What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog

Writer's Block vs. Writer's Stumbling Block

Crow wrote a newsfeed note about the idea that writer's block is just a construct, not a real thing. "Note: As The Crow Flies No Lack Of Ideas If ..." I started to write a response, but then ended up with something long enough to become a blog post. Since I haven't blogged in forever, I thought I'd just copy and paste it here instead and post a link on their note. That way, WdC won't complain that my response was too long.

I used to not believe in writer's block...until I got it once. I thought writer's block was just not being able to think of something inspirational to write, something that got you really excited. Now I think it's something else--a total blocking of ideas of any sort.

My writer's block experience was very strange and unexpected for me. I've had times when I didn't feel inspired to write and couldn't come up with a "good" idea, but I wrote the bad ideas and entered the contests so I could get the MB or GPs or whatever. But then one day, I had what I think must have been real writer's block.

Part of the strangeness of the experience is that I didn't even know I had it until I tried to write something. Perhaps I was feeling depressed already. I don't exactly recall that part, but I was battling depression frequently during that in my life, so it's likely. I decided I wanted to enter a contest and discovered I couldn't come up with an idea. I mean, like nothing. "I could write about...uhhh...a thing. What's a thing? Think of a thing to write about...a...uhhh...things...things...name a thing...the computer I'm staring at is a thing. No, it needs to be a living thing. Okay, uhhh...a..a...uh...name something that's alive, dang it! What's alive? A plant? That's alive, but not the idea topic for a story. Name an animal. Any animal. Seriously? The first animal to come to mind is...a...uh...dog? Okay, a dog. So, what happens to the dog? Ummm...I don't know. He...uhh...he...I don't know."

It was crazy. I literally couldn't think of anything to write. I thought I'd go easier on myself when I couldn't think of a plot and I'd start by naming the dog. But the only dog names I could come up with were like Lassie and Benji--already famous dogs. I couldn't think to use the name of a dog I knew in real life. I looked at writing prompts. "Two friends get into an argument." "A man comes home to his apartment only to find..." Okay, people. You have to give me more to go on that just that. Maybe if you tell me the whole storyline, I could fill in the details? Not even sure if that was possible, though. I couldn't think of anything to write--literally, nothing.

I've read research on writer's block and they tend to think it's just anxiety, but I don't take my writing seriously enough to be anxious about it. Personally, I think there is a bit of confusion about what writer's block is. Sure, there are people who get super anxious about writing something because there's a lot riding on it or because they are perfectionistic or whatever. But what about those of us who don't care enough to be anxious about it? I write because I like to write, not because my livelihood depends on it. I am not one of those people who needs to write to breathe. I think I wrote 1 thing all last year and I was fine with it. But my first year, I wrote probably over a hundred. I write when I want to write and I don't when I don't. So, what's to be anxious about? In my very unprofessionally educated opinion, they aren't experiencing true writer's block...or I experienced something else.

I think of it like the difference between an anxiety attack vs. a panic attack. Too many people say they had or are having a panic attack when they mean an anxiety attack. I sat next to a girl once who said she couldn't be near me because the shaking of my leg was giving her too many panic attacks. Yet, I sat next to her for two hours without noticing a thing. It's quite possible that my anxiety was causing her anxiety. But if she'd had several panic attacks, we would have seen it. She'd be doing things like having trouble breathing or she'd be hyperventilating and perhaps crying. She'd likely be shaking, not just shaking her leg, which was wasn't even doing. She couldn't have pushed through and participated because the panic would have enveloped her entire brain. Her panic would be visible and likely audible, as well. Instead, she looked normal. Panic doesn't look normal, that's why it's panic.

So, I think perhaps what most people call writer's block is really more like the anxiety attack that people call a panic attack. I think it's hard, but I think fear and anxiety are the culprit and they can be worked through. To combat writer's block, things like writing prompts are generally recommended. But in what I consider true writer's block, those don't help...if you can even think to look for them. They are like a panic attack. You can't think clearly. You can't make reasonable choices. It doesn't matter if the dog's name is Fido or Rex. In my opinion, this writer's stumbling block they call writer's block, trying to figure out if the dog's name is Fido or Rex is the problem. In what I consider true writer's block, neither name even comes to your mind. It's not that you can't find the right name. There is no option for a dog's name. To me, this is true writer's block. Should the dog be searching for his ball or going for a walk with his owner? Writer's stumbling block. I have no idea what the dog should be doing. I can't think of what dogs do. I know dogs do things, but I can't think of a single thing they do. At the time, I can't even think that dogs chase balls or go on walks. Writer's block.

In the end, I overcame my writer's block by writing about my writer's block. No creativity was required. I just wrote about what I was currently experiencing. It was the only topic that I could think of and it took me a long time to come up with that because the rest of my mind was absolutely blank. It was totally blocked. To me, that's true writer's block.

That's my only experience with what I think is true writer's block. But I must say that now, I'm a believer.