When the Creative Stream Stops Flowing

            So often people complain they have writer’s block. They stare at a page, whether paper or computer, and nothing comes. Their brain matches the page – blank. I never had that drastic a problem because my mind keeps working but perhaps can’t find just the right words, can’t get that just right description, or can’t decide how to create a word bridge between scenes. So, all authors need ways to turn those creative blocks back to a full stream again. First, we need to consider a few reasons for any block before we look at some ways to overcome the problem.

            Jeff Goins lists the main reasons he discovered for the creative stream stoppage:

• Timing: It’s simply not the right time to write. Your ideas may need to stew a little longer before writing them down.
• Fear: Many writers struggle with being afraid, with putting their ideas (and themselves) out there for everyone to see and critique. Fear is a major reason some writers never become writers.
• Perfectionism: You want everything to be just right before you ever put pen to paper or touch a keyboard. You try to get it perfect in your head and never do, so you never begin. 

Although, Goins wrote about blogging, writing is writing. Most ideas cross between all types of writing to a certain extent.

Goins also gives suggestions of what not to do to try to overcome writer’s block:

·        You do not overcome writer’s block by refusing to write until you feel “inspired.”

·        You do not overcome writer’s block by wallowing in self-pity.

·        You do not overcome writer’s block by procrastinating or making excuses.

·        You do not overcome writer’s block by watching TV.

·        You do not overcome writer’s block by reading articles on how to overcome writer’s block.

The strange thing is one way to restart the muse working is to distract oneself from the problem and watching TV distracts. Interesting.

            Now, let’s discuss some ways to restart the creative stream. Both Goins and Pete Croatto suggestion moving away from the situation. Croatto says to change location to find inspiration. Goins says to go for a walk. By removing ourselves from the “blank” page, our minds can be sidetracked from the problem and have an opportunity to find stimulation or inspiration. 

            Another way to unblock the block would be to eliminate distractions. Here is where a writer should avoid watching TV: When one tries to write, distractions can provide a mental block to creating. Therefore, when we try to write, we should avoid visiting someone, watching TV, texting, and other activities that take our mind off writing. Sometimes, though, when we can’t write, watching a TV show could actually help us mentally relax and discover the writing begins again.

            Ironically, another way to unblock the logjam in the creative stream is to do other things, to be distracted. Croatto states the following activities could help get the words flowing again: run errands or do chores; talk to another writer; research. Some ways Goins suggests include: go for a walk; spend time with someone who makes you feel good; play (a game on your computer, a card game with a friend or friends, a basketball game with a child or grandchild). One idea I use quite often is to begin another project or go back to a project I laid aside.

            Some people can relax the creative muse by listening to music, pushing the blank page or stopped page to one side. After the mind relaxes, the words may begin to flow again.

            When I can’t decide how to transition from one scene to another or from one event to another, I sit back and run the “movie” of the story through my mind. Letting myself remember and rewind the story often gives me the needed words to continue.

            Are these the only ways to motivate the creative stream to flow again? Of course not, but they are a few that worked for others. When anyone gets stuck, he needs something to unblock the logjam and to allow the stream to flow.

Sources:

     Croatto, Pete, “Parallel work,” The Writer, May 2018, page 10.

     Goins, Jeff, “How to Overcome Writer’s Block: 14 Tricks that Work,” https://goinswriter.com/how-to-overcome-writers-block/

     Zabel, Vivian, experience and methods from the past