Writer's Block? What Writer's Block? by Joylene M. Bailey

My husband has worked in the grocery business since he was 16 years old. Through the years, as our three girls were growing up, we all knew there were places – grocery places – you never mentioned. And you definitely didn’t set foot in them. They were the competition and, therefore, bad words in our house. Heaven forbid if we ever had a competitive store-brand item in our cupboards. “Support the hand that feeds you!” became a family watchword.

Unlike Connie, who thinks of blocks and gets creative, I have heard the phrase “Writer's Block” and decided it wasn’t going to be part of my vocabulary. It’s a bad word, and too scary a concept.

What if it happens to me? What will I do?

The stress of the what-ifs is just not worth it. How in the world is buying into the term “Writer's Block” supporting the concept of using the gift God has given me?

So I refuse to use it (except for this blog post). And that works for me.

When I go through seasons when it seems I’ve been halted in the middle of writing, or I can’t get started, I’ve always taken that as a sign to take a break. It might be a short break - a nap, a walk.  Or a long break - like an entire summer.

This summer God has taken me on retreat – to a place of restoration and refreshment. I believe He saw how burnt out I was by the end of May and knew that for me to be my best self I would need a full summer of R & R.   

Like the sheep in Psalm 23, I have been made to lie down in green pastures – the most perfect grocery place a sheep could ever ask for. He has led me beside still waters and restored my soul. He has fed me with understanding, through prayer and reading, and friends like you fellow Inscribe bloggers, and helped me to realize that it’s okay if I’m not writing right now.

I am learning that to get stressed out when nothing is flowing only makes things worse. It’s like getting frustrated and mad when you can’t sleep. Getting mad only pushes sleep further away. Stress builds stress.

At least, it does for me.

And so, I have been reading, and observing, and reading, and enjoying my family, and reading, and biking, and doing crossword puzzles, and reading, and enjoying my family, and sleeping, and reading…  You get the picture.

I don’t make a living by my pen. But I know God has called and gifted me to write and so I know that when the time is right, He “will stir in me and the words will flow” (Connie).

I don’t go near the competition, that other grocery place. I don’t use that bad word.

Writer’s Block? Nah. It’s not the hand that feeds me.

Joylene has spent her summer in and around Edmonton, where she lives with the Cowboy, Babe, and a cat named Calvin.  You can find her joy-infused perspective on her blog at joyousmi.blogspot.ca and maybe someday in that novel she is working on.

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING by Bryan Norford

I’ve been reading with interest responses to writer’s block, which appears to be the experience of most—Glynis excepted: way to go, girl!—but providing varied responses to the phenomenon. Most feel it is a battle to fight, especially if it impedes deadlines or commitment. Both Bobbi and Tracy have some good tips on that.

Even then, we fight not against bricks and mortar, or more close to home, blocks and writer, but against spiritual opposition from the highest levels. But some, like Sandi and Connie, have suggested writer’s block is part of the ebb and flow of a writer’s spiritual life.

Perhaps we can garner support for that idea from Solomon: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven . . . ” Ecclesiastes 3:1. Ann and I penned a devotional in our book, Happy Together, showing how this “interference” is really part of earthly life.

There’s nothing like a day of accomplishment when everything goes according to plan and is complete. But we also have frustrating days of redo, repair, or failure, achieving nothing of significance.

Upon reflection, we realize that there must be times for preparation, planning, and evaluation; times for correcting previous work or adapting to changing circumstances; even times for rethinking and renewing the way we live.

In the big picture both the time of advance and apparent retreat are all part of the same process. To advance tomorrow as we did yesterday, we may need to retrench today. Today’s reading (Eccl. 2:9–14) gives some rationale to this process. In it we recognize a bigger picture than we can see, even when questions are unanswered: “the burden God has laid on men.”

This is particularly true of the setbacks of life, which baffle us. At those times Ecclesiastes exhorts us to find satisfaction in the daily routine, recognizing that every day has meaning in God’s bigger picture beyond our grasp.

Relationship in marriage is much the same. The conflict and abrasion between partners discourages us. Stopping and dealing with interpersonal relations seems an unnecessary disruption in other important areas of life.

But in the larger picture, it is part of the process, as necessary as the times of joy and companionship together—and in the end deepens the relationship.

It’s often necessary to leave the big picture to God and trust him with what we can’t figure out.

So let’s put that infernal writer’s block in its place. It’s an opportunity to recharge; perhaps to read, wander, smell the roses. Above all, enjoy the pleasure of His company and so deepen the well from which inspiration springs.

Writer's Block by Loretta Bouillon

Even though the spirit is willing, the mind comes to a halt. When I am in a good flow with my writing, life around me feels very positive.  Or is it when my life feels positive that my writing flows? Perhaps it is a bit of both? However, life deals us challenging circumstances from time to time. For me, the challenges have been a constant factor for almost a year. How do I keep writing through that? To be honest, I have been suffering from writer’s block for many months. It is this dark cloud hanging over me because I really want to be writing more. When you experience a road block to the area of your life that you write about, it can be discouraging. I plead, “But God, I thought you asked me to write on this subject! Now what am I supposed to do?”  

The other day the answer came through my son, and a couple of days later it was confirmed again through a friend. They suggested that maybe God was using this time to build my testimony and down the road I will write about the experience. He will use my challenges, and victories over them, to help others. Right now the story is being written in my heart. After pondering this, it dawned on me that my daily journaling will be part of the research material for that book.  

In the meantime, I have decided to quit whining and  take some practical steps to help nourish my creative side and encourage me in the craft of writing.

·         I am taking a trip to Ontario with my family. My daughter and I will be going to Stratford to see the Shakespeare play, Hamlet. I figure it is an “artist’s date” and it will feed my creative side. (Also, this has forced me to read the play!)

·         I have committed myself to join a book club this fall. Our town is very small (1000 people) and I desire to belong to a writer’s group but I don’t really have the confidence to start one myself.  For now, I thought I would broaden my mind with books that I don’t usually read. I think it will only help me as a writer.

·         I am going to the InScribe Writer’s Fall Conference in Edmonton in September. The anticipation of meeting many of my fellow writers (that I have been only acquainted with online) combined with the inspiration that I expect to receive by osmosis will be just the recipe I need!

Sometimes I question whether I was really called to be a writer. When I make a crazy decision that I am laying it all down, I can have dramatic thoughts such as deleting my Facebook writer’s page, dropping out of my online writers group, deleting my personal blog and backing out of my monthly writing commitments. (Does anyone else have thoughts like that or is it only me?) It is then that my amazing creative God always uses something or someone to shake me out of that mindset. For that I am very grateful!  

https://lorettabouillon.wordpress.com/

Never Give Up - Tracy Krauss

Slumps come in a variety of disguises. Writer's block, fatigue, depression, busyness... they all lead to the same outcome: Non-productivity.

I've had my share of writing slumps, so don't let the advice I'm about to share fool you into thinking I've got it together! I may have mentioned a couple of times this year that I've been in a bit of a writing slump compared to previous years. A season of recharging is sometimes necessary, so I don't beat myself up too much. I'm happy to say I've regained my writing 'mojo' this summer, however, and am well on my way to polishing a current novel for submission. (Book 3 in the WIND OVER MARSHDALE Series)

Despite the ups and downs, there is one thing that has remained stable. My determination to NEVER GIVE UP. Quitting just isn't an option for me. I've been writing intentionally for about thirty years. (Unintentionally for much longer.) Call it tenacious or just plain stubborn, I can't imagine life without typewriter, computer, or journal.

Here are a few practical ideas that help spur me on to further productivity.

1. Just sit down and do it! When you don't feel like writing, force yourself to do it anyway for a minimum of five minutes. That's right. Just five minutes. Chances are, after the time is up, you'll want to continue. I've heard it said from more than one source that successful writers don't wait for the muse to hit. Instead, they summon the muse. In other words, don't wait until you feel inspired. Just sit down and start writing and ninety-nine times out of one hundred, you will want to continue after that first five minutes are up.

2. Allow yourself to write junk. Similar to the principle above, when the words aren't flowing the way you'd like, write anyway. Forget about the 'show not tell' rule. Forget about sentence structure and grammar and spelling and active voice and repetitive word choices and whether the thing even makes sense... Let your brain upload onto the computer screen without editing. You can scrap the whole thing later, but you may find that a few good ideas will come out of this type of session. Often, once you get going, the 'real' words start to flow again, too, and you'll be back on track. 

3. Forget about chronological sequence. If you're bored with a scene or can't decide where to go next, skip it and move on to something that happens later. Skipping ahead usually helps me to work out the problem and I can go back to it later. This also works with non-fiction. If you have an idea for a paragraph or a section, go ahead and write it even if there are bits in between that aren't done yet.

4. Have more than one project on the go. Rather than skip ahead, sometimes I just switch to a different project. I always have more than one project in the works at any given time. If I'm bogged down with one story I switch to another, or I work on a stage play, or a blog post. It's hard to get bored when you've got multiple WIPs taking up space in your head.


I've found that all of these ideas work well for me. The first three are especially useful when trying to meet deadlines and are my go-to behaviours when I take part in 'Nanowrimo' every year. I don't always listen to my own advice, but when I do, any kind of writing slump is out the window.

Selfie with the latest release -
a stage play called
MUTINY ON MT OLYMPUS

Tracy Krauss lives in Tumbler Ridge, BC and is a full time high school teacher of Drama, Art and English. When she's not teaching someone to paint, waxing eloquent over a Shakespearean script, or directing a drama performance, she's holed up in her office trying to write the next novel or stage play. Visit her website for more info or to read about any one of her 36 titles.