#Eden Lit Club Meeting - Writer's Block! February 11, 2013 at 4pm EST

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#Eden Lit Club Meeting - Writer's Block! February 11, 2013 at 4pm EST

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Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Welcome to the February Meeting of the Eden Lit Club!!
We have slid the meeting back an hour this month since our meetings seem to really get going about 4 pm. At 8 pm SneakersandPearls is hosting a writing workshop (our very first here at Eden Lit Squeeeee!) aimed at helping writers with common grammar mistakes and article writing. It's going to be very informative and she has said there may be points involved...

This is the month that we celebrate the magic and pitfalls of love. Accordingly, we are going to tackle a common writing problem that confounds many writers, just as love confounds many lovers. Yes, I am talking about writer's block! We will gather together and talk about how writer's block feels, how it saps a writer's drive and seems to grow like a weed just when the writer thinks things are moving along easily. We'll also talk about ways to get the train back on the track. We'll offer some exercises aimed at writing ourselves out of the block and just generally have a good time.

I look forward to seeing you all there at the meeting!
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02/05/2013
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Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
"Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that bitch."
~Lili St. Crow

02/05/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
"Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum ... more
How...vivid.
02/06/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by SneakersAndPearls
How...vivid.
Right? Just gotta love her!
02/06/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
" I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as writer’s block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen–whether I’m working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book–it’s usually because I’m trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place."
~Jeffery Deaver
02/07/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Shameless self-promoting plug: Don't forget to attend the article writing workshop tonight at 8pm EST!
02/11/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Just a couple of more hours, folks!
02/11/2013
Contributor: *Ashley* *Ashley*
I hope I am able to join!!! LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!!!!
02/11/2013
Contributor: Lickable Lollie Lickable Lollie
I plan on attending both!!
02/11/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
I may have to cut out of the lit meeting a few minutes early, but I'll be back in time for the workshop, of course.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
I have so much stuff to talk about Gonna be a great meeting!
02/11/2013
Contributor: Lickable Lollie Lickable Lollie
Almost time! Woohoo! I love these meetings...gives me something to look forward to
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Welcome to the February Meeting of the Eden Lit Club!

It will soon be Valentine's Day and for many people that is an incredibly hard holiday. I know my life partner, Arch, used to dread the day and he makes up for it by doing amazing things for me and the kids. I hope each of you has someone who makes you feel special and loved on this nationally recognized day of love.
Just like our Flying Zombie Giraffes....was that an amazing story start or what?

So on to our topic of the meeting: Writer's Block the bane of writer's the world over...I'm sure we've all felt that complete panic when staring at a blank screen or empty piece of paper. What I would like to discuss this month is how we struggle with the whole issue. I'd also like to offer some strategies to avoid or overcome the issue should it strike.

First of all though, let's discuss why the issue happens. Why do you think that of all the professions in the world only writing has an "excuse", if you will, for not doing your "work"?
02/11/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Welcome to the February Meeting of the Eden Lit Club!

It will soon be Valentine's Day and for many people that is an incredibly hard holiday. I know my life partner, Arch, used to dread the day and he makes up for it by doing amazing ... more
Because writers are artists. Artists are temperamental. Temperamental people are excused.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Lickable Lollie Lickable Lollie
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Welcome to the February Meeting of the Eden Lit Club!

It will soon be Valentine's Day and for many people that is an incredibly hard holiday. I know my life partner, Arch, used to dread the day and he makes up for it by doing amazing ... more
Because anything worth reading takes a lot of thought, and a lot of writer's are very self-criticizing, and they want their work to be perfect.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
I think words are a tool, or they are a weapon. It takes a talented writer to understand, know and believe in the differences while skillfully and properly wielding them. If it isn't just *perfect*, a writing's heart and soul can be lost, pushed aside or discredited.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by SneakersAndPearls
Because writers are artists. Artists are temperamental. Temperamental people are excused.
That's a very good point! I think it has to do with the whole "mysterious" writing process. We can't explain how people can DO this writing thing so we are willing to coddle them so that they continue to entertain us.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Welcome to the February Meeting of the Eden Lit Club!

It will soon be Valentine's Day and for many people that is an incredibly hard holiday. I know my life partner, Arch, used to dread the day and he makes up for it by doing amazing ... more
That's a really good question! I think it's because most writers have writers for bosses, so there's an understanding that other jobs don't always have.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Lollie and Stormy have hit the issue on the head. The real cause of writer's block isn't truly loss of creativity but fear of being less than brilliant. It's often the first paragraph that gives writer's fits....the first words....the title even!

Do you think that it's the FEAR of not having the words that lays behind the writer's block? Or is it fear of writing ill conceived and ill received works at the root of the block?
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Rayne Millaray
That's a really good question! I think it's because most writers have writers for bosses, so there's an understanding that other jobs don't always have.
That's a good answer as well. Do you think that an overly sympathetic editor can actually inhibit or enable a writer to procrastinate?
02/11/2013
Contributor: Lickable Lollie Lickable Lollie
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Lollie and Stormy have hit the issue on the head. The real cause of writer's block isn't truly loss of creativity but fear of being less than brilliant. It's often the first paragraph that gives writer's fits....the first words....the ... more
For me it's the latter. I'm always afraid that what I write isn't going to come across the way I want it to.
02/11/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
For me, I'm going to go with ill conceived. Sometimes if I'm really blocked and I don't know where to stop, I just pick a point in the middle and write, and go back to the beginning later.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
For me it's the latter (ill received). The things I like to write about are extremely abstract and aren't based on the observations of scientists but more of what I feel in my own soul in regards to why we're here, what we're doing, how we're supposed to be doing it - and that could get me labeled as a crackpot. It's a dangerous and slippery slope.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Lollie and Stormy have hit the issue on the head. The real cause of writer's block isn't truly loss of creativity but fear of being less than brilliant. It's often the first paragraph that gives writer's fits....the first words....the ... more
M does technical writing and was completely blocked a week or so ago because he was petrified that it wouldn't be what the customer was looking for, or wouldn't be good enough. I think that has a lot to do with it. Fear of not being "good enough" or the "right" thing.

For me, blockage is usually less of a fear, though, than it is a reaction to what's going on around me. Some sort of stress.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Lickable Lollie
For me it's the latter. I'm always afraid that what I write isn't going to come across the way I want it to.
Or that your idea won't take shape on the page the same way you see it in your head? I know that all artists fear this process as well so we are not alone.

Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write.
~Paul Rudnick

Do you agree? I know I find this happens to me even when I am simply writing a review...
02/11/2013
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
That's a good answer as well. Do you think that an overly sympathetic editor can actually inhibit or enable a writer to procrastinate?
Yes, definitely. With SexIs, I've found that the more I coddle a writer, the less I get from them. On the flip side, though, being too tough can run them off. Like pretty much everything, you've gotta find middle ground.
02/11/2013
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Or that your idea won't take shape on the page the same way you see it in your head? I know that all artists fear this process as well so we are not alone.

Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the ... more
Ha! I do this! <.<
02/11/2013
Contributor: Lickable Lollie Lickable Lollie
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Or that your idea won't take shape on the page the same way you see it in your head? I know that all artists fear this process as well so we are not alone.

Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the ... more
I'm like that with everything in life...lol
02/11/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by SneakersAndPearls
For me, I'm going to go with ill conceived. Sometimes if I'm really blocked and I don't know where to stop, I just pick a point in the middle and write, and go back to the beginning later.
I always advise people who ask about how to write longer works that having a clear outline of what you want to say, when you want to say it and how the flow might look allows you to write in non-chronological order easily. I have a background in theater that allowed me to see how movies are made...and often the middle of the script is where the director will begin. It just depends on the mood, lighting, and what is available at the time. I think the same applies to writing.
02/11/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
I always advise people who ask about how to write longer works that having a clear outline of what you want to say, when you want to say it and how the flow might look allows you to write in non-chronological order easily. I have a background in ... more
Sometimes just some really great dialog will pop in my head and I'll build a whole store around a few sentences that are too good to lose.
02/11/2013