Thursday, February 17, 2011
Posts Tagged ‘writer’s block’
I’m reading Martha Beck’s “Finding Your Own North Star” (again) and am struck by her thought that we humans operate, in essence, from two distinct points of view: our essential self and our social self.
When our essential selves–that part of us tht lives from passion and seeks out the pure joy in the experience of life, the self that wants to do big and amazing and grand things–and our social selves–the skils and actions and behaviors we assume to get us moving in the direction of achieiving the dreams of our essential selves–are in alignment, we can’t be stopped. When the connection between the two is clear, strong and working as one, life is beyond good.
But what about when they’re not? What if your social self keeps you chained to a job that you hate just for the paycheck? Or your essential self stays hidden beneath a pile of meaningless to-do work that you find little, if any, excitement in? This disconnect can wreak major havoc and lead to somethink akin to sleep-walking through life.
I’m interested in this idea (an idea I fully support) from the perspective of the writer. So often, we find ourselves feeling mentally challenged and sometimes even reluctant to face the page, to get words down, to send out our work, to make pitch appointments, and that can disrupt our forward motion toward our goals of becoming published at whatever level we decide equates to success for us. Is this disconnect because our essential selves don’t move toward writing or because our social selves are going about the writing process in the wrong way? Are we feeling creatively empty because the social self has an expectation to publish books–a social representation of our work–a product–or because we would rather be writing nonfiction or memoir or fantasy or mysteries instead of the genre we’re in? Do we blame writer’s block for our inability to put words onto paper because our social self has heard that excuse umpteen times, or do we attempt to write out our frustrations instead of working on our novels because we know that we can uncover a glimmer of excitement if we just weed out the negativity?
The question, then, becomes more “where are you writing from” rather than a “why are you writing”? When you’re feeling frustrated with writing, is it the process or the product impeding your progress? Is it a disconnect between your actions and your true, essential desires? More importantly, how do you get back to writing from your true, essential self when the social self causes problems?
Are you writing from your essential self or your social self? And what does your essential self *really* want from your writing actions? I’d love to know.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Best of…Writer’s Block
hey, guess what? I’m still at camp, but hopefully this revisited post from my days with the Fountain Pen, Inc blog will come in handy if you find yourself creatively blocked in any way…
Oh, My Gosh: Writer’s Block by Beth at the Fountain Pen, Inc blog
Happy unblocking,
Beth
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
February 20th: Fighting Writer’s Block by David Taylor
The link to this article is actually one of three good links (the rest of which are at the bottom of the article page) (there are four links but one is mis-linked to the same article) on getting through writer’s block.
I especially identify with Taylor’s belief that blocks aren’t really blocks: a “block” is a generic term for any number of things affecting writers. By that, however, I do not mean that I devalue the sense of being creatively blocked in any manner–as one who’s been blocked, through overwhelm, depression, inability to focus, etc., etc., etc., I’m all too aware that it really does exist..for lack of a more specific term.
Enough of that. Go read David’s article: Fighting Writer’s Block: Part 1: Causes and Cures by David Taylor
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
February 19th: 10 Tips for Beating Blogger’s Block at Lifeclever.com
You say blogger, I say writer…one in the same, really.
Today’s post is a short list article with a few good ideas that may resonate with you blocked folks. In addition to the ten tips, there are six additional sites at the bottom of the post to check out.
10 Tips for Beating Blogger’s Block at Lifeclever.com
Happy unblocking…
Beth
Monday, February 18, 2008
February 18th: 13 Ways to Bust Through Writer’s Block
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’ve been taking coursework toward becoming a creativity/writing/life coach. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a lot of thinking.
In all that thinking and by interacting with my clients, I’ve come to realize one of, if not THE main reason we creative types become “blocked”: overwhelm.
I don’t want to get too deeply into this as I’ve just been invited to be a weekly guest-blogger on the creativity coaching topic and will address that issue in a post shortly–but suffice it to say that when you’re creative, you have soooooo, soooooo, soooooo (did I mention SO) many ideas, thoughts, avenues, insights, etc. running around in your mind that the prospect of settling down with ONE to work with is a little (a lot) scary, intimidating and truthfully–makes it easier to just shut down and do NO work at all for a number of reasons? (fear…)
Anyway…I like Cynthia Morris’s blog post on 13 Ways to Bust Through Writer’s Block because it helps narrow and focus us on things, small steps, that we can do to get back into the groove and happiness of creating. With the creative mind, nothing is more important than focus, and Cynthia’s list does that for us. Stop over if you’ve got a minute or are stuck. Break it down and get more done.
13 Ways to Bust Through Writer’s Block by Cynthia Morris at her Original Impulse Blog
Happy Unblocking,
Beth
It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)