Tag: writer’s block

Writer’s Block “is a fabrication”

On By dotluvs2writeIn blogging, Fiction Writing, Writing Techniques4 Comments

writer's block wads of paper and pen

 

On Monday, January 8, my fiction writing workshop class at my online university starts up, and I’m reading two books:  The Lie that Tells the Truth by John Dufresne, and 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories by Lorrie Moore and Heidi Pitlor.  I’ve already read one short story assigned for this week in the latter book, and I’m half way through the second chapter of Dufresne’s book assigned to us.  As I suspected, Dufresne’s book is excellent.  He writes with such clarity, wit, and animation, which is really fabulous for a book that’s published for teaching writing techniques to fiction writing students and beginner writers (but I think it’s valuable information for even experienced writers).  

john dufresne book the lie that tells the truth

In the first chapter assigned for us to read, he talks about getting in a routine of writing at least fifteen minutes each day in whatever place is your writing space.  If you get stuck, scan the things around your room, like a photograph of somebody or something, a colorful bird perched outside your window, or Mardi Gras beads, for example, and write about it.  You have still gotten in your writing for the day, and it wasn’t wasted because one of those items you wrote about may be useful in a future book.

In the second assigned chapter we are reading for the first week of this course that is eight weeks long (called a term, as are all undergraduate online classes at SNHU), he talks about writer’s block that clears up any ambiguity or belief in it.  Here’s an excerpt from the book on this (that I partially used in my blog title for this piece):

“Understand that if you didn’t write today, it’s because you didn’t want to. You didn’t have the perseverance or the courage to sit there. You lacked the will and the passion. Maybe you don’t enjoy it enough–we always find time to do the things we love. Your choice not to write–and it is a choice–had nothing to do with what has been called writer’s block. Writer’s block is a fabrication, an excuse that allows you to ignore the problem you’re having with your story, which means, of course, that you cannot solve the problem. But it does let you off the hook, doesn’t it? You can tell your friends, I have this strange and debilitating neurological paralysis that affects only writers and it’s untreatable. I just need to let it run its course. Saying you’ve come down with block gives something else the control over your behavior and conveniently absolves you from responsibility.

You must not accept or embrace this expedient but ludicrous notion that you can be blocked from writing. Writing is a job, like being a secretary is a job. And if you have a job, you go to work every day, or you lose the job.”

painting of author stuck

I don’t know about you, but this really opened my eyes.  After all, I thought I had “writer’s block” for nearly 18 years, as I’ve mentioned in a few of my blog posts.  But pondering those years, I was just busy and allowed all the things around me to take me away from my writing, and in most of those circumstances, they were legitimate reasons why.   Considering I was taking care of my youngest son’s special needs when he was a baby, toddler, and early grade school age, he needed to be my first priority.  It was only right he came before any thoughts of taking up writing again that I’d not touched in eight years by that time.  

But what I took away from Dufresne’s words, other than the fact that writer’s block isn’t real, is that writing is a choice and a job.  This is so important, and I am asking myself why hadn’t I considered this before?  It hadn’t even crossed my mind.  Why did I think of writing as more of a pastime or hobby?  Do published authors think what they’re doing is just a pastime or hobby?  I highly doubt it.  It’s what they do, their job. They put their hearts and souls, sweat and tears into their novels and short stories.  Therefore, what Dufresne says makes perfect sense, and these words need to be heeded and remembered always for us writers.  In fact, it would be good to jot this down in our notebooks and perhaps type them up in bolded, large print and hang it up near our writing space as a constant reminder whenever we are feeling stuck or distracted or lazy.  

In the weeks to come, I may write more blog posts on what John Dufresne has to teach us (he does teach at a college in Florida) on the techniques and art of writing.  Until then, keep on keeping on with the pen to the paper or hands on the keyboard and eyes on the  MS Word document filling up with your thoughts in black and white.

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Finding The Inspiration To Write

On By dotluvs2writeIn Fiction Writing, Inspirational10 Comments

finding peace

After a hiatus of nearly eighteen years (marriage and children—life), I began writing stories again in the fall of 2014 just before I started my first class at Southern New Hampshire University online. After reading the book, Of Human Bondage, by Somerset Maugham, the ideas of a story filled my mind, and this time, these ideas made it into words written in longhand on paper in a spiral notebook. And I succeeded in finishing this piece in a month or two. The story is in the genre of Young Adult/Children’s, and is about bullying and reconciliation. I then went on to write my first novel, followed by a few more short stories.

In 2015, I had another year of sporadic writing blocks via an online critique site I became part of while working on my novel. By the first couple of months of 2016, I wasn’t able to write as I had been. This happened because I had lost my voice, style of writing, and became overly concerned with the rules of writing and taking every feedback to heart. My writing had become flat, mechanical, and lifeless. It took me nearly another year to come back from that and discern the difference between a critique that pertained to what I needed to improve my story and one that was not relevant or useful to the storyline and my style of writing.

Since then, I’ve been continuing to edit my novel and short stories, but have picked up reading more fiction. This has helped me tremendously. Last week, I finished reading a Jodi Picoult novel that was superbly written with a profound and complex storyline. The ending didn’t tie up neatly in a pretty pink bow, but rather had me thinking about the decision the main character had made and left me wondering how that was going to work out for said character. Intriguing to say the least.

jodi picoult novel the storyteller

It was through reading this 400+-page novel in four days that spurred me to writing a new story, though lacking a clear plot or known ending (which was how I usually started writing–stream of consciousness). But in the past couple of days, the plot and direction of this new story has become clearer, and the writing I did on it last night and this morning gave me such joy and satisfaction. It was the kind of writing I’ve wanted to write but haven’t been able to since I wrote my novel in 2015, but this current story’s writing is superior to it, which makes sense if you are growing in your writing. And how exciting is that to know you can continue to hone your writing skills and become better and better the more you read and write?

I was created to create

I had heard from other writers more than once, the importance of reading a lot… “Read, read, and then read some more,” was basically the advice thrown out there in a Facebook writers’ group in which I’m a member, in the answer to questions on prompting yourself to write. Now that I have done this and seen the effects of this experience, I know the key to burgeoning ideas and perpetual writing of stories. Thank God! And believe me, I haven’t forgotten His loving guidance throughout this process.

As I plow through submitting the last twenty or so chapters of my first novel through my online critique group and prepare it for publishing this coming spring, I am feeling very good about my fate as a blossoming writer and soon-to-be official author. Life is good, and writing about it makes it even better.

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