Last night I watched the movie version of the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (you can watch her TED talk about nurturing creativity).
When Liz was in India (the "pray" section of her journey), she was frustrated by the racing thoughts that distracted her from prayer and meditation. She had to surrender her self-judgment about her past before she could find the peace and balance she was seeking.
How does that relate to article writer's block? Think of the energy and brain power we waste judging our creative process and the mere fact that we HAVE writer's block.
I've found that if I can quiet that inner critic and enter a state of stillness, ideas flow to me in a torrent. My articles will literally write themselves, and it is a peaceful joining with my creativity, not a fight against my writer's block.
How do you quiet your mind and connect with your muse when it's time to write? Please enter your comments below.
My basic writing process:
1. Keep ongoing list of topic ideas.
2. Put off writing until one of them grabs me by the throat and says, “Write me, damn it!” I don’t really consider this a block. My mind is working behind the scenes. However, it sure looks like a block. 🙂
3. Tell myself that it’s fine if the first draft totally sucks, then write it all in one uninhibited burst.
4. Go back a few days later to revise, add photos, etc. I’m often surprised that the uninhibited download doesn’t suck that much.
5. Publish as fast as possible, before I can start to overthink. If it’s a blog post, I can always tweak it later anyway.
For me, it’s all about working fast so I can get it done before the demons arrive.
Hi Sue, and thanks for your comment!
I loved reading about how you keep the demons at bay.
That drafting process is SO crucial, and how delightful to come back and discover that your draft is pretty good! Or, as you say, “doesn’t suck that much.”
Keep on writing,
Linda
Well, I’m struggling with this right now 🙂
When it works, I try first to get myself “there” by listening to some music (my absolute favorite song that does the trick is “One vision” by the Queen).
Then, I stock up on coffee (I have ADHD and need it to block anxiety), water and some munchies.
Next, I stock up on paper, pens, pencils, and stuff like that. Oftentimes I use different colors for different kinds of concepts.
The hardest part is typing it into my laptop because that’s when the “this sucks” demon hits me LOL
Hi Rosanna,
Thanks for your comment!
I wonder how you could bring the music and colours right into your laptop with you.
Let’s scare those demons back into hiding!
Linda