Writer’s Block Part 4 - One Last Suggestion
The orginial inspiration for this subject came from this post from Elisa over at The Book Stacks.
I’ve checked out the sites, and they have some great suggestions - a lot of which I’ve never heard of before and will use.
However, there is something that I always suggest first that I know annoys a lot of my friends but seems to work nearly every time. I’ve had friends come to me a number of times and say either, “I want to write, but I don’t know what to write,” or “I have writers block, and I can’t write.”
To these statements, I always reply, “Write what you know.”
Don’t you hate when people tell you that? I do, and because of that, I don’t leave it there. I mean if you are in the mood to write but can’t seem to get a single word down, literally write what you know.
What do I mean? When I was back in high school, I was asked to write the fall play. This was in the spring, so I figured I could produce something nice over summer break. I, of course, procrastinated. About a month before school started up again, I remembered the agreement and froze. I tried idea after idea, characters were flying left and right, but nothing came. Then I remembered that annoying little phrase - write what you know.
The play became known as Five Easy Steps (to writing a play). What was it about? A young woman in high school who couldn’t figure out what to write for the school play. I added more to it, naturally, but the play went on to be a hit, and I signed some of the first autographs I’ve ever signed.
To think, it all started with writing about not being able to think of something to write about.
So, my last piece of advice for writer’s block is write what you know even if that means writing about how much you’d rather not be writing.
PS. One thing I really liked from the EHow Article is the reminder to reward yourself when you reach a writing goal. Writing may be your passion, but everyone likes getting a reward for getting something they are supposed to do done. So go ahead. Have a cookie.
November 27th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for the link.
Writer’s block has been the bane of my existence lately…but I’m blaming it on being sick.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
Oh, Hey. Did you see what Debbie Viguie said about writer’s block on today’s part of her interview?
November 29th, 2006 at 4:43 am
Hey Jaime check out Stephen King’s muse:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801398.html
November 29th, 2006 at 4:45 am
Hey Jaime check out this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801398.html
November 29th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
That sounds like a cute play you put on. I would have never thought of that idea.
I used to hate the saying “Write what you know.” because I felt my life was too boring to know about anything interesting. Then I decided to take that phrase to mean “Write the emotions that you know.”
We all have emotions that we connect strongest to. If you can tap into them and create your story based on your characters feeling that same emotion I think you can give you character layers that bring them to life.
November 29th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Elisa - No problem. You’re easy to link to.
No, I hadn’t seen that, but I’ll check it out. Thanks. 
Sara - That’s another interesting way to morph the phrase to make it work for you. I know a lot of writers, especially the young ones, devalue all of their experiences and thus find it hard to write.
November 29th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
Neelima - Sorry! Wordpress thought you were spam. o_O I have it sorted out now. Thanks for the links!