182. Writer's Block: Five Steps Forward

“In my opinion, the cure for writer's block is writing -- pure and simple.” - Beth Barany

Do you wonder why you’re not writing and wish you were? 

Then listen to “Writer's Block: Five Steps Forward,” the latest How To Write the Future podcast episode, where host and writing teacher, Beth Barany, shares five steps forward that you can put into action to help with your writer’s block. 

Plus, she shares the importance of creating a safe writing space and how to create a routine that will help you progress daily in your WIP. 

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. 

Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.

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https://bethbarany.com/

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Transcript

182. Writer's Block: Five Steps Forward

Introduction to Writer's Block

Today I'm going to talk about writer's block and what can help you get back to your writing. This was a question that came to me through one of my clients and also I would say it's come up a lot with different clients and students in the groups that I teach. So I thought today I would talk about some of the causes of writer's block, as well as some of the tools that you can use to get unblocked and get writing. 

[00:32] Meet Your Host: Beth Barany

So, hi everyone. I'm Beth Barany. I run the How to Write the Future Podcast. I'm a writing teacher, a creativity coach for writers, which means I'm very focused on the creative process and an award-winning novelist, plus a lot of other creative things.

So I'm here because I really believe that what we vision and what we put into form with our creative work helps shape the world, and this is really exciting to me. So not only do I focus on science fiction and fantasy, hence the title, How to Write the Future. But I also care about the deep fundamentals of being a writer and being a creative, no matter our creative medium.

[01:13] Defining Writer's Block

So you're a writer, you wanna be writing, but you're not writing. That is my simplest definition of writer's block.

And yet we feel stopped because a block is a stop. I'm not writing. Ah, We want to be writing, but we're not writing. So what do we do? 

[01:31] The Power of Timed Writing

So I have developed so many tools to help myself go from not writing to writing. And my very favorite tool that I'm gonna share with you right off the bat.

So if all you got was this, please, you could stop the podcast after I give you this tool and go write, that would be awesome. I would love that for you. It is timed writing. 

[01:52] Overcoming Self-Censorship

So one of the things going on, and I'm gonna talk about the causes of writer's block, one of them is self-censorship. Which can be easily coupled with or paired with perfectionism.

So we censor ourself before we write because we think it's not good enough, because in our heads we have some ideal that we are striving for and we automatically assume or we're censoring ourself even before we have written a word.

So what is the cure for that? In my opinion, the cure for writer's block is writing pure and simple.

All the tools I'm gonna share with you today, most of them, okay, not all of them. Most of the tools I'm gonna share with you today in this episode are about writing and how to get moving, and the overarching tool is timed writing, and I really invite you to write without censorship in the privacy of a journal by hand preferably if you can. 

Because writing by hand unlocks all the parts of our brain versus typing, which is very mono monotone, if you look at the brainwaves and, and this has been studied by brain scientists, so please hand write.

In this timed writing. I'm gonna challenge you to set your timer for twenty minutes because something magical happens at some point in this twenty minute process, usually around minute sixteen, where you really hit the flow.

And I would like you to write about your perfectionist streak or the self-censorship or the voices in your head that are telling you that what you want to write isn't any good. So this timed writing exercise is my go-to.

I have been writing for a very long time, and I still use timed writing. Now if twenty minutes is too much, please use less time. Set your timer for fifteen minutes or ten or five. Or if you really are skeptical about this exercise and it feels way too daunting, I urge you to put your coffee or heat up your tea in the microwave for two minutes, and write for two minutes. Really, there's no excuse to stand there for two minutes and just move your hand across the page, even if what you're writing is: I don't know what to say. I have nothing to say, what I want to say I cannot say, and that is okay.

A prompt I use when I am feeling stuck, and I may not even know why, is I say to myself, and I actually write this down in the journal, What I really want to say is, and then I start writing. And every time I'm stuck in the free write, I say, I write again: What I really want to say is, again, I keep, and then I write some more. And if I still find myself being stuck, I write again. What I really want to say is, and then I keep writing. So that's my biggest and most important exercise: write about the ways in which you may be telling yourself that you can't write.

Write that down. It's okay. It's totally okay. Please keep this private. 

[04:46] Creating a Safe Writing Space

You do not have to share it with anyone because this leads me to the next cause of writer's block, is that people haven't had a safe space to write.

So I wanna give you permission to use your journal as a safe place to write that you do not have to share with anyone, and you can experiment with telling yourself the truth.

So the other prompt I wanna share with you is-- 

Here's the prompt. You ready? The truth is-- 

I want you to use that as your starter. The truth is

Because one of the biggest challenges I notice that writers have and I work with fiction writers, is they are hiding themselves from their character or their characters feel flat because they aren't revealing their true emotional self.

So another prompt is--, are you ready for this next prompt? What I'm really feeling is.

I'll tell you this prompt again. What I'm really feeling is, and go ahead and use that as your journaling prompt. 

Now, another cause for writer's block is just plain inertia. 

[05:52] Starting Small to Overcome Inertia

It is hard to get into motion when we have not been in motion, and so when I haven't written or edited my book or touched my project for a few days, what I do is I give myself permission to start small.

You don't have to think about, oh my God, I have a chapter, or, oh my God, the whole book, or, oh my God, this whole section, no, start really, really small.

So I give myself permission to just open up the document or look at the pages. And read a paragraph or edit a paragraph or write a paragraph.

So your job in your next writing session is to start really small.

Start so small that it makes you giggle because it's such a small amount. You're like, I could totally do that.

I was working with a client the other day and I gave him this assignment, and he had a little smile on his face like, oh, I could do that. Yeah, start small. Your job today is only that. And guess what?

Your job tomorrow is also only that.

Your job is not to write the whole book in one sitting. Your job is today write fifty words, write a hundred words. Or if you're editing like I am, work for five minutes, ten minutes, whatever feels like super easy.

[07:06] Personalizing Your Writing Routine

And here's another thing about writer's block, is you do not have to do it any way that looks like anybody else. Your way of getting to your writing is gonna be very, very different. I have worked with writers who work only on the weekends. I have worked with writers who work only very early first thing in the morning. I've worked with writers who work very late at night, and then there's writers like me who work in the afternoon.

What happens if I miss my afternoon window? I have a very hard time getting to my fiction. And so here's the other thing.

Here's the tip. 

Give yourself grace. Give yourself compassion. You have never written this book before. Even experienced writers, we are writing a new book. Every book is a new book. Every book calls forth something new that makes it challenging. It doesn't get easier. You just get more know-how. You just become more familiar with the road, with the terrain of what is it like to create something?

Because creating something out of your imagination is beautiful, but it's also hard because we've never done it before. We're bringing something into form that has never been formed before. Not exactly like this, not by you. You're unique. 

[08:17] Final Thoughts and Encouragement

So because I am giving this podcast off the cuff, we're just not gonna summarize in too great of a detail, but I wanna remind you, free writing is your friend. Timed writing is your friend. If you notice a lot of censorship internally, write about that. Connect with your emotions, talk about your feelings and feel, and put that into a character's voice, even if that helps. Share what you're thinking and talk about the truth.

All right everyone. That's it for this week. Write long and prosper.