Overcoming Writer's Block
blog.streetwriters.co
Overcoming Writer's Block
1–10 of 36 posts
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#2My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block".
In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes you are synthesizing. Regardless, there's always something to do that moves you forward.
* Field stone method - https://geraldmweinberg.com/Site/On_Writing.html
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#3My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block". In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes yo…
This is a really good point and thank you for the link.
I find that I have more stress from concern about whether the writing really is moving forward even when I'm putting words on the page - i.e. will the words I'm writing 'work' - than from writers block. Always at the back of my mind is will these words make the work less cohesive - am I moving backwards?
But in general we manage what we measure and we normally have a word count but no easy way to measure whether a work is really coming together.
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#4Off-topic, but I was reminded of the brilliant (and much shorter) paper The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of “Writer's Block”, full text here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1311997/?page=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unsuccessful_self-treatmen...
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#5I only write about things I have intimate knowledge of. Writing about anything I don't have a deep interest in feels forced and contrived. I follow this saying when writing:
I don't write because I want something to say, I write because I have something to sayRe: Overcoming Writer's Block
#6I find that the “two minute rule” works pretty well.
Whatever you want to do, set a timer for two minutes. Hit start and do that thing for two minutes and really beleive that after two minutes you can stop.
Once you get going you rarely stop after two minutes. But telling your brain only twos minutes, and let’s see what happens, kind of let’s your brain give you two minutes to focus.
Oh, and go write without a computer. Get a pen and paper and leave ur phone on your desk - go somewhere else. You get to sit there and either write or do nothing. That tends to help too.
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#7My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block". In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes yo…
For me, the major problem that the fieldstone method solves is that inspiration is lumpy. The inspiration faucet often doesn't just turn on when you need it to.
By collecting fieldstones (little ideas) and polishing/rewriting over time whenever one feels strongly about a particular subject, one is able to draw on an existing collection of partially-written drafts on diverse topics that can be deployed quickly. Or combine several similar ideas and deploy a more polished/comprehensive treatment of a subject than would be possible with an on-the-spot piece.
It also accounts for the fact that our interests shift. I don't know about others but I often get into phases where I become intensely interested in a subject, research it to heck until the interest peters out. I was once really interested in the topic of alleviating loneliness because I was profoundly affected by it. I'd written many fieldstones on the topic, and contemplated it a lot. If I were given a task to write about loneliness right now, I'd probably struggle because I'm no longer as intimate with (nor as interested in) the subject as I once was, but with fieldstones I can draw on all the (partial) analyses I'd done when I was in that phase.
The fieldstone method is more than just about taking notes -- it's about brewing them over time based on one's feelings.
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#8people said stuff like these help sometimes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#9My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block". In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes yo…
This is a really good point and thank you for the link. I find that I have more stress from concern about whether the writing really is moving forward even when I'm putting words on the page - i.e. will the words I'm writing 'work' - than from writers block. Always at the back of my mind is will these words make the work less cohesive - am I moving backwards? But in general we manage what we measure and we normally h…
I do "versioning" of pieces sometimes when I'm concerned about that. I get to a particular point, decide I like some of what I've said "but it could be better" and copy and paste the entire thing into a new document and edit that, leaving the old version intact just in case I ultimately decide "God, what shite! What on earth was I even thinking???"
Re: Overcoming Writer's Block
#10My entire perspective on "writer's block" shifted after surreptitiously stumbling on Jerry Weinberg's book "The fieldstone method". I very rarely now start with a blank page and very rarely beat myself up for "writer's block". In a nutshell, the book describes how the act of writing can be broken down into many stages: sometimes you are collecting "fieldstones" (i.e. research), sometimes you editing, and sometimes yo…
Gerald Weinberg keeps popping up in a lot of recommended reading lists. Currently reading "Are your lights on?" and "Secrets of Consulting". He seems to be a prolific author, and seemingly unknown. By cover art on his books, I assume he self-publishes his books.