How To Avoid Writers' Block
Give Yourself Permission To Write Badly
Writers' block is caused by anxiety that what is written won't be good enough. Eliminate that worry by giving yourself permission to write a "bad" first draft.
Because there is such a wide variety of methods for avoiding writers' block, the problem can seem more complicated than it actually is, especially to the novice author. Every writer and non-writer alike hears of writers' block. Some writers swear that there is no such thing. This is partially true, and that is because there is one very simple way of avoiding it – and that is to write.
This is, of course, the part where the novice writer shakes his head, harrumphs loudly at the computer screen and declares, “If I could just sit down and write, I wouldn't have writers' block, now would I?”
Exactly.
What is Writer's Block?
Writers' block is nothing more than an expression of anxiety. It's a type of performance anxiety reserved for authors. The writer is afraid to put any words whatsoever on the page for fear that they won't be “good enough.” Perhaps the ghost of an old teacher or the memory of a parent looms over his shoulder. Whatever the reason, the writer who wishes to become “unblocked” must put words on the paper at all costs – even though they are imperfect.
Solutions for Writers' Block
That is the cure for writers' block. Put words on paper, any words at all. Imperfect words may be rearranged later and improved. There isn't a thing in the world you can do with a blank page. In this era of computer technology, you can't even make a paper plane out of it.
The author in need of a fancier visualization may benefit from imagining herself as a sculptor of words. However, she must actually create the stone from which to pull her masterpiece. The preliminary, imperfect ramblings with which she must first fill the page is that stone – wild, rough and unsavory.
In order to do this, the author must give himself permission to write badly. That is the definition of a first draft. For many authors, the first draft is little more than a jumble of thoughts. Such an author often thinks, “That will have to go,” as he writes a particular sentence or idea. Upon returning later in the day, however, he realizes that particular sentence or thought is a gem to be polished.
It sounds simple, and it is. The author who never suffers from writers' block is willing to risk all by writing badly. Much of that “bad” writing, goes on to become something wonderful. The author who remembers that will suffer much less performance anxiety.
