There's No Such Thing As Writer's Block

   

   Gotta admit, it's been quite awhile. Christmas and New Years got pretty busy. But now we're snowed in, so I've got plenty of time to write a quaint little blog post.

   A little while ago, I participated in a live webinar with Jerry Jenkins and David Loy (Two experienced published authors).

   Jenkins gave seven things to help you finish your book. I won't list them all, because I don't want to steal his thunder or anything... Like that would ever happen.

   But the thing that stood out to me mostly, wasn't one of the seven points. It was actually just in his introduction. He said “There's no such thing as writer's block. It's all just laziness. It's an excuse all of us writers use when we're scared."

   If you were a secretary, and you called into work one day, and said, “I'm sorry, I can't come to work today because I have Secretary's Block.” you'd probably be laughed off the phone and told to come into work regardless.

   It's no different with writers. There is no reason that we should not be writing. Even if you can't think about what should come next in your story, keep writing. Write anything. You can edit later.

   One thing I've learned from writing, is that whatever you write, good or bad, it is always beneficial. There have been times when I've sat down to write, stared at the words that I left off at, and didn't know what to write. So I left it. The same thing happened the next time, and the next time. The only way I got out of that rut, is by adding something, even if it was stupid and didn't make sense.

      He also said that this so-called “writer's block” comes from fear. Yes. It does. Fear of whoever reads it. Fear of your editor. Fear of your potential publisher. Fear of your family reading it and judging you. Fear of yourself...

   The best way to get rid of that fear is to just think of one person that you trust. One single person. (Not as in someone who isn't dating... but like... oh, nevermind.) Write the story for them. Think about how they would react to each page. Think about what criticism they might have while you write. If you narrow down the focus to one person, the writing doesn't seem so nerve-wracking.

   Are you struggling with writer's block fear? What are your methods of getting out of your “Writing Ruts”?

Stay writerly!

-The Bandit