TEMPLE_ARCHIVE

STATUS: INACTIVE // READ-ONLY

Category: Writing

  • Writing is NOT tiring (and “burnout” and “writer’s block” are both myths)

    It’s not possible to run out of ideas.

    If you think you’ve run out of ideas, you can always just write about what it’s like to be out of ideas.

    You don’t need to go get more life experiences to clear up your writer’s block. Writer’s block doesn’t come from a lack of life experience.

    More life experience will always make your work better, but that’s not an excuse to avoid practicing working with what you already have. Little kids write stories just for fun all the time before they learn they should be worried about their writing not being good enough.

    “What about burnout? Don’t you sometimes just need a break?”

    By “writer’s block”, I’m talking about when you’re staring at a blank page and can’t think of anything to write.

    Burnout is something different. That’s when you’ve been forcing yourself to endure tiring conditions for too long and get fatigued.

    Writing is not, by itself, tiring. But, if you’re too rigid in how you allow yourself to do it, you could end up with both writer’s block and burnout.

    If writing is tiring for you, then there’s something tiring about the way you’re writing. The physical movement of typing on the keys or dragging a pen across the paper doesn’t have to be tiring.

    You can experiment with focusing on your physical sensations while allowing the words to come out on their own. It doesn’t have to be tiring.

    “But, isn’t writing tiring on the brain?”

    It’s not your brain. It’s your body. Maybe you’re sitting in an uncomfortable position, or maybe you’re squinting your eyes as you try to think hard, or whatever. It’s all physical.

    Just because it feels like a “mental” workout doesn’t mean it’s not physical. You can’t feel your brain, because there are no sensory receptors inside your brain.

    So, whatever you’re feeling is something else.

    “You’re saying fatigue is a delusion?”

    I’m not saying fatigue is a delusion. I’m saying fatigue is your physical body getting tired.

    And, I’m saying that writing makes it so tired because of the way you’re writing.

    If you stop trying so hard, you’re likely to find that you can go for longer periods of time without needing time off to gain new life experiences.

    See also: Here’s the thing with writer’s block

  • Here’s the thing with writer’s block

    Writer’s block is a huge con.

    You think the idea is: “I’m trying to write something, but I don’t know what to write. There’s a block.”

    Yeah, that’s not it. Writer’s block happens because you’re afraid of something.

    What is it? Could be anything:

    • “I won’t express myself very well.”
    • “I’ll be misunderstood.”
    • “What will (someone specific) think of me?”

    Only you would know.

    But, that’s the thing you’re calling “writer’s block.” That’s what’s getting in the way. It’s a fear of what would happen if you let the skill of writing express itself.

    It’s not a block. It’s fear.

    “No, Michael, it’s not fear. It’s just that I’m not always in the mood to write. Sometimes it’s just not the right time.”

    No, it’s fear.

    You are more than capable of writing even when you’re not in the mood and when it’s not the right time. But, you’re afraid of what will happen if you do.

    If you’re not aware of your fears, if you’re saying “I’m not afraid of anything. I just don’t have any ideas,” that’s the con.

    That mind says, “I just don’t have any ideas. It just seems like there’s a void. A blank spot where it seems like there should be ideas.”

    That’s fear.

    I go through this every day. When I go to write something, I might not have an idea about what to write about.

    “I don’t know” = FEAR

    But, you don’t have to know what you’re going to write about.

    Let me come up with an idea for a post right now. What’s the topic? I don’t know. But, I’m not going to accept that. I’m going to say the topic is going to be:

    “HOW TO WRITE AN INSTAGRAM POST.”

    That’s the topic. I’m going to make a post about how to write an Instagram post.

    Now, there’s fear that comes up. I chose that topic out of the Void. I’m taking the universe and forcing it to collapse itself, forcing it to get clear on what it wants to do.

    For more help with writer’s block, see my workshop Getting Unstuck on Writing.

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