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4.
AOTW: The dread of all writers, from novelists to columnists
to college students at exam time is writer's block. What methods,
or tricks, if you will, have you utilized to overcome the blank
stare at the blank page?
Cat
Bauer: I know some people say that writer's block is a form
of self-indulgence, but I don't believe that. I'm never blocked
if I'm in the right key, but I'll eventually hit a wall if I've
taken the wrong turn in the maze. This is different, I think, than
sharpening pencils, reading the newspaper, checking email, etc.,
which, to me, is not writer's block, but avoidance, a whole other
beast to wrestle. That is easy to solve --- I give myself a daily
word limit. It doesn't matter if it's bad, as long as I write 850
words, which, compared to Stephen King's 2,000, sounds downright
slothful, but it gets the job done. I usually write a lot more,
but never less. As Anne Lamott said, you do it Bird by Bird.
But when I'm really up against a wall, then it's probably because
I'm heading in the wrong direction. It's like dragging an elephant
somewhere it doesn't want to go. When that happens, I take a little
nap, what they call here in Italy a "pisolino." When I wake up,
usually I can climb on the elephant's back and go for the ride.
If all else fails, I go for a walk.
Thisbe
Nissen: I don't think I have "writer's block" the way I've heard
people talk about it. If it's not coming I don't force it; I do
something else. I think I figure: if I don't want to be writing
this, who the hell is going to want to be reading it? I jump around;
I work on whatever feels enticing to me at that time, on that day.
I think there's always SOMETHING I want to be writing; if it's not
the novel I'm working on, well, so be it, so I'll work on a story
or whatever it is that's compelling to me. I write on a pleasure
principle I think, and if it's not pleasurable I just don't do it.
Stephanie
Gertler: Just write. Even if you think you have nothing to say.
Just write and see what comes out on the paper. The one thing that
always helped me on the days where the "just writing" didn't work
was to get in my car and drive with some of my favorite CDs on hand.
Ideas always come to me when I'm driving and listening to music.
The trick is remembering those literary epiphanies! Often, I'd park
the car down by the harbor near my house and make notes.
John
Searles: I guess my only secret or trick is this: If I don't
feel like writing, then I don't. I never really pressure myself
and that way when I sit down at the computer it is because I want
to write. And when I don't, I take baths, read, go for walks, call
my grandma or my sister. I think that sort of down time is a very
important part of the process.
Michael
Leahey: I have never had writer's block (knock on wood). The
closest I've come is having to write transitional material (i.e.,
taking a character from one place to another in a story) and not
wanting to do it. This kind of reticence usually translates into
bad writing. For me, the fix is to go on to something else and come
back later, when I'm not hating the transition so much.
Suzanne
Chazin: I try to go with Anne Lamott's suggestion in her wonderful
book, Bird by Bird. I give myself permission-at least initially
--- to write badly. It's always easier to rewrite than to write.
A funny thing often happens when I do this. I can spend hours trying
to solve a problem, and then when I "write through it," suddenly
the solution becomes clear.
Sallie
Bissell: If I'm stuck I write dialogue, which I think is my
strong suit as a writer. If I'm really stuck I'll interview one
of my characters, just like Barbara Walters might on television.
I write down my question, then write how the character responds.
If you ask questions that make the character squirm, then you can
get some good stuff going. That's how I found out what happened
between my villain, Henry Brank, and his sister Trudy. I know this
sounds nutty, but it works.
NM
Kelby: I'm not wired that way. I've spent over 20 years pounding
out 300 to 500 words a day for a deadline. To me, writing is a profession.
You sit down and do it. Some days the work is so bad you're embarrassed
to read it. Some days it's alright enough to let your mother read
it. You write. It's work. It's what you do. So do it. It's that
simple.
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