| Back
to Index
Fighting Writer's Block
- Part III
Get It Done -- Now!
Your No-Fret, No-Sweat Plan
By David Taylor
Here's a technique that can help
you develop the discipline to stay in the harness and get the
job done. I call it "block writing," and it can save
you time and help you overcome self-doubt and procrastination.
If you're like me, chances are you'll need tricks like this one
at some point. Here's why.
Other than an
empty mailbox, perhaps the most frightening sight for a freelance
writer is the blank page. Its terrors have driven many of our
brethren to strong drink, greatness, or both. Sometimes I even
hate finishing a page because I know another is waiting, its vastness
daring me to fill it with my puny thoughts, meager vocabulary
and -- by the way -- how could I produce anything worthy of the
writers who have gone before me? I used to make "C's"
in high school English! And so goes the constant babble of recrimination
spewed by the monster of self-doubt lurking behind every blank
page, which often becomes a mirror for our deepest insecurities.
The
Monster's Source
The source of
the monster's power is not merely the risk of humiliation we take
every time we write, when we reveal parts of ourselves as personal
as our underwear. There's also the mystery of the creative act.
Although humans have explored deep space and the mysteries of
DNA, we still know frighteningly little about creativity except
that some of us have more of it than others, and that if we study
our craft and work real hard, maybe, just maybe, the magic will
happen -- but maybe not. It's that possibility of not measuring
up, of Monster Doubt's voice drowning out our own, that makes
some of us write not at all, others of us write less than we would
like, and many of us write at a lower level than we could if sitting
down and doing it were not so anxiety-ridden, so unpleasant, so
frightening.
When I left my
job as a teacher of writing in order to freelance full time, I
was forced to deal seriously and quickly with these issues of
self-doubt, procrastination and their effect on my daily output.
I developed a technique I call "block writing" that
helped me overcome three common mistakes that self-doubting writers
make, especially when the writing clock strikes high noon and
it's time to create that crucial first draft.
Mistake
1: Writing too slowly. Ever watch a painter or sculptor work?
They rarely pause after each brushstroke or chisel strike. But
I know writers who cannot pen more than a sentence without stopping
to reread and revise it, as if perfect prose should flow from
them like birdsong and the final product
should take shape sentence by perfect sentence.
Au
contraire.
On a first draft,
the writer must probe the amorphous cosmos of thought where words
and vision, form and intuition come together. Taking that inward
journey means a commitment to writing in an uncensored way, and
that usually means writing quickly and without stopping to second
guess. By writing quickly, we can finally silence the critical
monitor, the little devil who sits on our shoulder interrupting
the creative process: "Is that the best word?" "This
is probably a dead end." "Will the reviewer think that's
stupid?" The devil gets his turn in the revision and polishing
stages, not now. Writing quickly also gets us in sync with our
internal voice, which gives writing its authenticity and resonance.
The bottom line is that there is a time to create and a time to
evaluate. Although both are legitimate parts of writing, they
are best done at separate times.
Mistake
2: Not distinguishing between fear of failure and possibility
of failure. It amazes me that every time I sit down to write,
I still get that panicky fear in my gut that makes me want to
wash dishes, sharpen pencils and walk the cat -- anything to procrastinate.
I still have to remind myself of the important difference between
the fear of failure and the likelihood of failure.
Rooted in our
insecurities, fear of failure usually has little connection to
its actual possibility. The reality is that if I've done good
research, know the format and market I'm writing in, and I'm willing
to put in the time, then failure is unlikely. Although I've learned
to accept my irrational fear of failure as a part of my writing
personality, even to welcome it because it makes me try harder
and keeps me humble, I've also learned to trust reality: I recall
all the other times I've sat down to perform this same act and
been successful. Why should it be any different this time? The
strong likelihood is, I tell myself, it won't be.
Mistake
3: Focusing on the final product. While fox hunting and occasionally
teaching writing at the University
of Virginia,
William Faulkner talked of the difference between "those
who want to write and those who want only to have written."
I think he meant that we are better off focusing on the challenges
of writing, the potential it offers us for personal artistic growth,
the satisfaction of creating something -- rather than the by-products
of our work, whether ego or money. Books and articles are mere
things. Their completion offers only momentary fulfillment. In
the end they will be read by few, remembered by fewer. What's
left to sustain us? The doing.
Over the years,
block writing has taught me the following four simple but important
lessons, without which I don't think I could make a living doing
this:
To write, no
matter my mood or level of fear.
To focus on discrete
steps and problems as they arrive in predictable sequence, not
the final outcome.
To keep my head
down and butt in chair, ignoring the long, arduous road I must
travel to produce final copy.
To
derive primary satisfaction from the actual process of creating,
not its outcome. While I always hope that the final product
will be one of my best, I know that there will always be successes
and failures and things in between, but the satisfaction and joy
of my craft will never abandon me.
How
To Block Write
To begin block
writing you need a timer, preferably with an alarm, to divide
your writing day into 45-minute or one-hour blocks, each followed
by a short break. The goal is simple: to sit derriere in chair
and not get up during that time period. Eventually, doing this
will become automatic. You'll give it no more thought than you
do to brushing your teeth. You just do it -- without the complaining,
the hesitation, the extra push of will.
And when things aren't going well, when the demons of doubt snarl
their loudest, when the writing chair seems a green mile away
-- you'll have a simple ploy: "Well, I guess I could sit
down for at least one block."
The
law of regularity
Tell yourself:
"If I sit down for enough writing blocks, eventually the
work WILL get done. All I have to do is show up." Avoid commitments
like, "During each block I will produce two pages of copy."
It doesn't work that way. You never know what's going to happen
once you sit down. You could produce 20 pages or 2 or none at
all. Each outcome will have occurred for a legitimate reason.
All you know is this: Spend enough time in the chair and, eventually,
it will get done.
The
need for commitment
Like any regimen,
whether a weight-loss diet, exercise program or good dental hygiene,
block writing will work only if you give yourself to it and play
by the rules. That means that no matter how much you dread writing
that day, no matter how unprepared you feel, no matter how frightened
of failure you may be, no matter how sleepy you are, the simple
act of putting your tush in a chair
and starting the timer becomes the most important thing you can
do to ensure your eventual success. It means you are acquiring
a writer's discipline.
The
need for trust
You must know
and believe that during each block something will get done. Even
an hour of false starts is important. Sometimes you have to write
stuff you won't use in order to clear the way for stuff you will,
or say things the wrong way in order to find the right way. But,
most of all, you must trust that if you simply sit down for your
time in the harness, block after block, eventually the work will
get done. At the end of each writing period, you are always one
block closer to success.
The
Five Benefits of Block Writing
To understand
the benefits of block writing, it's important to understand why
it works. Although imposing artificial structure on the creative
act of writing may seem counterproductive, I remind you of the
formula for classical Greek tragedies, from Sophocles to Euripides:
the fall of a flawed protagonist in a high position and use of
dramatic irony to evoke pity and fear. Structure and pattern,
it seems, have the power to free our creativity, whether it's
the perfection of Oedipus Rex, the symmetry of a sonnet, or the
timed bursts of block writing. With the structure of block writing
come important benefits:
Benefit
1: Defined limits
For writers plagued
by doubt, simply sitting down isn't enough. Without a tight seat
belt, it's too easy to spring back up at the first itch of doubt,
the first wretched paragraph or unyielding problem. By allowing
yourself to arise in frustration, you reinforce failure -- not
success. On the other hand, successful writers learn to stay in
the chair and write through the problems, to get the work done
one way or another. Learning to do that on
a daily basis is, I believe, the defining characteristic of a
professional writer.
Benefit
2: Artificial pressure
Freelancing on
a part-time basis is psychologically more difficult than full-time.
For a full-time writer, the sheer fact of having to sit down and
write every day makes doing it as normal as going to the loo. Motivation is also important. Full-time writers have
no problem being motivated. No write, no eat. Simple
enough. But as a part-time freelancer with a full-time
paycheck, you have little to lose besides pride (doesn't that
goeth before the fall?). Sometimes
we need the motivation that real-world pressure provides -- whether
a mortgage payment or an editor's deadline. Writing blocks apply
a helpful jolt of pressure that feels familiar, especially to
the procrastinator in us who often depends on outside pressure
to finally get things done.
Benefit
3: Sharper focus
I used to watch
college students make this mistake every day: "I'm going
to the library to study for three hours!" Well intended,
but few students knew how to break long study periods into effective
blocks with specific, achievable goals for each block. The result
was usually sadly predictable -- wasted time despite honest effort,
ending in frustration and disappointment. But writing is like
a construction project, and from foundation to rooftop we must
constantly ask, "What comes next?" Writing blocks encourage
focus on one thing at a time: an effective lead; a main character's
back story; a bridge section between main points. If the specific
goal is achieved in one block, great! If not, what the heck --
have another block on me.
Benefit
4: Required rest
How long you
can sustain concentration and remain efficient is an individual
call. But one truth applies: going beyond your productive limit
eventually leads to frustration, which can become its own problem.
I have found 45-minute to one-hour blocks to be the most comfortable
work period for me. For you it could be more, could be less. The
key is to be disciplined and to give up romantic notions of working
furiously while in the breathless grip of inspiration, losing
all sense of self and time, emerging with masterpiece in hand.
On some days that may happen; when it does, feel blessed and know
it was possible because you treated the other 364 days like a
job, complete with coffee and chit-chat (why do you think God
gave us email?) during breaks.
Benefit
5: Concrete goals
Vague dreams
lack the juice to sustain us through the tough work that a writing
project requires. "I want to be published!" Fine, but as a binding contract with yourself that's a little soft
around the edges, exclamation point notwithstanding. Writing
blocks are a series of concrete obligations reinforced by timers,
beeps, up and down movements, specific goals for each block. All
of these things help bind us to the ultimate writing contract:
To write our best, to grow from the challenges we've set for ourselves,
and to be proud that we're doing it -- not merely dreaming it.
This Article was found at: http://www.articleblast.com/
|