Tag: writer’s block

Link: Writer’s Block – What Do the “Experts” Say?

One of our favorite subjects here at Josh P. Creative is writer’s block. Not because we perpetually suffer from it at JPC (we don’t), but because all the writers we know suffer from it at one time or another (they do).

It’s a thing. A phenomenon. A reality of life. If you spend money, you’ll pay taxes. If you spend creative energy, you’ll hit a block. It’s very simple. Anyway, I came across a very interesting article at The Writer on writer’s block, and  wanted to share it with you. Here it is:

http://www.writermag.com/2016/09/13/beating-writers-block/

Check it out–not because you’re blocked, but because you’re creative. It never hurts to read about how others overcome their challenges.

 

Winston Scrooge Gets Us Thinking about the Reality of Writer’s Block

[In this series, Creative Blog Profiles, joshpcreative.com takes a peek at what other creative bloggers are producing and profiles them here. They don’t necessarily know it’s happening (although we do the pingback/trackback where we can), so we’re prepared to remove an entry if they get mad. Hopefully they won’t. We just want to find creative stuff to tell you about.]

I happened upon a very interesting blog post today at Winston Scrooge. The post is about writers block. In a very clever twist, Winston Scrooge props writer’s block up in a chair and makes him/her a character to which Scrooge can speak. The result? A somewhat uncomfortable, but very honest, tour of the writer’s mind. The underlying foil? Fear. Read it and see what you think of the post. Does it resonate with you? Make you laugh? Cry? Hit really close to home? Engage the dialogue and see where it takes you.

If you read joshpcreative.com, you know I like talking about writer’s block. One of the things that intrigues me is the idea that people who so love to create can find themselves so stymied in their attempts to create.

That’s no small thing.

Writer’s block (and writing itself?) is, in a sense, a sort of self-imposed tortue. Anybody who has ever put finger to keyboard or pen to paper to create a character…a story…a world…knows that at some point or another the doubt creeps in. The fear creeps in. The block is thrown. Yet, we willingly advance. We reluctantly stop. We willingly advance again. Over and over. We push ahead until the story is finished because it isn’t just a hobby, but a way of life. Creation runs in our blood, and we don’t live unless we wordsmith and bust down the wall that can block our way. Writers risk and endure writer’s block because it is a necessary evil on the way to a completion. On the way to truly living.

How do you handle writer’s block? What do you do when writer’s block sits in the chair across from you or stands next to you and leans over your keyboard? How do you make it to “The End” when writer’s block begins?

Read what Winston Scrooge has to say and let me know.

 

If Creativity Eludes You or Writer’s Block Finds You, Just Celebrate

If creativity eludes you today, or if you are suffering from the dreaded writer’s block, don’t worry too much about it. Go do something else and celebrate the fact that you are creative and have creativity in your bones. Period.

How To Be Creative With Less Karma

Just One Talk on Karma

I was listening to a talk the other day about karma by a teacher named Paramahamsa Nithyananda (Paramahamsa is a Sanskrit-language honorific title for one who’s achieved enlightenment; I can’t verify Nithyanandaji’s status, but am only reporting on the content of the talk).

It was quite interesting, actually. Nithyananda said that our karma is not really about our actions, but our thoughts. So, as he says, if you fight with someone, it’s not the actual fight that counts karmically. It’s the fact that you engaged the thought of fighting (that brings about fights).

Karma Is All in Your Head

In other words, it’s all in your head folks! That runs counter to a lot of schools of thinking on karma that suggest it’s your actions that bring future consequences (not thoughts). According to Nithyananda, we surf thought currents, and these currents of thought (not action) bring consequences.

For instance, we have some thoughts and thought currents that create nothing in our reality (or just make us miserable in endless loops). These could be considered “bad” karma. Sometimes, however, we have thoughts that create some positive in our reality. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, that could be considered “good” karma.

However, he went on to say that even the things that create some of our reality, and could be “good” karma, can actually have unintended consequences for us down the line. Things that can bind us. He uses an interesting analogy: say you put your thought energy into getting a house. And you get it! You made it! But now, you’ve bound yourself to a mortgage and other issues. So, you achieved something and made it a reality, but now there could be other issues (busted plumbing, loud neighbors, expensive insurance, leaky roof, the need to move, etc.).

Houses and mortgages aren’t “bad.” I don’t think that’s the suggestion here. I think it’s part of a bigger warning about being careful what we wish for, and going in with our heads up. In other words, what we think may be good may have other issues, and we need to be aware and ready! We can get stuck in the quest for good as easily as we can get jammed up behind the desire to avoid bad.

Nithyananda suggests that instead of getting involved with thought currents of any kind (good or bad) the best we can do is stop engaging thinking! That’s right. Bring ourselves to a place where we don’t play endlessly with this thought or that thought. Strive for a quiet mind. In that space, all of our reality will be clear, and that is enlightenment.

It’s interesting to say the least. I can’t describe it all here. It’s too long. But you should check out the talk if you’re interested.

Karma and Creativity

Anyway, all of this talk on karma and thinking got me thinking (uh oh) about the question, “How does this relate to creativity?” We’ve been writing a lot here about writer’s block and busting through that, and then this talk on karma comes along.

I think a lot of what Nithyanandaji said, rings true. When I sit with a manuscript or other piece of creative work, and I get involved in thinking too much, I become paralyzed. Maybe the thought process goes like this:

“Will what I’m writing sell?”

“Will anyone want to read this?”

“Can I write fiction and non-fiction in the same lifetime?”

“Is this a waste of time?”

“Did I leave the iron on?”

“Do people iron anymore?”

You see, much like you, I surf waves of thought over and over until I have created nothing in my reality (or on my page). It’s a spiral. A completely counterprodutive spiral.

Perhaps the better approach is this:

“I’m going to write today, come what may.”

And leave it at that. You see? Instead of engaging the myriad of thoughts that threaten to derail me and pull me into a cycle of creative despair, I release myself to simply be present for whatever comes to mind. Instead of wishing and hoping for “good” to come of what I’m writing, I simply sit down to do it because it’s there to do.

I let the process be the process, and I don’t sprinkle in my doubts or hopes.

It just is.

It’s not about selling a manuscript or writing the perfect article. That’s the stuff of thought and karma. Instead, it’s about simply being available for whatever shows up so that I can create the one reality I prize above all: being creative in this moment.

That, my friends, is the most karma-free reality I can imagine.

 

To Defeat Writer’s Block, Use the Rule of Two

I’ve been wrestling with a new manuscript lately, and the first issue was this: do I tell the story in first or third person?

It led to a pretty big case of writer’s block, so I called a trusted advisor and we processed it a little bit. Wrestled the block together. I didn’t have a definitive answer when I hung up the phone, but I had a new way of looking at the situation.

If you feel stuck when writing today, process it. Talk to somebody about it.

I think of it as the Rule of Two. You type with two hands, so why not get two heads involved in the writing process on occasion? I’ve found that people are pretty nice about this. Every time I think I’m imposing, I actually find people quite willing to help. It’s not about sharing credit or stealing ideas. Rather, it’s about bringing stuck points into the light of day so that others can give us a new way of looking at the situation.

Sometimes it’s a simple word-choice problem. Sometimes it’s a plot point that can change your character’s destiny. No matter how small or large the stakes, getting another opinion can work wonders.

See, that’s the paradox of writing: it’s a solitary pursuit often  made better by sharing with others.

You don’t need to share with a great literary critic or famous author. Talk it out with your dog. Call you mom and try to describe the scene you’re struggling with. Meet a friend, buy him a coffee, and bounce some ideas. Find a writing blog and ask for help from the community in the comments section.

It’s about opening up. It’s about letting some light in through the oft-closed door of the mind. It’s about seeing the elements of your creation through someone else’s eyes if you’re mired in writer’s block or too close to make the call.

The rule of two, folks. Doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve found it quite helpful in life and writing.

Just my two cents.

How do you get unstuck?

Five Ways to Handle or Overcome Writer’s Block

I got stuck while writing yesterday, so I said to my friend Writer’s Block, “Okay, Mr. Block. Let’s take a walk and get a burrito.” So we did. And we came back full of burritos and ideas.

The surest way to get over a block in the creative process is to acknowledge it and maybe sit patiently with it.

I know that runs counter to what we normally do, which is fight with the muses until they relent and we can get a few more words down, but I think acknowledging the block peacefully is the better course of action.

Why?

Because if the block has come, perhaps it is the creative process telling us that we need to pause. Think. Do something else. But maybe that’s just me. I tend to believe that things happen for a reason, and if I believe that when the words are flowing, then I have to stick to that paradigm even when the well (seemingly) runs dry.

Here are some ways that I deal with creative blockages:

1.  I lean back in my chair and take a few big breath. This form of meditation is quite effective, actually. When I’m hunched in front of my computer for a long time, sometimes my body just needs a new posture. Often, after small shift in body, the mind often frees up.

2.  I close the project and walk away. In life, I don’t get into fights every time someone gets on my nerves. Why is writing any different? Sometimes, the best course of action is to simply walk away from the frustration and live to write another day.

3.  I write words I know I’ll delete. Sometimes, I just let the story have some fun, even if it’s not a “fun” place. I don’t want jokes in a murder scene, so I write them then delete them. I think this is akin to when my parents would let me and my brother run around in the parking lot before solemn occasions so that we’d tire outselves out.

4.  I try a new direction to get back on the straight path. I was driving with a friend in Minnesota once and we started to turn in circles on black ice on the freeway. He let the car move in the directions it needed to go until we came to a gentle stop on the side of the road. He didn’t fight what the car wanted to do. He let it roll. Once we were safe, he pointed the car back toward our destination and continued on. Do you see?

5. I work on something else entirely. In this scenario, I don’t walk away from the computer (like in #2 above). Instead, I just turn my attention to something else. A blog post. Article research. Sometimes, like magic, a main-project insight will hit me while I’m working on something else, and just like that, I’m back.

How do you get over the block? Let us know!