Why You Can't Just "Get Over" Writer's Block
What stage fright and writer's block have in common
Hey y’all, it’s KimBoo! I’m an author and a podcaster who is also a librarian, text technology historian, and former I.T. project manager. I write about a lot of interesting things, I hope you agree! Please consider supporting me (and my dog!) so I can keep throwing errata & etcetera into the Scriptorium!
I was talking to Dan Kenner of the Casual Author podcast when we came up with a very interesting comparison. I threatened to write a whole blog post about it and he said “I double dog dare you!” so here we are!
(I’ll link that podcast here with it goes live!)
“What is the best way to overcome writer’s block?”
“You just sit down and write!”
Everyone who has ever suffered from even a small bout of writer’s block has gotten the extremely unhelpful advice to “just get over it and write!” Steven Pressfield wrote a whole book on the premise, and many writing coaches over the years have contributed their own thoughts on how to combat writer’s block, with many different kinds of recommendations.
Yet, in the end, it always boils down to “just sit down and write!”
When I was talking to Dan Kenner while we were recording his podcast, he mentioned that for him, it was similar to his experiences with stage fright back when he did theater. That hit me like a brick: writer’s block and stage fright are actually very similar, if not the same exact thing.
Everyone understands what stage fright is, and some of us have been unlucky enough to be hit by it when involved in theater productions or other kinds of performance art. Even some of the most renown, respected, and experienced actors fall prey to the insidiousness of stage fright.
However, the number of careers that have been ended by stage fright is vanishingly small.
After all, it doesn’t matter how terrified you are to perform, you absolutely must get out on the stage and do your best because as we all know, the show must go on!
Stage fright can be sourced to many different causes. Each performer’s stage fright is unique to them, in the sense that their fears are the result of their life experiences and how their brain specifically works. Yet, in the end, they all stand in the wings filled with fear, dread, and a certainty that they will not be able to do what they must do.
Writer’s block often has a lot of the same effect on a person: a fear of putting words to paper, a fear of not having anything to say, a fear of not doing it right/perfectly/well enough. Like stage fright, it can result from a myriad of circumstances in a writer’s life, to many too list here.
Unlike stage fright, though, there is no threshold to the stage that one has to cross; no unforgiving deadline that will take down not just the performer but the whole production. There is rarely someone at the writer’s back pushing them into the stage lights, no matter how nauseous they feel.
You might think that having a publisher with a firm deadline for a manuscript’s submission can stand in for that here, but I only need to remind everyone of The Winds of Winter.
Writers can sit at our desks for hours, for days, for years, waiting to “get over” writer’s block. Unlike stage fright, it does not feel like the show must go on.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a simple solution to the problem other than what we already know and have been told endlessly: “just sit down and write!”
But then, that’s because it is the only solution that actually works. Just as the only solution to stage fright is to step out of the darkness onto the stage—where, miraculously, you will remember all your lines and blocking almost without conscious effort—the only solution to writer’s block is to put words to paper (fingers to keyboard, pen to paper, whatever!).
There might be something to the idea of treating writer’s block more like stage fright, though. Instead of wallowing in introspection or waiting for lightning to strike, figure out how your brain works and what your tolerance is for an audience.
Yeah that’s right, I said it: you, dear writer, need to think about your audience!
With that in mind, consider trying out one of these two exercises, each of which is tempered for different kinds of fears:
Nobody is watching: If your fear stems from the idea that you have to be perfect in order to please the invisible audience in your mind, consider firing that audience! Unlike actors, you can completely flub your lines (your writing) and no one will know. Instead of focusing on what you need to write or how to write it, commit to writing something outrageously over the top. Write as fast as you can. Write in a different genre or write a poem. Do something with the absolutely certain knowledge that no one, absolutely no one, will ever see it. Give yourself the grace to mess up, write poorly, and flub your lines.
The Show Must Go On: Maybe your block is such that not having an audience (aka deadline) means you can’t find the motivation to even get started. If that is the case, it’s an easy fix: force yourself to write with an audience. Write while live-streaming yourself (you can do this on platforms like twitch and discord) so that people can see you are actually writing. Pull your screen up on the app and invite people to watch you write in real time, in the same way that actors have to go on with the curtain rises. Schedule “show times” so you can’t weasel out of it. If you are worried about people seeing what you write, then focus the camera on your keyboard or your face. (I know this is not for everyone, but it works for me!)
If either or both of these ideas scare you, then chances are you need to do it! Sorry not sorry. 🤗
Dealing with writer’s block is never easy, but maybe strategizing with the idea in mind that it is just a form of stage fright will help you overcome it. If you think of other ways to use this approach that are successful for you, please share!