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A Writer's Blog

Writer's Block & The Art of Procrastination

8/4/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
Writer’s Block. You’re sitting at the typewriter, the PC, maybe you still prefer pen and paper, but the inspiration doesn’t want to play today. The sheets of pristine white paper or the electronic glare of the PC screen stare back at you.

Your muse is on vacation.

You make yourself a cup of tea, maybe you prefer coffee, and you walk back to those pristine sheets of white paper only to find that your muse really is on vacation. They’re on a long haul flight with an open ended ticket and you have no idea when they’re coming back.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve read about writers suffering from Writer’s Block.

It sucks, right?

Pardon my vernacular but Bullshit!!!

I can say that because I used to be afflicted. I’m definitely cured, because my last bout of this affliction hasn’t occurred for years.

The cure?

The cure was short and sharp. I was reading an interview with the acclaimed – and very good in my opinion – historical novelist Bernard Cornwell. The interviewer commented about how prolific he was, and asked whether he ever suffered from Writer’s Block. Now, Bernard’s vernacular was a lot more politically correct than mine, but roughly translating he said: The condition is Bullshit!

BC used the analogy of nurses, and firemen. Would it be permissible for a fireman to say, “Sorry, I can’t put your fire out today I’ve got firemen’s block.”

The counter argument is that they are difficult physical jobs that are purely done, but a writer is being creative and it’s not always possible to have your muse by your side.

I don’t buy that argument because creativity can take many forms and is involved with many professions. For my sins I work in the IT industry. Sometimes technology breaks, and sometimes the standard recovery actions either don’t work, or they fail and make the situation worse. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen IT technicians come up with creative complex technical solutions to very complex problems. Had any of those individual turned around and said they had techie block, and couldn’t help, they would have been sacked.

Writer’s Block is nothing more than another form of the writer’s worst enemy, procrastination.    

Funnily enough I’ve only ever heard prose writers complain about the condition. I don’t ever recall reading about a professional screenwriter, playwright, or songwriter complaining about Writer’s Block. Now if it was a genuine affliction wouldn’t it apply to all? Let’s not forget professional speechwriters.

Reading that interview with BC was a real slap in the face for me and I’ve never looked back since. Sure, I have days when I try to continue with a story in production and I can’t seem to get going. However, it generally means I’ve written myself into a corner. I read back through the work find the error and off I go re-writing / writing.

Occasionally, I do have days when I struggle with a story, and there are no obvious errors and it does seem like inspiration has deserted me. However, when that occurs I write about something else. It could be an overheard conversation from the day before, something I can see out of the window. There is always something that you can write.

I’m with Bernard on this one.

Take care and I’m happy to hear from anyone who disagrees.

Mike.

3 Comments
Pili link
23/4/2013 08:10:31 pm

I heartily agreefully disagree with a small portion of your post. It concerns the word procrastination. I don't believe that sums "IT" up. Procrastination is a very fine word but I think we can make up another word or term. Here's a few of mine.

Procrastiblockation
Lazy-Writer Syndrome
Bullshitation

Pili

Reply
Mike Kurjakovski
24/4/2013 06:38:37 am

Procrastiblockation - I like it. It's an official new word from now on. Dictionary publishers take note.

Reply
Darko Kavinsky
9/8/2014 10:08:51 pm

I've found writers block at first to be a horrifying thing.. But I realized it wasn't a lack of creativity but rather a lack of mood... I've noticed in a lot of stories the mood sometimes doesn't fit with what you want to write, or feel like writing.. That's why I've found figuring out why you don't want to write that and then writing what you want to write is key.

I, personally, find it to be nice to have multiple stories up at the same time. I ping pong between them depending on the mood I'm feeling. It may sound highly unproductive but it helps. I can't count how many times I've had a eureka moment working on a side story that blossomed into countless pages or new plot points.

If you're stuck on writing mentally slap yourself across the face.. figure out what you want to write and DO IT. If you have another idea for a story you're wanting to itch DO IT yet don't drop the other one.. It's nice to have options. Sometimes you don't want a glass of wine sometimes you want a shot of rum. Writing, I've noticed is the same way.

Reply



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    Author

    M J Wolfson - That's me. 
    A short story writer and an Indie filmmaker. I've had multiple short stories published in various anthologies, magazines, &
    E-zines. I've recently embraced the world of film-making. I've written and directed  one very short film, and I plan to make more. I was the Assistant Editor at Firewords Quarterly for the first seven issues. A project I was very proud to have been a part of. I'm a book collector, autograph hunter, part time lion tamer, and a full time fantasist. Feel free to say, Hello. Everybody's welcome!

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