The Only Cure For Writer’s Block Is To Stop Trying To Write
It happens to everyone. This line is not just for women consoling men who can’t get it up. It is also for writers who suddenly can’t seem to start/continue/finish something they are working on.
The first time it happened to me I thought that was it. I spent all my talent and I should focus on something else. That muscle has died and I need to find something new. Then I realized that if it is a muscle it should work like all muscles do. The more you work it the better it becomes. And like all muscles maybe I just overworked it and it needs to rest before the next workout.
And I was right. I went out, put everything away, forgot about writing and enjoyed life. As soon as I started to focus on other stuff the inspiration was back!
But Deadlines
Writer’s block can take many forms and this is pretty much how mine looks like at the moment. It is more than several started stories, chapters or ideas that go nowhere but the title or just the idea. Sometimes even the titles escapes me.
This is from my current blog status. Yup, I am currently suffering from writer’s block and my idea was to write about it. Maybe that will help and get the juices flowing again. So far, no luck. This blog is my personal outlet and sometimes it was years since I would write something new and that never bothered me.
But I am a copywriter and stand up comedian so pausing for years is not really an option. There are deadlines for campaigns, websites that need content, social media updates that need to be written, jokes to be imagined so hitting the block in these cases can put you in a state of panic. In all of my years of being a copywriter I have never failed to meet a deadline.
How To Fake Inspiration
There is no forcing inspiration. Just like the cartoon says there is no perfect recipe to get the juices flowing. However, there are tricks with which you can at least fake it.
Every decent copywriter of any sort has hit such a roadblock and realized that nothing is helping but deadline is a deadline. I am a professional and reputation is very important for future recommendations for a freelancer such as me. There is proven way to fake inspiration and that is to recycle. Just open that bag of old ideas and roam around for a bit to find something that fits the best in the box you just can’t fill with something original.
Sad thing is that more than one time that proved to be the winning recipe. Not many agencies are in the edgy lane so this kind of solutions are exactly what they were looking for. Not to say I plagiarized someone else’s work but just redid some old idea I had years ago. It usually means that that idea was no longer edgy but proven to work and therefor more likely the client would go for it.
Hitting that block is a must for any writer of any kind. If you never had it, you are not a writer, my friend. The best way for me to put it off as much as possible is to always be writing something. Not always mulling over the next best facebook status for a brand but anything. Maybe a short story, maybe a catchphrase of some sort or working out a presime for a joke but it’s always something.
That, for me, makes all the difference.
P.S. in all honesty, mid-writing this post I got a block about how to finish it. So I thought putting a P.S. at the end about how I got a writer’s block while writing about writer’s block was a good way to end it.
Cheers,
Aleks
