Article #2 on strategies to combat writer’s block
This article is the second in my series Is it writer’s block or is it an excuse? discussing possible causes of writer’s block and strategies that help me get moving again.
Almost everyone experiences FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). It’s not exclusive to writers. But for writers, it can cause the word flow to stop or reduce to a trickle.
We spend a lot of time in our heads. We question everything we do and everything we write. We agonise over every word, every decision, every mistake, sometimes for days or months or years afterwards.
Assuming that you’ve been honest with yourself and you’re not just looking for an excuse to not write, FUD is a trio of unwanted visitors that can turn up at any time with no warning.
They might turn up one at a time, or all crash the party at once. FUD small talk at the writing party may be quiet but it can be brutal. It can be enough to make you second-guess yourself and wonder Why am I even doing this? and it can be enough to stop the words.
- Fear is adamant that someone will notice that I don’t really know what I’m doing. Many people, more qualified than me, have already written about this. I’m just an ordinary person adding to the noise. If I publish this, someone will criticise it which means they’ll criticise me. Maybe I should stop.
- Uncertainty chimes in, wondering if I even know what I’m trying to say. Maybe I should do a bit more research? Do I really want to put myself out there? Most likely, no one will even read it or care, so why bother? Maybe I should stop.
- Doubt whispers that there are mistakes. Always mistakes. People will focus on the mistakes, not the message. Is that comma in the right place? Should that be parentheses or em dashes? Is that the right word? Are there transitions from one thought to the next? Is it in the right order? Maybe I should stop.
FUD is not evil. We all need a bit of FUD at times. It helps keep us humble and makes sure we’re clear about why we’re doing this. It helps us produce better work by not letting us settle for good enough.
The problem is when FUD starts to negatively impact us and our work. When it makes us question our skills, our abilities, our knowledge, and ourselves. When it kinks the hose and stops the flow of words.
My FUD stands uncomfortably close. It doesn’t respect my personal space. It tells me that I’m not good enough, I don’t know what I’m talking about, people will criticise what I write, people will laugh at me. It wonders why anyone would want to read anything I write. It suggests that readers will discover my secret, which is that I don’t know what I’m doing.
And so, I write nothing.
FUD, including imposter syndrome, is a perfectly normal self-preservation technique. This is your brain doing its job, looking for ways to keep you safe.
If you don’t put yourself out there, if you don’t write anything, then you can stay snuggled under the doona where the negativity can’t reach you. Surely that’s better for your mental health?
But it’s also a self-limiting technique that you need to push past at times.
If you never do it, you never know if you can do it. If you never do it, you won’t learn or improve. You’ll never feel the satisfaction that comes from doing something you weren’t sure you could. Maybe something you’ve never done before.
Unfortunately, the only way to become a writer is to write. To be a better writer you need to read, write, get feedback, write some more, and repeat. Even best-selling authors change over time, improving with each piece of writing. Look back at some of the first efforts of well-known writers, and you’ll see what I mean.
But, that’s the journey. No one is born being a perfect writer.
When no words will come, when you suspect the hose is kinked, listen to the conversations going on in your head. They aren’t always obvious so you might have to listen hard. Are you scared, unsure, or doubtful about your abilities?
What you could try
- Write anyway, even if it’s complete nonsense.
I have a document on my computer called ‘nonsense.docx’. When the words don’t come, I open nonsense.docx and put words on the page. Any words. They don’t have to make sense, but I find that after a while, they do start to make sense. No one will ever see my nonsense but me, but it feels good to put words on a page. It’s like detoxing — you get rid of the junk that’s clogging the hose so the good stuff can get through. - Try some writing warm-up exercises.
Write an A to Z story where the first word starts with A, the second with B, and so on to Z. Or do it backwards, from Z to A. Or take a sentence from anywhere and use each word as the first word of a new sentence. Or write at the top of the page ‘I remember’ then write something you remember. There are many writing exercises out there to try. - Write about not writing.
Transcribe your thoughts onto the page and make them tangible. Then ask yourself what you would say to a friend that was thinking these thoughts about themselves. What if they were saying these things about you? I don’t know about you, but if a real person was telling me some of the things I tell myself, I’d get my back up and write to spite them. - Read about writing.
I often feel inspired when I read about other writers writing. Not necessarily how to write, but why and the sorts of ways they’ve learned to push through the blocks. It reminds me of why I want to write. - Give yourself a defined block of time to write then walk away.
Ten minutes, one hour, two hours, whatever works for you. When that time is up, no matter how many words are on the page (even if it’s zero), stand up and walk away. I’ve set my writing time to between 10am and 2pm every day, with a ten-minute break every hour. Whether words appear or not, whether I’m in the middle of a sentence or not, I stand up and walk away and make myself do something else. This has been one of the major strategies that has helped me get writing again. It doesn’t mean I don’t write at other times, I just don’t feel obliged to. Any extra words are a bonus. - Take the pressure off.
Can’t even write nonsense? Not even one word? Walk away. Don’t sit in front of the judgemental blank page and blinking cursor. Go and do something else. You can’t force the words just as you can’t force the water through a kinked hose. Doing something unrelated can often be enough to unkink that hose. - Watch some videos of people talking about their imposter syndrome or fear of rejection.
Like Mike Cannon-Brookes’s TED talk How you can use imposter syndrome to your benefit or Jia Jiang’s TED talk What I learned from 100 days of rejection. It can be liberating and motivational to realise you’re not alone. - Ask yourself if you really need or want to write and whether you really need to do it right now.
Not everyone has to write. It’s ok to not be a writer. You can always change your mind and come back to it later.
Many writers struggle with writing and with not writing. Don’t feel like you’re the only one.
Hopefully, some of these suggestions help you in the same way they help me when the words just won’t come.
And be kind to yourself. Some days you just have to accept that the words aren’t there. Remember, some days are not all days.
“You’ll be amazed how much you have in common with Edith Wharton (who struggled to feel worthy of success), Louisa May Alcott (who badly needed money), Madaleine L’Engle (who could have papered an entire house with her rejection letters) and other writers…” Nava Atlas, The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life
