfilled. Here’s a helpful video analogy, which helped me overcome my internal hijackers (i.e. my insecurities): Remember, that only you have the ability to tell your story and if you don’t believe me, ask Neil Gaiman: 
2. When I first started writing I felt completely alone and obviously, very scared, which prevented me from writing. What really helped me get through that was meeting other writers on social forums, such as Twitter, reading inspiring quotes, especially those published by Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters), if you’re a writer and are on Twitter, you need to follow this man! He’s brilliant. Lastly, interviewing people whom you admire is also extremely helpful. For example, I’m a fan of Michelle Muto’s work, especially her book Don’t Fear the Reaper. I began to follow Michelle on Twitter (@MichWritesBooks) and then asked her for an interview. She agreed and the advice she gave me was extremely valuable, providing me with a lot of useful information regarding Indie Publishing, which greatly reduced my anxiety. You can check out the interview here: https://shadowscarlet.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/interview-with-an-amazing-writer/
3. Next, is a writer’s circle. At first I was extremely nervous about attending one and about presenting my work to others. However, the critique, the suggestions, and the abundance of peer support cannot be compared to anything else and I’m so glad I did it. Many times we are unable to see our story from another person’s perspective. Peers are able to let you know if something wasn’t clear and needs to be explained more, catch an inconsistency in the plot that you missed, or provide invaluable suggestions and support (as well as cookies!) 🙂
4. When I’m writing a specific story (usually fiction), what really helps me get into my writing groove is to try to match my environment with the mood in my story. I try to provide as much sensory input as possible to truly experience the emotion that my character is experiencing. This might involve lighting candles, playing certain soundtracks (e.g. rain soundtrack for particularly sad scenes), or watching relevant TV clips. Lately I have been working on a story where the leading character is a villain, so what has been really working for me is listening (and often rewatching) the super awesome Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog with Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Joss Whedon. I printed out the lyrics and I have to say that singing along with the soundtrack (especially “Brand New Day“) makes writing much more fun for me and allows me to get into the right mindset.
5. The final step in overcoming writer’s block for me is intrinsic motivation/reinforcement. I’ve read many suggestions for overcoming writer’s block, which suggest that you should reward yourself (i.e., use extrinsic reinforcement) after you have fulfilled your writing requirements by indulging in a treat or allowing yourself to catch up on your favorite TV show. That might work for some writers. I personally did not find this useful, quite the contrary. If I rewarded myself or promised to reward myself for writing, then it became a chore, something to get “done with” and move on to the good stuff. What helped me was the application of the “Tom Sawyer effect.” If you remember Mark Twain‘s famous novel, a little boy, Tom Sawyer, was punished by having to paint his aunt’s fence. He tried getting out of it by offering some of his possessions to his friends in exchange for them doing the work for him. His friends refused because it sounded like an intolerable chore. Then Tom decided to use another strategy, he told a different set of friends that he enjoyed painting the fence because it made him feel like an artist and that there wasn’t anything in the world they could offer him to let them paint the fence. Soon boys were lining up to paint the fence and offering him everything they had. In reality, if we are rewarded for something we love doing anyway, we might not like doing it anymore, this is called the overjustification effect and it occurs because we no longer experience the intrinsic pleasure of doing something we love and are doing it for the reward. What I do instead is use writing as a reward for chores, for example, if I finish writing  a research grant or finish the dishes, I allow myself to indulge in writing fiction. I have to tell you, I treasure my writing time, I love it and as a result of it being intrinsically motivating to me, I always yearn to do it instead of dreading it.

These are my secrets to reducing writer’s block. I hope they were helpful to you.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Solstice and Merry Holidays!

Warmly,

Shadow Quill