That Time I Thought I Had Writer’s Block. For 10 Years.
Writer’s block. Some people swear by it. Others scoff at it. I thought I had it for 10 years…
These days, most creatives don’t believe that writer’s block is a thing. There are several articles online explaining why writers might come to feel as though they can’t lay down a single word for their WIP. A lot of it makes sense: Poor or little plotting, overdoing the outlines, lack of belief in the story, uncertainty over the characters’ destinations, and so on.
Basically, the issues with your manuscript prevent you from continuing it.
The solution is to go over everything you’ve written, identify the problem, and fix it. I agree that this sort of stumbling block crops up, and I agree on how to go about removing them from our paths.
But — and I bet you saw this but coming — what if you’re not just writing a novel — what if you write song lyrics and poetry as well? Not brilliant ones, but you write them, write them often. If the problem lies with your current novel, you should be able to write lyrics and rhymes that are completely separate to the WIP that you’re stuck on, right?
So far, none of the articles I’ve read in relation to writer’s block have asked this question, and therefore haven’t answered…