{"id":3088,"date":"2018-02-04T19:27:15","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T00:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/?p=3088"},"modified":"2020-07-13T12:07:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T16:07:43","slug":"writersblock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/writersblock\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer’s Block is Toxic Bullshit–Don’t Buy Into It!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago I heard prize-winning Michigan author Loren D. Estleman<\/a> dismiss writer\u2019s block at a writers\u2019 conference<\/a>. The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it re-frames and distorts a basic reality of every writer\u2019s life: getting stuck.<\/p>\n

I totally agree. When you say that you have writer\u2019s block, you turn a minor problem into something major like depression. Suddenly you\u2019re beset by a grave affliction and a normal, unremarkable part of the writing process can become debilitating.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve felt this way through my entire career as an author, through 26 books<\/a> in many genres and hundreds of stories, essays, reviews and blogs. Like Estleman, I believe that all of us writers sometimes get stuck, no matter how experienced we are \u2014 and Estleman\u2019s published more than twice as many books as I have. Stuck isn\u2019t a bad thing. It just means you haven\u2019t worked something out, you haven\u2019t answered some question in the book, or maybe you\u2019re headed in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

Whenever I\u2019m stuck, I do what Estleman suggested and what I\u2019ve advised my creative writing students over the years: I leave the writing alone and don\u2019t obsess about it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re stuck, don\u2019t panic. Give the problem to your subconscious. You can work on something else, or not do any writing at all. Focus on something unconnected to writing: cooking, a Zoom chat with friends, walking your dog, home repairs, a car ride, gardening, working on your tan, music, reading a new book by your favorite author \u2014 anything that can distract and absorb you completely and make you feel good.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, sometimes being stuck can mean that you\u2019re afraid of what you want to write, afraid of revealing too much about yourself (or someone else), afraid of what people might think. That fear of exposure is shame<\/a>, or the dread of shame. Calling it writer\u2019s block confuses the issue, disguises what\u2019s really the problem.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there\u2019s a small industry devoted to helping people overcome \u201cwriter\u2019s block,\u201d to keep them from turning into Barton Fink<\/a>, stuck on that one sentence. And because the culture loves stories about blocked writers like The Shining<\/em>, there\u2019s a perverse kind of glamor associated with this \u201ccondition.\u201d It\u2019s dramatic, it\u2019s proof of how serious a professional you are. And hey, writers are crazy anyway, so of course they can\u2019t do their jobs, of course they\u2019re basket cases.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, since most people hate to write, especially in this age of tweets and texting, \u201cwriter\u2019s block\u201d really connects with non-writers. If someone asks how your writing is going, you risk sounding arrogant if you say, \u201cTerrific! My new book is a blast!\u201d Saying that you have writer\u2019s block brings you back to earth. It comforts people who don\u2019t write, because it confirms their perception of writing as drudgery and even torment. That’s no reason to let yourself be bullied by a misnomer.<\/p>\n

Lev Raphael is the prize-winning author of\u00a0 <\/em>Writer\u2019s Block is Bunk<\/a><\/strong> and 25 other books in genres from memoir to mystery. He mentors writers, edit manuscripts, and teaches tailored writing workshops at writewithoutborders.com<\/a><\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago I heard prize-winning Michigan author Loren D. Estleman dismiss writer\u2019s block at a writers\u2019 conference. The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it re-frames and distorts a basic reality of every writer\u2019s life: getting stuck. I totally agree. When you say that you have writer\u2019s block, you … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,1373,2334,263,2,43],"tags":[298,95,165,166,496,290,214,775,787,495,132],"class_list":["post-3088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice-for-writers","category-creative-writing-workshops","category-writers-block","category-writers","category-writing","category-writing-advice","tag-advice-for-writers","tag-creative-writing-2","tag-inspiration","tag-motivation","tag-publishing","tag-the-writers-life","tag-the-writing-life","tag-writers-block","tag-writers-block-is-bunk","tag-writing","tag-writing-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3088"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6095,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions\/6095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levraphael.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}