When writer's block is really a breakthrough
A writing student recently shared with me that he has been stuck for three months on the story he’s developing. He wrote a chapter, then felt the pull away from that piece to another. This was troubling for him because he is a person who keeps his commitments. He is an exceptionally talented writer, and when he makes up his mind, he gets the work done.
Except he’s not getting the work done he made up his mind to do. He’s getting other work done instead. Raise your hand if you’ve been here. My hand is up.
I could think of several reasons why this student might be experiencing this “block.” The first is that he needed a relief project and his subconscious pointed him in that direction. A second is that this new story he’s writing is actually another draft of the story he started (one is fiction, one is nonfiction). I asked him to send me his stories so I can investigate further where the separation exists, but I also told him he can perform his own investigation by reading the pieces back to back and making note of any common haunts.
Whether this new writing is a distraction or a story that jumped line in priority is yet to be determined. Either way, I was able to give this student great news. I want to give you the same news in case you are in this predicament:
This isn’t actually writer’s block.
How do I know? You’re still writing. Sure, it’s on a different project, but you are still chipping away at that word count. You are still flexing your writing muscles. You are still growing as a writer even if you aren’t writing what you expect to be writing.
Many writers work on concurrent pieces, and not just for relief. Creativity breeds creativity. You are probably just in a fruitful period. Enjoy it! And if you want to be sure not to lose track of Piece 1 while you are developing Piece 2, set mini-goals and check in with yourself periodically to keep the sidelined writing fresh.
You can be consistent and stay on course even when you take a detour. Think of it as off-roading with the path in sight, or coming up over a rise in the mountains. You lose sight of the road ahead for a minute, but once you crest the top, there it is again and you get to ride.
What is the last writing breakthrough you’ve experienced?
Republished with permission from the Center for Creative Writing blog.
I ALWAYS have several google docs open with various stories. I keep many of them going at once and jump around a lot. I've read that a lot of 'famous' authors actually do this, too.
For me sometimes it is just because I'm writing/discovering some hard things and I need to jump into something lighter. Sometimes it's just because I'm in the mood for genre A instead of genre B so I try to go with the flow.
It's important to keep commitments, but I think it's dangerous when writing to commit to finishing one particular project, instead I choose to commit to writing X amount of words per day or for X amount of time per day.
My husband and I are both writing our early love story that happens to coincide with my diagnosis for dissociative identity disorder so that is obviously bringing up a lot of stuff for BOTH of us.
That means that we are having break throughs regularly, both in memories of the past (some things that I STILL don't remember) but also having revelations that for the first time ever aren't sending me into an emotional tailspin! Whoot! Progress!!!
Anyway, great GREAT post that I'm sure a lot of people will benefit from!
@byn, this is wonderful. I love the parallel writing you and your husband are doing, and the fact that you have a coping mechanism for finding release from discovered stress as you write is phenomenal. That coupling of topics sounds like a potentially difficult one, but you are handling it with grace by taking care of yourself. I am so excited!!!
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