Writer’s block is a myth–one of the untrue ones, of course.
But hitting the wall about what to write is a struggle almost every writer faces at one time or another. Typically, what is called “writer’s block” is a problem for writers for two reasons: indecisiveness and perfectionism.
These are the real enemies that need to be defeated. They hide behind the sophisticated-sounding cliché to avoid detection, but when a writer is able to identify these enemies, they can do something about the deceitful anxieties that prevent them from writing. To overcome perfectionism, one must intentionally kill that inner critic and just write. But indecisiveness, or not knowing where to start on a writing project, is something else altogether. For this, we can employ an ancient method used for nearly three millennia to help writers write about almost any topic.
Sometimes called invention in classical rhetoric, here are seven questions to help any writer navigate the hurdles of indecisiveness (and perfectionism) so they can move past the debilitating myth called “writer’s block” and literally write about anything.
- What is something I know a little about right now? What can I say about it without any research? Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
- What is something I want to know about right now? What resources do I have at my immediate disposal to help me learn about it (e.g., Google, Old Encyclopedia set on the bookshelf, Wikipedia, etc.)?
- Can I define X? What are its characteristics and the boundaries of its being (i.e., What is included in X and what is not X)?
- Can I compare X to Y or Z? Are they similar or different? In kind or degree? If kind, what are the characteristics of its kind? If in degree, to what degree?
- What is the relationship between X and Y or X and Z? Is there an antecedent/consequence relationship (e.g., If P then Q)? Is there a cause and effect relationship (or merely a correlation)? Breaking out The Square of Opposition, are there contraries or contradictions?
- What are the circumstances of X, Y, and Z? Possible or impossible? Improbable? Certain? Good or Bad? Praiseworthy or Blameworthy? Virtuous or Vicious?
- What are others saying about X? Is there any support for an argument about X, Y, or Z? Is there an authority on the subject? Are there statistics on the subject? Is there a law, maxim, fable, or proverb addressing X, Y, or Z? Is there a precedent, illustration, or example?
In one way, the labor of answering as many of these questions as possible is the hard work that precedes the real writing Anne Dillard discusses in The Writing Life when she writes:
When you write, you lay out a line of words. The line of words is a miner’s pick, a woodcarver’s gouge, a surgeon’s probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject? You will know tomorrow, or this time next year. You make the path boldly and follow it fearfully. You go where the path leads. At the end of the path, you find a box canyon. You hammer out reports, dispatch bulletins. The writing has changed, in your hand, and in a twinkling, from an expression of your notions to an epistemological tool. The new place interests you because it is not clear. You attend. In your humility, you lay down the words carefully, watching all the angles. Now the earlier writing looks soft and careless. Process is nothing; erase your tracks. The path is not the work. I hope your tracks have grown over; I hope birds ate the crumbs; I hope you will toss it all and not look back.
To learn more about overcoming writer’s block, check out this article on the subject.
Happy writing!