Writer’s block: the mental demon of doubt and anxiety.
It paralyzes our writing process and clouds our mind.
In a moment, I’ll share a very simple technique to overcome writer’s block. But first, let me ask you: what ratio of time and effort do you give for planning, writing and editing?
I ask, because I used to believe I divided my attention evenly: 33% for each.
Recently, I realized that I spent twice as much energy on editing as I did on writing. What’s more, I find that every minute spent planning saves two or three while writing. Now, my writing process breaks down like this: 30% planning, 10% writing, and 60% editing.
Planning allows ideas to coalesce without any premature editing. (If you’re like me, without an outline your first sentence may be stifled by the internal editor ‘tut-tutting’ an imperfect attempt.) Knowing that I’ll spend more time editing relieves me of the burden to produce perfect writing on the first draft.
Can you guess what that simple technique is?
I call it ‘mind vomiting.’ An ugly term for a delightful process.
When I begin, I let myself write about anything; friends, weekend, frustrations, hopes, indigestion, etc. It may take up to a full page of single space text, but eventually all distractions drain from my head onto the screen. With a solid, logical outline close at hand, I then rein my mental meanderings to the topic, not worrying about cohesion, sounding smart, or fully explaining ideas. Because I give myself permission to ‘let loose’, the real amount of time for ‘writing’ is comparatively brief.
Once I’ve got that embarrassment of a first draft out, I begin the longer process of reshaping and polishing until I have the finished product. The internal editor quickly discards all the drivel, and then I give the remaining ideas the polish and refinement they deserve.
Next time you have writer’s block, try mind vomiting.
If nothing else, the warm up will serve you more than worrying about how to start.
Do you use another trick for demolishing writer’s block? Please share in comments.
