Years ago at a presentation at the UCLA Extension Writer's
Program, I promised an audience to teach them to conquer this
beast once and for all. Later, another instructor approached me
and said "why did you say that to those people? It's not
possible."
Poor woman. All she was saying is that SHE cannot break writer's
block, which told me all I need to know about her career. In all
likelihood a promising beginning, perhaps an award-winning poem
or book...and then pain.
It is not only possible to end writer's block forever, but you
can actually use it to your advantage!
First, let us define it in some useful way: Writer's block is
the inability to: 1) Produce new text. 2) Edit and polish
existing text 3) Finish projects on a reasonable schedule 4)
Send those projects out for editorial judgment. 5) Continue
sending them out until they are sold.
Accepting the above, I'm going to give you a definition of the
root cause of Writer's Block that will actually help you in
every arena of your life.
"Writer's Block is nothing more than a confusion of two
different states of mind: the Flow state, where you produce new
text, and the Editing state, where you evaluate and polish what
you have written."
The reason WB is such a killer is that most of us have done far
more reading than we have writing, and spend far more time in
critical analysis of finished, polished work of the masters than
in experiencing our own early drafts. So when we try to create
text, we measure our first draft efforts against the polished
work of the world's great writers. Immediately, that "this is
garbage!" voice goes off in your head, and you have a block.
It is said that novice writers must work through a million words
of garbage before reaching their true voice. How in the world
will you ever get through it if you constantly judge every word?
If you will learn to turn that voice off, you will learn a
massive and important lesson about the structure of the human
psyche.
But what exactly is "Flow"? It is the psychological state where
time seems to vanish, where you "fall into the page", where the
rest of the world floats away as you concentrate. This is
similar to the "hypnogogic" state experienced just prior to
sleep, and the first thing in the morning. It is experienced in
distance running, dancing (remember the lyrics to "Flashdance"?
"She's moved into the danger zone, where the dancer becomes the
dance") and, to be perfectly frank, it is experienced during
sexual relations in the moments just prior to orgasm. It is the
dissolution of the subject-object relationship sought by
numerous schools of meditation.
1) Alternate days (or work sessions) between flow and editing.
If necessary, wear different hats, or sit in different chairs
for each. NEVER DO BOTH IN THE SAME SESSION
2) Set yourself a daily output that will get you to your goal of
one million words in less than 5 years. 1000 words a day will do
it in three years. That's roughly comparable to earning an AA
degree. Not too shabby!
3) Explore and specifically study "Flow State" as a discipline.
Do your internet searches and find a physical or mental activity
(running, dancing, meditation, Tai chi, yoga, etc.) that opens a
doorway to this inner world.
4) Listen to largo rhythm, sixty-beat per minute string music.
Vivaldi is perfect for this, and induces "Alpha" (flow) state
rapidly and effectively. Stay away from music with lyrics, but
soft jazz is also terrific.
5) Practice making pictures in your mind, and then writing down
what you see WITHOUT judging the quality of your descriptions.
You want to enhance the connection between your deep
consciousness and your typing or writing.
6) If you can't find a good meditation technique, just sit and
"listen" to your own heartbeat for 15-30 minutes a day.
There are many other ideas, but these will get you started. The
most valuable thing you will learn is to "turn off" or ignore
the negative voices in your head. And an artist who learns to do
this on demand is on the way to integration of the deep levels
of the unconscious...and greater joy in the act of creation.
About the author:
NY Times Bestselling author Steven Barnes has published over
three million words of fiction, been nominated for Hugo and
Nebula Awards, and wrote the Emmy-winning "A Stitch In Time"
episode of the Outer Limits. He is the creator of the
Lifewriting™ high performance system for writers. Get a free
daily Lifewriting tip at:
www.lifewriting.biz
