Eighty billion types of writer's block
Mentioned writer's block the other day in my little literary thoughts and I'm back for more. I said there's probably ten kinds for each eight billion of us and if anything I think that's probably an understatement. There are different kinds and they are very different. My problem is when all eighty billion+ are lumped together as one thing: writer's block.
Some examples:
- can't think what to write right now versus haven't written for five years
- need a scene that does a thing but not sure how to do that versus can't start anything ever
We have a spectrum here. One end, a walk round the park will fix. At the other, probably therapy.
Very different things.
I often get a writer's block where I had lots of ideas that I got enthusiastic about for all of five minutes until my brain started telling me they were shit and would never work. Sometimes, it is sabotage. If I start getting too deep into researching or planning a thing, is this in fact an excuse?
I've also done the kind of writer's block where I didn't let myself start because I didn't have two hours, or a Pepsi, or the perfect ambience. Now, thirty seconds on my phone in the queue at the shop? I'll take it.
Because I know that with me, it's probably perfectionism. Next likely culprit: something isn't working and I need to kill some darlings but I am resisting. I've figured this out over the years. Many walks around the block. Some therapy.
The problem with it all being lumped under 'writer's block' is you get advice like "go for a walk" for therapy-level writer's block. Which makes the person looking for advice feel awful and broken because no, that's not going to work, but that's the advice, so how awful and broken must I be that other people can fix this with a walk? Because it's different things.
At some point you're going to have to imagine me scaling the clock tower by the light of the full moon and yelling "It's different things!" at confused late night shoppers.