As both a writer and a teacher of writing, the topic of writer’s block has found its way into my thoughts and conversations many times.
This writer’s block seems to be the bane of all writers’ existences. If our writing is matter, then writer’s block is antimatter. Or we can go with Superman to kryptonite if you like that analogy better.
I’ve been in the middle of many projects when it attacked me. Writing goes from effortless to difficult. I have no idea what to write next in my screenplay, sketch or story. The thoughts just won’t come, and the ones that do are all crap.
The question I see a lot is “what do I do about it?” How do we stop this kryptonite from completely devouring our inner-Superman?
Well, my answer might be disappointing on the surface: there’s nothing we can do. There’s no magic pill we can take to just make the writer’s block disappear. Well, there is, but that pill is currently illegal.
But that’s ok because I have good news too. News that makes the answer to the previous question irrelevant.
Do you really want to know the secret to curing writer’s block?
I’ll tell you.
Put your stuff down and lean a little closer.
Alright…
Writer’s block doesn’t actually exist.
Now you might be resistant to that statement. You might be thinking “of course it does! I get stuck on what to write all the time, dickhead!”
You might even be facing what you think of as writer’s block right now.
But hear me out.
What you think of as writer’s block is actually just a fear of writing crap.
As I’m sure you’re aware, we have two sides to our brain: the creative side and the analytical side. The creative side is usually reserved for the zone we get into when we’re writing, and the analytical side is usually reserved for the analytical headspace of editing.
When we’re in a creative flow, it’s easy to stay in this creative flow. The analytical part of our brain is still there — otherwise we would have a hard time using grammar or telling a logical sequence of events — however the creative side is dominant.
When we’re in our analytical side, we’re often making lots of judgments. We’re saying “that’s not good enough,” or “that’s terrible.” We tend to stay in this mode too. Our creative side is still there somewhere, but the analytical side is dominant.
So when we have what we consider to be writer’s block, what is actually happening is we’re stuck thinking with our analytical brain, trying to think our way into what to write next and then judging all of the solutions as not very good.
When you’re in this mode, you can write something. I mean, even if you’re writing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” over and over again, you’re producing words onto the page. It’s just the wrong side of your brain is in control and instantly judging those words.
So the real question isn’t “how do I get rid of writer’s block,” it’s “how do I start thinking with my creative brain when my analytical side is in control?”
Well we already know we can’t think our way out of it. That’s just going to put us deeper into our analytical brain. It’s like trying to trick our brain into thinking of something really funny or brilliant. It doesn’t work.
What we need to do instead is just write. Write even though you “know” you’re just going to produce pure crap.
When we’re deep into our analytical brain and feeling insecure, we might be judging all things as bad, even if it’s not. We could be writing the next Crime and Punishment, but our nitpicky brain is only seeing the flaws.
But even if it is bad, writing without judgement will put you into the other side of your brain, and that’s exactly where you want to be.
If your analytical side wants to keep judging, tell it that it can judge all it wants later. No one is going to read what you’re writing, and you can go back and delete and rewrite everything later.
So don’t let the strawman of “writer’s block” get to you. You’re a superman who’s been lied to about kryptonite this entire time.
Instead, prove to yourself that you can still make words appear on the page. And soon those words will be ones even the analytical side of your brain will enjoy.
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Thanks for reading!
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