The best way to curtail a writer's block.

[Adolescent09]

Can someone PLEASE tell me. I wrote an essay recently which I intended to post on this forum but I was so chagrined by its outcome that I deleted it instantly. Please post your preferred ways of overcoming a seemingly endless writer's block and I will do my best to use the same; be it poetry, a certain type of reading, or a place to go to clear your thoughts. Feedback, please!

[AutumnGal]

Creativity is a right-brain function, so for those of us who are predominantly left-brain thinkers (i.e., analytical--*ahem* :blush: that would be me) we need a way to kick our right brain into gear. Here are some exercises from my college Creative Writing class:

Exercise #1: Free writing is always a great exercise--that is just writing down your free flow of consciousness without much thought for punctuation or structure or relevance of ideas. Great free writing starters can be found in any book. Open to a random page and then write down the first half of any sentence your eyes read--just let your consciousness flow from there.

Exercise #2: Find an interesting picture on a random web site and write about a piece of it--not the most obvious object in the picture, perhaps something in the background or a specific part of the object. Write about the color, the smell, the sounds, the textures, and the feeling(s) it invokes.

Another great way to kick that right brain into gear is to visit the Games threads of LitNet and play as many as you can in ten minutes. At the end of ten minutes, get right back to whatever it was you were struggling with when the block occurred. Your right brain should be firing on all cylinders now!

I hope this is helpful. Good luck! :D

~AG

[Adolescent09]

I love you topic post starter "Block-busters".. ironical and funny and the advice you gave was helpful. Thanks for replying :).

[byquist]

As Exercise 1 by Autumn, freewrite or quickwrite anything, "What can I write about? I have no ideas. It's freezing out. This is impossible. ... " etc. The physical action of writing anything and everything down is the process.

I've only encountered one instance of severe writer's block and it was, at least temporarily, cured when he wrote a Valentines card to his mom.

[Rogers_68]

in "bird by bird," anne lamott recommends picking a certain time of the day and writing every day at that same time. no plan, no edits, nothing but writing. she says it trains your subconscience to come out easier. i've been doing it for about 8 days now and it seems good.

on his webpage patrick f. mcmanus says that when he was getting started he would free-write for two hours every day from 7 to 9, 7 days/week. he said that it took months but eventually he just started writing better and better, and it became very natural.

[Adolescent09]

thank you very much Roger, that consistent schedule should be efficient in putting an end to my writer's block. Especially Anne Lamott's suggestion.

[Rogers_68]

thank you very much Roger, that consistent schedule should be efficient in putting an end to my writer's block. Especially Anne Lamott's suggestion.

i don't know if you've every read any of her books but i think she's (http://www.barclayagency.com/lamott.html) a great writer. i'd recommend bird by bird (http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0385480016/ref=s9_asin_image_1/102-0479438-4941760) for writing, as well as traveling mercies (http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Mercies-Some-Thoughts-Faith/dp/0385496095/sr=1-1/qid=1168839779/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0479438-4941760?ie=UTF8&s=books) if you want to find more about her life.

good luck!

[Jean-Baptiste]

I just read about a method that I think could be beneficial for getting the mental ink flowing. It seems somewhat sappy, but I suppose one could go about it in a non-sappy way. Make a list of ten facets of yourself: member of the lit-net, English major, enjoyer of napping, etc. Then expound on those terms by writing a paragraph or so about each one. It's an entirely self-centered approach, but thankfully it has nothing to do with publication. I think it could easily get one thinking of things that matter personally, and therefore give valid ideas for writing--not that you need to end up writing about yourself, of course.

AutumnGal: I've always hated freewriting, but I have to admit that the several times I've been forced to do it it has helped immensely. It's a wonder that I can't bring myself to do it more often, of my own volition.

Rogers: I've heard similar postulates, and they always strike me as brilliantly beneficial, nearly necessarily so, but again, I can never seem to get around to forcing myself into such a routine. One of these days, I swear... ;)

[Neil Thomas]

Take a walk and extrovert. Try not to think, look. You have thought yourself into a rut already. Get in communication with other people, that helps me tremendously. Real good communication is very helpful to me when I have a writes block. Poetry or short writings with no place really to go. Just start writing. Anything, the direction is not important. Hope this helps.

Neil Thomas

[mir]

What i always do is start writing a story about writer's block. :p i have three or four at least by now, and i think some of them are pretty good stuff!!

a lot of the reason writer's block happens, i think, is that it's hard to find an idea to write about. writing about writer's block gives you a good topic, and certainly something you know enough to write about! :D