Those who forget the past...
For the second blog entry of this blog relaunch, I have decided to port a posting I made about a year ago regarding writers block. It’s an important post for anyone who considers themselves a writer or artist or whatever, because while it focuses specifically on writers block, the remedies provided can apply to the hindrances of any creative work.
So if you have not read it before and you are having problems finishing your latest masterpiece, I hope it gives you some insight and helps point you in the right direction. If you have read it before, read it again… you may have missed something the first time.
But before I get to that, Scott Kurtz creator of PVP, has posted a blog on his site that really makes some excellent points regarding becoming successful in a creative industry. Please read it here.
So without further delay:
*My "On writing..."*
Originally published on September 23, 2005.
“On to the business at hand…As many of you know, I am an aspiring writer. I want to be a published author, and I have many short stories, novellas, and novels in the works. Most of these are unfinished or in-progress works that haven't been touched or worked on in a couple of months. And while I do have some finished works, how many stories do you think I have submitted to be published? One. That’s it. Just a five page short story that was... rejected.
So what’s holding me back? What's keeping me from writing, finishing, and submitting my work?
Fear of rejection? Maybe…
Self Doubt? Possibly…
Too many damn video games? No comment…
The fact of the matter is that… I’m just lazy. Too lazy. So lazy that I don’t call it lazy… I call it writers block. But let’s be honest there is no such thing as writers block. The human mind has hundreds and hundreds of thoughts and ideas flying through your little head every day… hell every hour even. At least one of those thoughts has potential to become something to write about. So really, there are only four reasons people get “writers block:"
1) The aforementioned laziness.
2) Fear
3) Distractions
4) All of the above
So let’s address these issues:
1) Laziness
The fact of the matter is you have to make your own muse, your own inspiration. If you just sit around (watching TV, or surfing the web, or playing video games, or whatever) waiting for the idea to magically come to you, I got bad news for you. Ain’t gonna happen. If every writer waited for divine inspiration for a story, then Barnes and Noble wouldn’t exist.
Now I’m not saying that there is no such thing as a muse. Far from it. I’m just saying you can’t count on it.
You have to sit in front of the computer (or typewriter for you old-fashioned types) and write. To quote a movie “A writer writes… always” inspired or not. And if you can’t think of what to write or what should happen next… write something else… like a blog.
2) Fear
Fear can be many things. Here are some common ones:
a. Fear of rejection.
b. Fear the story is going to change from what you originally envisioned it to be.
c. Fear of that you aren’t talented enough
d. Fear of spiders (there could be one on your keyboard)
There are many more, but I won’t get into them because these are the important ones (except for maybe the spider thing). And here is the way to overcome them:
a. Get over yourself, and write! The worst that could happen is you are going to get a note mailed to you that says “No thank you.” You know what you do then? You pick up your shattered ego and send the writing somewhere else. Also don’t be afraid to send the story out just because you aren’t sure where to send it. Your stories are never going to be published if they are sitting in your computer waiting for you to decide which magazine you rather get a rejection letter from this time.
b. Get over yourself, and write! You can always change it back to the way it was if you don’t like it.
c. Get over yourself, and write! Sure there are hundreds of aspiring writers, some of which are much better than you are. But, guess what? They most likely suffer from the same anxiety as you do. If you get off your butt and get it done before they do, then you are more likely to be published then the depressed beatnik genius who sulks in the corner all day. Also the more you write the better and more talented you will become. Just like anything else, practice makes perfect.
d. Rolled up newspaper.
3) Distractions
This one is easy. Turn off the damn TV! Stop playing the damn video games! Write, dammit write!
4) All of the above.
So if you have not read it before and you are having problems finishing your latest masterpiece, I hope it gives you some insight and helps point you in the right direction. If you have read it before, read it again… you may have missed something the first time.
But before I get to that, Scott Kurtz creator of PVP, has posted a blog on his site that really makes some excellent points regarding becoming successful in a creative industry. Please read it here.
So without further delay:
*My "On writing..."*
Originally published on September 23, 2005.
“On to the business at hand…As many of you know, I am an aspiring writer. I want to be a published author, and I have many short stories, novellas, and novels in the works. Most of these are unfinished or in-progress works that haven't been touched or worked on in a couple of months. And while I do have some finished works, how many stories do you think I have submitted to be published? One. That’s it. Just a five page short story that was... rejected.
So what’s holding me back? What's keeping me from writing, finishing, and submitting my work?
Fear of rejection? Maybe…
Self Doubt? Possibly…
Too many damn video games? No comment…
The fact of the matter is that… I’m just lazy. Too lazy. So lazy that I don’t call it lazy… I call it writers block. But let’s be honest there is no such thing as writers block. The human mind has hundreds and hundreds of thoughts and ideas flying through your little head every day… hell every hour even. At least one of those thoughts has potential to become something to write about. So really, there are only four reasons people get “writers block:"
1) The aforementioned laziness.
2) Fear
3) Distractions
4) All of the above
So let’s address these issues:
1) Laziness
The fact of the matter is you have to make your own muse, your own inspiration. If you just sit around (watching TV, or surfing the web, or playing video games, or whatever) waiting for the idea to magically come to you, I got bad news for you. Ain’t gonna happen. If every writer waited for divine inspiration for a story, then Barnes and Noble wouldn’t exist.
Now I’m not saying that there is no such thing as a muse. Far from it. I’m just saying you can’t count on it.
You have to sit in front of the computer (or typewriter for you old-fashioned types) and write. To quote a movie “A writer writes… always” inspired or not. And if you can’t think of what to write or what should happen next… write something else… like a blog.
2) Fear
Fear can be many things. Here are some common ones:
a. Fear of rejection.
b. Fear the story is going to change from what you originally envisioned it to be.
c. Fear of that you aren’t talented enough
d. Fear of spiders (there could be one on your keyboard)
There are many more, but I won’t get into them because these are the important ones (except for maybe the spider thing). And here is the way to overcome them:
a. Get over yourself, and write! The worst that could happen is you are going to get a note mailed to you that says “No thank you.” You know what you do then? You pick up your shattered ego and send the writing somewhere else. Also don’t be afraid to send the story out just because you aren’t sure where to send it. Your stories are never going to be published if they are sitting in your computer waiting for you to decide which magazine you rather get a rejection letter from this time.
b. Get over yourself, and write! You can always change it back to the way it was if you don’t like it.
c. Get over yourself, and write! Sure there are hundreds of aspiring writers, some of which are much better than you are. But, guess what? They most likely suffer from the same anxiety as you do. If you get off your butt and get it done before they do, then you are more likely to be published then the depressed beatnik genius who sulks in the corner all day. Also the more you write the better and more talented you will become. Just like anything else, practice makes perfect.
d. Rolled up newspaper.
3) Distractions
This one is easy. Turn off the damn TV! Stop playing the damn video games! Write, dammit write!
4) All of the above.
If you suffer from a combination of these “writers’ blocks” then I have one final opinion to hand out to you (because these are all just the opinions of someone who can’t take his own advice). You control how you write, how frequently you write, and what you write about. No one else. You! Not your Mom or your Aunt Tilly. You!!! And while you can’t control if anyone gives a damn to buy your work, you can increase your odds that it may happen by writing and submitting as much as you can.”
. . .
Q
posted by Daniel C. at 4:48 PM
2 Comments:
Brillent and insightful as always, Senior Q. I shall follow your amazing advice.
Even though I'm not a creative writer, I thoroughly enjoyed it as much the second time around as I did the first. It can also be helpful in other ways, from a theraputic standpoint...
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