Balls of Steel: Unblock the Block
Writer’s block is a writer’s impotency. We’ve all experienced it at some point in our careers. Sadly, there’s no magic pill to cure it.
Films like Misery and Below Zero highlight the mind of a writer void of thoughts, ideas, or the ability to execute. Short of being trapped with Kathy Bates, or locking ourselves in a meat locker like Below Zero’s Jack the Hack, we have to find tried and true ways to combat it.
Why do we get writer’s block? Simple – fear.
We fear the execution won’t live up to the hook. Or fear our characters won’t be as vibrant as they appear when they dance inside our heads. We fear not meeting the deadline, so we procrastinate to the point of panic, needing that pressure of a ticking clock to push us. But mostly, we fear failure.
For most writers, the fear starts with staring at the blank page.
Depending on whether I’m writing an article or a script, I use different tricks to tame the dreaded white sheet taunting me.
For a blog post or an article, I spend ten minutes brainstorming a list of points I want to make in the piece. Once I’m satisfied with the list, I call out a writing sprint on Twitter.
A writing sprint is either 30 or 60 minutes of uninterrupted time to get the words on the page. Knowing other writers are suffering through a sprint at the same time helps my morale. That either defines me as a twisted chick or a competitive freak. Either way, I can live with it.
I’m actually doing a writing sprint right this very minute. See how this works? Pretty damn good.
If I’m working on a script, I take the outline and import it directly into my screenwriting software. Each scene has a slugline and description of what I want to explore both in story and character development. I then give myself a goal of writing either a certain number of scenes each day or a page count.
But what if even with these tricks I can’t produce?
I pick up the phone and call my brainstorming partner. There are many ways to collaborate in this business, but for me, there’s one person who I know will always help spark an idea. All it takes is a ten-minute phone call, and I’m unblocked.
Perhaps I could do the same by talking to myself in the mirror. I might try it someday, but I’m quite certain my teens would have me locked up. There’s only so much embarrassment they can endure.
If my brain is still clogged, I go for a run. No iPod or headphones – just my sneakers, the fresh air, a few squirrels, and me. I take a digital recorder with me though for when brilliance strikes. No doubt I will listen back and pay more attention to how heavy I was breathing than to my thoughts, but 99% of the time, moving my body is all I need to get my brain in gear.
What if you’re not into exercising?
Change your scenery. Put some clean clothes on and go out in public. Live your life. Read a book or go to the movies. Make love. Go shopping or stalk people at Panera.
If voyeurism and sex don’t do it, then maybe today just isn’t your day for creation. Above all, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, give yourself permission to completely walk away.
My experience is if I force myself to sit still and push out the words, those words will be worse than vomit. Nothing worth reading will come of it. When I step away and get in the right headspace, inevitably the writing goal is met in half the time.
Since every writer is different, and no one has the same set of fears, I’d love to hear what techniques you use to unblock yourself. Please share your tips in the comment section, and let’s get the conversation started!
Ironically, while some people think conversation is a procrastination tool, it is a fabulous way to free your mind. Anything that gets your mind moving can spark a nugget of an idea you can run with, even if you’re not a runner.
How do you beat writer’s block to a pulp?
Email jeanne@jeannevb.com questions or topics you’d like addressed in future “Balls of Steels” columns and follow her on Twitter @jeannevb.
38 Comments
Hi Jeanne (and everybody else!),
For me, it normally works to pick up a screenwriting book and read a couple of chapters (if there’s a chapter on the step I’m stuck in, better!). More than once, something has clicked in my brain to go forward with the script.
This is where having balls of steel comes in handy in breaking down the ‘writer’s block’ wall.
For myself, I have access to many other outlets. If one particular project is giving me a creative tantrum, I write around it. I’ll write the end or take a stab at writing the scene backwards or without dialog – basically to free my mind from the ‘tunnel vision’ that can sometimes happen.
Or I’ll just walk away from it completely – work on a short story, a different script, or help out another writer with their project. It’s similar to reverse psychology because we all know as soon as we put words on a page and dialog in a character’s mouth – that project is ALIVE and therefore can feel and sense when we are giving it the cold shoulder.
Suddenly it will go ‘oh wait wait wait…’ a day or so after you take that walk. And sometimes when you blindside it with a different approach, it balks and retreats.
I realize I am being a little flippant, but this has been my experience and observation over the past fifteen years of writing. We are creatives – and what we create, just like children, end up testing our resolve and our boundaries.
Sometimes it is a wrestling match, but you know you have to come out on top. And you will by doing whatever it takes to make that happen. Think outside the box, cook something, write something else, make something else and they may just lead you back to where you started – with a fresh perspective and a glint in your writing eye!
I play with the notecards. Shuffling, randomizing and seeing what happens when I remove the troubling ones.
Fantastic tips, everyone! This has to be the most commented Balls of Steel so far. Love it! No one has an excuse for writer’s block now
I have a few things that I inevitably associate with screenwriting because I’ve turned them into a habit over the last years. And when I’m stuck, I turn to these things to trigger some sort of Pavlov reflex, which works most of the time.
For example, I start almost every weekend with listening to the On The Page podcast and thinking about a script and/or writing a few lines. So, when I’m stuck in the middle of the week, I put on one of the podcasts and I immediately get into the right mood. Self-conditioning works great on the weak-minded like me, lol!
Conversation, and sounding out ideas on a friend, helps me to get over writers block and work through a problem.
Also, a corner overlooking the road, in the cafe down the road from me, is my favourite place to write when I can’t do it at home. Works every time!
I recently got over writer’s block…twice. I had two projects that I loved. one, a screenplay, and the other a novel, which was a sequel to a novel i wrote some years ago.
I did all the exercises, bikes, boxing, driving, hunting, smoking, drinking, you name it. But I finally settled on 500 words a day, plus exercise. the 500 words could be anything. A long, long, shopping list. How proud i am of my son. Anything.
Once the writing juices got flowing I committed myself to a scene a day. Not a finished, polished scene, but a scene in either my novel or my screenplay. and things are moving apace. I’m still drinking, driving, biking, dreaming of hunting…and writing. We’ll see.