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Jul
22
What do you do when the muse refuses?
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Interviewers and book event attendees often ask writers “What do you do when you get writer’s block?” And the answers are always interesting, but they leave me wondering: why doesn’t anyone ever ask this of book reviewers?
Like most writers—and yes, bloggers are writers—, I have a routine. Coffee, morning news, some Twitter, then writing. I write roughly a thousand words a day, at least five days a week. If I had started a novel instead of a blog two years ago, I’d be finished by now!
But instead of writing a book, I write about books (mainly because I don’t have people living in my head, demanding that their stories be told), and that means that there are times when I find myself staring down a stack of completed books, with review notes finished and passages marked, and I just. can’t. write. anything.
And it’s not that I don’t know what I want to say. By the time I sit down to write a review, I’ve already worked out the key phrases I’ll use, the way I want to talk about the book, the quotes I’ll include. I’ve pulled links to the author’s website and relevant material. It’s all there. Except for, you know, the writing.
Sometimes the muse just refuses.
I know I’m hardly alone in suffering the occasional writer’s block (and the last thing I want to read is another whiny blog post about how blogging can be such a chore sometimes), so rather than suffer by myself (or make you suffer through one of the aforementioned whiny posts), I did what any sensible modern girl does when faced with a dilemma.
I took it to Twitter.
Suggestions fell into a few noticeable categories. Here’s what my tweeps had to say:
Write Anyway
@QuercusBooks: get a routine & then write about *anything* (your day, what chores you need to do etc.) just get the ink flowing
@uberlibrarygirl: I look for questions to answer like favorite childhood memory and then write about it. Gets me in the writing mood.
@ChrisyKrueger: I switch to another writing project to get it flowing.
@picky_girl: Put pen to paper – but on something else.
@jimking108: BIC: Butt in Chair
Change it Up
@Vasilly: I just stop writing for awhile and do other things. I slowly try to bounce back without putting too much pressure on myself.
@bookswim: Play word association with the word of the day from dictionary.com…
@BiblioEva: I switch up formats! So I’ll do super mini-reviews or something.
@krisriggle: I sometimes write longhand in a journal when I’m stuck. Being away from the screen and keyboard takes the pressure off.
Take Your Mind Off the Writing
@RachelShukert: I take a really, really long shower. It’s like being in an isolation tank and it always helps me figure out the next step.
@NOMinatrix: Lots of music and a long drive in the car
@homebtwnpages: Eat! Or rather, cook and then eat. I get some of my best ideas while I’m cooking something a bit more involved.
@GodinePub: Music!
@AlexGeorge: Don’t know why, but I find having a shower often helps shake things loose (in my head, that is.)
@leahcstewart: Go for a walk, drive around w/the radio on, take a shower, switch locations, change methods (computer to pen or the reverse).
@just_jotter: Take a nap at some point. I find my best story ideas come in that moment right before dozing off. Have pen/paper handy.
@whatsheread: Sleep! My best ideas occur just as I’m falling asleep.
@jchristie: Unfortunately, I tend to just not write. Often, doing something physical (skiing, hiking, etc) gets my brain moving again.
Drink!
@StackedBlog: Vodka
@BrianaEaster: Start drinking. It’s what all the greats do, right?
Punish Yourself
@jasonpgignac: Put a really emotional song on repeat. Or, squeeze the sharp tip of the fingernail really hard into the palm of your hand.
@stratfordsj: Flagellation can work too – although the drawback is it does wear one down.
….and my favorite:
READ
@TrishRyan: READ. Anything/everything. Novels, memoir, recipes, warnings on vitamin labels…Reading breaks the block…It proves writing is possible
@hollowaymcc: Read something you love. Exercise. Pretend no one will ever read what you’re going to write. Start short, but start.
@chrishenriquez: Read! Always gets me going again.
I firmly believe it takes a good reader to be a good writer (more later on why I’ll never trust an author who can’t answer the questions “What are you reading now?”), and when I get writer’s block, I tend to read first and then go into mindless activity mode. Chopping onions, working out on the elliptical, walking the dog, and taking long showers have all helped me find the way into difficult reviews, but it’s always nice to hear about what works for other people.
And, you know, next time chopping onions doesn’t work, I can always try drinking.
What do you do when the inspiration for whatever your creative endeavors are just won’t come?
No related posts.
My best ideas always pop up while I’m in the shower or while I’m driving. Basically at the most inconvenient times — I can’t access pen/paper to write anything down. Inevitably I almost always forget. But this could still work to get the juices flowing!
MIchelle´s last [type] ..Artist Arthur – Manifest
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by DxbLit, Regator [Technology]. Regator [Technology] said: What do you do when the muse refuses? (The Book Lady's Blog) http://bit.ly/aZba6W [...]
Write anyway . . . because once you have deadlines and people expecting and waiting for your stuff, you have to do it even when you’d rather not … but, I’ve found that’s a great remedy – just slamming me arse in the chair and writing SOMEthing and then that SOMEthing turns into more words, and then more, and then I forget about what I’m writing and how much and just la tee dah along.
Vodka helps, too –not the writing, but the angst that goes with it *tehehehe*
I vote for drinking, but I probably just write anyway.
I love the ‘punish yourself’ suggestions. That’s hilarious. For me, I refuse to make the blog too much like a job, so if I’m not feeling it, I walk away and wait until I am. Thankfully, I’ve never gone more than 24-48 hours. I suppose if writer’s block is hanging around for too long I would just force myself to write.
Trisha´s last [type] ..Book Review- Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
The last short story I had published was HELL to write because I was struck down by a particularly nasty case of writer’s block.
I had the story all fleshed out in outline form, a looming deadline (they always loom, they don’t just sit their nonchalantly), but for some reason nothing was kick-starting the prose. I made a valiant effort to type something, but at about 7,000 words into the 10,000 word story I just wasn’t feeling it. I was just going through the motions, hammering out words I felt no connection with.
A series of emails flew backwards and forwards between myself and my editor (who I’d known for years and worked with before); he was happy with what I’d done, but I’d finally really reached the limits of what I could possibly do with the story and just wasn’t pleased with it at all.
So, to cut a long story about a short story short, I made the decision to scrap everything I’d written — all 7,000 words and the existing outline — and rebuild the story from the ground up. I hammered out a new outline, keeping a few of the basic elements but essentially restructuring the whole thing. My editor got a little nervous, but I managed to turn the new story around in a couple of days.
Of course, the problem was with the original outline. Not that it wouldn’t have made for a decent story (the editor did, after all, accept that outline), but it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. It wasn’t the story I felt passionate about.
I think the moral of this story is just to try a different direction when writer’s block strikes. Sometimes you can get so hooked up on one particular solution to a problem that you forget to step back and try another plan of attack. Yeah, it can mean throwing away a lot of hard work, but as they say it’s better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb rather than halfway up one you don’t.
On a more practical note, the Q10 text editor is my best friend. Its interface is very simple: a completely blank screen. No distractions. No Windows taskbar with other, distracting applications in sight. No clock reminding you of how much time you’ve wasted. No pop-ups from your notification services informing you of incoming email, tweets or Facebook status updates. Zero distractions.
Oh, and for some more practical advice: Try writing in a completely different environment.
When you’re sitting in the same chair, looking at the same screen, surrounded by the same book cases and the same old pictures on the same old walls, your subconscious starts thinking, “Okay, nothing new going on here…” and switches into low power mode. Not the best state for it to be in if you’ve got writing to do.
Drag your laptop into a nearby cafe or the local park. Give your subconscious something new to deal with and embrace the refreshing stimuli. And before you say, “Okay Mister Smarty-Pants, what about those of us without a laptop?” remember that pens and notebooks were invented for a reason. Hell, if you regularly write on your laptop, ditch that too.
I write “for reals” as well as for my blog, so when I have blogging writer’s block it often seems like it’s because I’ve already written as much as humanly possible that day. So I do tend to put things down, head out for some exercise, or sit down with a book and stop thinking about writing at all.
I try to do as much of my blogging as possible on the weekends so I don’t run into this problem as much, because truly after work sometimes I feel like all the words have already been sucked out of me. Then I like to sit down with some Glenn Gould on the iPod and it seems to really help the flow. Oh, and sometimes there’s drinking, too, but I don’t need writer’s block for that, do I?
nicole´s last [type] ..Commonplace
This doesn’t happen to me too often. I’m often too chatty and have too much to say so my problem is the opposite. BUT, when it does happen, I tell myself that it’s okay to write about how I felt about the book… how I felt while reading it specifically and that I don’t need to be witty. The being witty part is what pressures me.
If I do this, I find within a sentence or two that I have no problem expressing my feelings. It’s as if I am giving myself permission to just get it all out. Once I get it all out, I save it to draft, then go back to it later that same day and polish it up a bit.
For me, the most difficult reviews (for me to write) are the ones that get the most comments. Go figure.
I like all the suggestions, I might try a new one next time I’m stuck! If I have writer’s block I usually step away from the computer and do something else for a while- mindless activities are good- then come back to it. Or just write anyway. Instead of trying to form nice, coherent sentences in an orderly format I’ll just free-associate write whatever I felt about the book in question, then go back and make it more sensible for the actual review. It works for me, sometimes.
Jeane´s last [type] ..Visions of Caliban
Oh no, you don’t NEED writer’s block for drinking….but it sure is a nice excuse, right?
I did not experience writer’s block ever until recently. Now I feel like writing a review is akin to childbirth. I get them squeezed out, and it is a healthy little thing once its out, but is a painful process. I will take all of these tips to heart, but my go to solution is alcohol.
Sandy´s last [type] ..Pacos Story Readalong – Week 3
Love all these suggestions… I fall to @jchristie where I just give-up and accept I’m not going to write that day (obviously I do this too much), or @StackedBlog and I get inspiration from my friend vodka. But then vodka and I have too much fun and I end up dancing sans laptop, notebook, or dignity. We should all get writer’s block together sometime!
NovelWhore´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday 1
Just remember, pearled onions go great in martinis….
Christina´s last [type] ..What He’s Poised To Do
Float for an hour in a floatation tank – it will cause your brainwaves to dial down into the theta range so you can more easily tap into your vast creativity. The side effects are softer skin, fewer stress hormones, looser muscles and improved mood.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with just stopping for a few days. It sounds like you were just tired (not blocked).
I sometimes get stressed to the point of catatonia. When that happens I try to do things that remind myself that I’m a person living on the planet – not just a writer, or a working girl with a deadline. Everyone needs a break. Even people who do what they love.
This borders on spam, but I find it entertaining. So it can stay.
I hardly ever get writer’s block, actually – I do neglect my blog sometimes, but now that I’m a professional writer I find that I really struggle to keep on writing when my work day is over. It’s hard to persuade myself to write another 500 when I’ve already done 2000 over the course of the day! If I can’t find inspiration, I usually just write something else in the meantime.
Meghan´s last [type] ..Review- Brooklyn- Colm Tóibín
It’s so funny that you posted my tweet. I teach writing, and you wouldn’t believe how many students sit and stare into space when it comes to writing. They are all adults and have prepped, but sometimes it’s just hard to start.
I am forever telling them: “Put pen to paper.” I agree that distractions, etc. are good, but when you HAVE to write, you have to write. Every artist I know (whether painter, photographer, videographer, writer) has always told me good work comes out of hard work.
And yes, Flotation Tank guy is pretty entertaining.
jenn´s last [type] ..The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry
I know exactly what you’re talking about! Some of my book reviews seem to just write themselves – others take me hours because I just CANNOT think of what to say. Usually, I just do something else until the muse arrives. Or, I accept that it’s not going to be my best review, and just write whatever comes into my head.
Fun topic. I’m glad to see it addressed as it relates to bloggers, not just “real” writers!
I have this problem more often with writing fiction than writing blog posts, but my main things are taking a shower and moving the scene somewhere else–a change in environment can do wonders for me. When it’s stories I’m stuck on, I find that taking the time to do some research can be really effective. I always need to do research on something for the stories I’m writing, even if it’s something really small, and quite often in the midst of my research I read some small new thing that touches off a whole string of new ideas.
Jenny´s last [type] ..Review- Promises of Love- Mary Renault
I like to go out for the day preferably somewhere new. But it only works occasionally (though it does tend to mean I have photographs for photo posts). My inspiration and ideas come in phases, which means when I have inspiration I’ll write loads for rainy days. Sometimes if I make myself worry about having ideas when I’m trying to sleep at 1am I find myself having ideas. I’m yet to use that to my advantage but I know it’s there.
Well, first I try writing anyway because I am THAT DEDICATED. Then, when I read it over and realize it’s crap, I beat myself up about, followed swiftly with a handy bottle of the cheapest alcohol I can find. Once I wake up the next morning, I’m not fit for much except sitting on the couch and reading. Rinse and repeat.
heidenkind´s last [type] ..Musical Notes- Twice Bitten Edition!
Great post. And I loved to see what different people do when the words aren’t flowing. Personally, I try to get away when the words aren’t coming to me. Exercise, reading, cooking … anything that gets me away from the blank page or screen in front of me. And then I hope and pray that when I return to my desk/computer/notebook that the words will be there for me.