What is Writer’s Block? Does it exist? It’s a contention writers discuss and discuss.
Personally I don’t believe in Writer’s Block – it just means you are not asking the right questions.
Discover what Writer’s Block really is, and how as a writer you can avoid this excuse not to write.
The Truth About Writer’s Block
From my 35 years of facilitating memoir and fiction writing workshops, I’ve met a lot of participants that say things like, ‘I have writer’s block’ or ‘I can’t seem to write’, and such like statements.
This is a conditioned response. It’s not real. There is no reason why you can’t pick up the pen – but then it depends on what you know, and what you need to know.
When I help analyse these participants’ stories, and what is exactly going on, the answer is invariably that they have lost their ‘story’ direction. They possibly don’t know all the elements of story creation, and therefore how to write story.
No wonder they feel they are not ‘able’ to write. They are missing valuable pieces of the writing jigsaw puzzle.
Personally I don’t believe in Writer’s Block – it just means you are not asking the right questions.
And a big answer to their problem is that they are not asking the right questions, in order to keep the development of their story moving forward.
One can only ask the right questions when you know the questions to ask. And this requires understanding how story is created using personal life experiences.
See below for the type of questions you should be asking yourself with regard to writing your story and your memoir.
If you have a direction and a destination – you will know the path forward in your writing.
How to Stop ‘Writer’s Block’
It is common for writers to think that when they have writer’s block that they are lost, are unable to create and will have to wait until some divine inspiration comes to them before they can write again. This is nonsense.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you know what experience in your life you want to focus your memoir on?
- Can you name the subject matter of your memoir?
- Do you know the time period of your memoir?
- Are you familiar with all of your characters? Are they developed?
- Are too many characters in your story doing too little? Are they really necessary in your memoir? Are they important to the story?
- Are your settings too descriptive, are you bogged down in writing long descriptive paragraphs that are not contributing to the story and therefore not necessary?
- Do you know the Theme of your story?
- Are you happy with the Structure of your memoir?
- Do you know how to end your memoir?
The above questions are just a few examples of what could be holding you up from going forwards in your writing.
Creativity and Writer’s Block
It is also common that when one feels they have stumbled head first into ‘writer’s block’ is that they have possibly lost touch with their creativity. That precious commodity that stirs our imaginations and desire to write.
Not only will a walk in the park and getting in touch with nature certainly help, doing exercises will definitely nudge you out of this negative space.
Do read my BLOG; How Can I Tap into My Creativity and do the exercises I’ve outlined there, they are a lot of fun…
You will find the pen in your hand again – real soon!
How can I overcome my Fear of Writing?
Writing is like a jig-saw. All the elements weave together to create a whole. And if you don’t fully understand story creation, if you are missing even a couple of the vital parts, you will never write an engaging memoir, it’s as simple as that.
When you understand story creation, a whole new world opens up and you will know what to think about, what questions to ask, and how to dig deep into your story and your writing. You won’t have ‘writer’s block’.
Being able to ‘see’ your story and ask the right questions brings deep creativity and fun to the development of your memoir. And all this happens before you start writing your book.
Remember, you should never get the blank page feeling, because if you have a direction and a destination, you will know the path forward.
And if you would like more help, do read my blog post: Best Book on Writing Memoir, that will explain more of what you need to know to avoid the pitfalls of falling into the writer’s block mentality.
Want a helping hand and guide to put this into practise?
The Memoir Writing Workbook (240 pages) is based on right-brain/left-brain visual writing techniques. It has 36 multi-part focused exercises and 45 writing tips to help trigger memory and learn story creation. Each chapter with examples, show how to develop and write memoir, using the unique Memoir Map.
Do join Irene for a FREE LIVE Chat on How to Start a Memoir Writing Club
Or join Irene in her 12-week Online Memoir Writing Course or on one of her Writing Retreats
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