|
||||
|
||||
|
|
Every now and again, I hear from a writer wanting to know what to do about writer's block. You know, that invisible 3,000-pound elephant that comes into the room and sits on your hands the moment you decide to write something creative.
I have to confess, I used to suffer from it. That was back when I was a kid struggling to pen my first novel. By the time I was an adult, it was gone; and I haven't been plagued by it since.
What made the difference? |
|||
|
Maturity.
And learning how to write under pressure.
And recognizing that all writers can write something, even if it's only a shopping list or an e-mail to a friend.
And knowing the value of an outline (at least for longer works, such as books and screenplays).
So, let's tackle them one at a time.
Maturity. With age comes wisdom, or so it's said. At least I know this much: with age comes experience, and experience helps us to understand things better. When we understand the subject we're writing about, we're not likely to get sidetracked by W.B. (which, by the way, is not an acronym for Warner Brothers).
Writing under Pressure. There's no better cure for W.B. than having to write or losing your job. That's why trained journalists rarely suffer from writer's block. They learned long ago all kinds of tricks to keep that story moving and that paycheck coming in. They also learned how to tell a story in their heads before trying to hammer it out on a keyboard. You want to kick W.B. out of your life? Get a part-time job as a stringer for your local newspaper.
Write Anything. By sitting down and writing something, anything, you get your mind switched over from verbal to non-verbal communications mode. You get your creative juices flowing. You fall into a rhythm. And you kick the hell out of writer's block.
What should you write? A letter home. A note to an imaginary friend. An e-mail. A one-paragraph description of what the day looks like outside your window. The important thing is not what your write, but that you write. Once you break the silence, you'll be ready to put W.B. to bed permanently.
Outline, Outline, Outline. That my not be necessary for a two- or three-page story, but it's virtually mandatory for anything longer than a couple thousand words. And highly recommended for pieces even shorter than that. Writing an outline before you begin fleshing out a piece is a good way to get on track and stay there, to keep from wandering aimlessly all over the literary landscape. It's also an excellent way to warm up for the creative writing to follow, thus killing a couple of birds with a single ink cartridge.
Remember: it's not important how you keep W. B. in check, it's only important that you do so. If you're going to be a prolific writer (and that's the only way to be if you plan on earning a living from writing!), you're going to need to crank out some serious words.
Of course, you'll need some time off, too, to keep from burning out. After all, even the Lord took only six days to create the world. And on the seventh day? I'm pretty sure He took a little time off to write about it.
Until then...
Smoke if you got 'em.
|
||||
