Inside My Writer's Block

Some writer's don't believe in writer's block.

But what you have to realize is that some have a certain brand of writer's block.

Mine happens to be 80 proof Self-Doubt Turkey.

Let me explain.

When I write, I'm either 80% confident or 80% doubtful.

The mix can go either way, especially if I'm in the middle of a story. I tend to write in spurts and there are times when I'm super-energized-I-have-to-write-now modes and other times were I fizzle out, get bogged down, lose sight of the story thread.

Maybe your self-doubt voice sounds a little bit like this:


Wow. This is a great story. Yeah, it's something else. Man, I just did 15 pages. I should come back to this.



1 day later...

Crap. I've written myself into a corner now. Those pages are good...what if the next 15 pages are terrible. Oh man. Why did I do this? I should come back to this when I'm in a better mood. I feel kinda down.



2 days later...

I cannot finish that story. There's just too much detail there already and anything I write now will just be useless rambling. It won't make sense. It'll just be filler. It'll confuse people. They'll hate it. I hate it already and I haven't even finished it. Why did I even try?



3 days later...

Anything other than perfection is crap. There's no saving this story. What a waste. 15 good pages that I can't finish.




Here's what I have to say to anyone who hears this little voice of doubt.

PUSH FORWARD.

DO NOT THINK.

JUST WRITE!

WRITE AS IF YOU ARE TRYING TO OUTRUN A RAGING TRAIN!

Maybe then you'll break through the barrier of writer's block.

I've written two novels, a few novellas and sixty short stories.

If you've written once, you can write again.

Stay strong.