I figured it was about time for another writing-themed blog, and thought, let's start with a light and airy topic, just for fun. So of course - Writers Block!
One thing that I never 'believed' in is Writer's Block. Addiction to procrastination--absolutely! Not in the 'mood' or 'zone'--sure. But an actual big ol' block with absolutely nothing to say? Nope!! Until it happened. Ugh. Really? Suddenly I have become the stereotypical image of a struggling writer, staring at that blank page for hours, bloodshot eyes, misery everywhere, no sleep, joy or words to be found anywhere!!!! "Oh god, why? WHYYYYYY???" etcetera. And then one day, at a totally unrelated event about a totally unrelated thing, someone talked about how they used to fear going blank in front of an audience - and a cool tool for getting over it (all creds to Dr Dain Heer for this one!): What if those moments you think are 'blank' actually occur when the total opposite is happening to you? What if, you are actually getting a LOT of information / ideas/ words / things to say, but you have just misinterpreted it as blank? Now, as writers, you may already be seeing how this actually can be applied to writing. How many times have you sat down and thought you had writing block and nothing was coming out right, or coming out of that brain of yours at all; and maybe, just maybe, you actually have heaps and heaps and heaps of ideas all coming in at once, but you think that would feel different, right? Like, nicer, fluffier, with little angels whispering things in your ear, or lightbulbs going off, or that 'flash' or inspiration people talk about, and definitely not blank or blocky--but well, just... what if ? Right? Ok, so now you might be willing to consider the possibility that blank or blocked in not what it appears to be, here is the next part of the tool. Even if you think I am full of bulldust on this, do it anyway, just try it. Ok, so the next time you have, 'Oh my god my mind has gone blank,' or 'Geez Louise, I can't think of a word to start typing with!' going on, say this to yourself: "Wow, I have so many things coming into my head right now, I am not sure which to go with." That's part one. The next part is going, 'Ok mind/brain/magical receptors of creative and inspirational thoughts and ideas that I mistakenly judged as malfunctioning, show me two or three things I could write / say right now." And then, whatever comes into your brain, no matter how weird, or irrelevant or silly you think it is... PICK ONE AND JUST GO WITH IT. No time for thinking, no time for 'Well this wasn't what I had in mind.' Just start--start typing, start talking, whichever is appropriate for the situation. The worst thing about starting any journey is refusing to take the first steps. As a dear friend once said to me, "If you start driving your car south, only to find out your destination is north, you are still closer to getting there than if you were still idling in your driveway." It is the same with writing. Even if you start writing in the 'wrong' direction, you are closer than if you never start. AND... the brilliance of this tool, is you begin to trust the little random sparks that come up. You actually start to listen to them instead of judging them, which over time can lead you to all kinds of amazing ideas, inspirations and realisations. I love, love, love this tool. And I never, ever, ever run out of things to say or write. For realsies! Til next time! A xx
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Hello!With each blog, I aim to invite your creativity, brilliance and difference to come forward and shine. Archives
May 2019
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