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Writers Block, How I Deal With It
By admin | June 6, 2007
The past few weeks I have tried to put a bit more effort in my posts and get a substantial amount of meaningful words in. I have noticed that each post I thought was worth at least an amateur Pulitzer prize did not seem to get received as well as I thought they would. Others, of which I felt were mediocre, got loads of replies. This tells me one thing; A person is his own worst critic. Don’t write for others, write for yourself and the others will appreciate your deliverance of unique content. If not they shouldn’t be reading your blog.
One of the reasons I am trying to spend more time in writing and editing, is because I want to improve my use of the English language. If you’ve read my “about” page you can see I am not a native English speaker and this is something that can be extremely frustrating at times. I can read a sentence a thousand times, not happy with the way it sounds, but not come up with a better alternative. One of the things I have just started to use is a little pocket Thesaurus and for me this has unlocked numerous possibilities of saying things. Highly recommendable even for you native speakers. Practice makes perfect. Now if only I was patient enough to learn touch typing!
I have always loved reading. Since the age of two I have always been digging around in bookshelves to “read” the most fascinating adventures and amazing journeys. Somehow I lost touch with reading in the mid-80s because we had so much stuff on TV that you just couldn’t miss. The A-Team, Knight Rider and Airwolf, just to name a few of my old heroes. There was a time I could not imagine being without a TV ever. This turned out not to be a complete waste of time since I’ve learned most of my English from those days. Now I own the most expensive TV set I’ve ever had and it only gets used for the occasional DVD or video game. The TV has served it’s purpose for me years ago.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that most of us have acquired useful talents over the years without ever taking the time to notice them. Rediscover and use them. If you feel like you have no inspiration for that new post and you haven’t written a thing in days, here’s what I do when I’m out of thoughts and ideas.
Before I started typing all this up, I was staring at my screen and doing a bit of thoughtless surfing. Then I grabbed my earphones and tuned in to one of my favorite radio stations on iTunes, SoloPianoRadio and started tapping away. This post has been edited about 25 times but it’s here now. As uninspired and empty as I was, I’ve managed to get another amateur Pulitzer post online! (hehe)
Sit down and take your time, you can force yourself to write and once you start there’s no going back. Don’t mind all the rubbish you managed to jot down in the first few five or even ten lines, the “delete” button is your best friend..
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Topics: blog |
June 6th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
I tried.. this is not helping Bob. HELP!!!
June 6th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
When I’m writing posts… I edit them about 20 times also. Nothing ever seems good enough, never elegant enough. I guess that’s the pressure of churning out posts everyday. You just simple can’t make masterpieces everyday.
But that lends to a uniqueness to blogs. I just want to be able to communicate thoughts to my audience. If they can understand if find something beneficial, I’ve done my job.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I’m actually starting to like editing stuff
And you’re right, you can write a master piece every day. If you did, you wouldn’t write masterpieces. (think about that one :))
June 7th, 2007 at 12:22 am
I feel surprised at the number of bloggers discussing writing. I was a writing lab instructor at USC for two years. Recently I read a book by a neuroscientist and writer, “The Midnight Disease”. She shows conclusively both spurts to write and writer’s block are part of the same phenomenum in the brain.
I would suggest drawing representations of the ideas, then putting them into bubbles, anything non-threatening.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:59 am
I am enjoying what you have been blogging on lately. I think that you have the perfect personality to be able to blend humor, blogging tips and just information from your daily life into one blog that people will read. I know I am always curious what Bob has to say today.
I was shocked when I found out English wasn’t your first language. Your English is way better than a lot of born and bred english speakers. I actually could learn a thing or two from you and be more careful when I edit. Somtimes I just type, press publish and then later I’ll see something and go “Oh crap! Great, now everyone thinks I’m an idiot!!”
Speaking of ‘Oh crap’ moments…all the type from your Just do It post and on is red. hehehe Thoguht you would like to know.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:59 am
I take the same approach to my posting that I did in school with writing my papers. I don’t do rough drafts. I think about what I want to say, get the idea, then develop it in my head, then start typing, and its done. I go back and maybe add a sentence or two here and there, but except for spelling, the 1st time is usually the charm. BTW, I couldn’t tell by your writing that English isn’t your 1st language; good job!
June 7th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Bob, I think you’re a great writer. I enjoy reading your blog.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Thanks for all the kind words people!
Keeps me going 
June 7th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Honestly, until you mentioned that english was not your first language, I never would have guessed.
Loved this entry.
I have now subscribed to your feeds.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Don’t forget to leave a comment in the contest comments thread J.D
June 7th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Bob,
Shame on me for not reading your about page before now! I’ve been reading since the beginning of Bob Meets World and I had no idea you weren’t a native English speaker. And I majored in English! So I’d say you’re doing a great job.
When I’m blocked I often use my Stumble button to see what else is going on on the ‘net and find some inspiration. I love Stumble Upon and it’s helped lots of times.
Sara
June 7th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Stumble is indeed a great tool too to get some new ideas!
June 12th, 2007 at 8:03 pm