Writer's Block

is something I sometimes have trouble with, but often it's not, "normal," writer's block—whatever that is. Sure, there are loads of times I can't get writing done on a project, but it's not what I've heard most people describe as "block."

See, I'm most often afflicted by something a brother once called, "writer's log jam." It's not that I can't think what comes next, or even that I just can't get myself to write. No, my head gets so overfilled with ideas that I don't know what to work on next, thus blocking the flow of words. When I'm afflicted, I rapidly think up new projects, barely having time research an start work on any one of them. I bounce back and forth, never focusing on one thing for more than a day or two at a time, and never getting more than a few hundred words in at a time. It frustrates. Immensely.

How do I solve it?

I don't know; nothing I've tried works. Luckily, it's not a constant affliction. It comes and goes with time.

Of course, there're a few other kinds of block I get: "Hate," in which I hate the story and/or main characters so much that I forget the potential or redeemable characteristics that drew me to them during creation; "Life," in which life stuff gets in the way; and "Couldn't-Be-Bothered", when I just don't care.

Of the three, "Hate," is the most frustrating, as it usually signifies there's some inherent flaw in the story I'm unaware of—or there's no flaw and I just need time away to clear my head. There's nothing, really, that I can do to overcome life, except to pray—something most of us should probably do a lot more of.

Couldn't be bothered is probably the worst, though, as it's fundamentally impossible to fight. How can you fight something when you don't care? No, the only thing you can hope to do is: preemptively avoid. You can do this by reminding yourself daily of why you're writing, what it means to you. And, of course, praying that you don't fall into that particular mire.

Anyway, if my problems seem at all familiar to you, then you have my condolences. If you know of a way to overcome them, then feel free to tell me.

What about you? What sort of writer's blocks do you get? What do you do to overcome them?


Go mbeannaí Dia duit,
Gorby