Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Writers Block


Everyday it seems I fight a little bit of writers block. Whether its getting stuck on a particularly important dialogue, or trying too hard to perfect everything, I fight daily with writers block. I think the hardest thing about it is that its always there lurking in the shadows waiting for me to lower my guard and pounce. It's a bastard that way, always trying to get you when you're down. My biggest issue is being a perfectionist. I've spent hours before writing and re-writing the same paragraph. I don't know if any other writers find themselves doing that. Maybe that's why I'm bringing it up now.

Are the truly good writers immune to writers block? Or are they just better at working against it. I write everyday, sometimes its a lot, sometimes its a little, but I do make the effort. I've been working on this book, my book, my passion project for almost two years. I've taken a few breaks in the middle of it. Once when I tossed the whole first draft (a total of 370 something pages). I took another break early on when my grandfather passed away. He was the main reason I even started.

I've flirted with the idea of writing since I was in high school. I'd daydream about the worlds I could create and the characters that would live there. I'd start dozens of ideas and then after a while lose interest. I think I've always fought against having a short attention span. Which makes writing and finishing a book all the harder. But grandpa believed in me. He wanted me to write, and read him my story. In fact I was about to start reading my now tossed draft to him right before he died. I miss my grandpa, and I hope, no I know that I'll finish this book.

The reason I bring up how long I've been working on it is because of the research I've put into other writers formats and the time it took them to write a book. Some people like the author of those sparkly vampire stories, wrote it in a matter of months. Now I won't be too harsh or at least hope I don't sound it, when I say that it shows. It was not a work of literary genius, nor am I foolish enough to think that my book will be genius either. But, I mean the time an author puts in only makes a book better right?? I guess that's the big question, when am I done, because with the way I am about it sounding perfect, flowing perfectly, I may never finish.

So I'm going to go back to my story now and fall into its pages, but I'll leave you with a question. What makes a book good? Is it the length of time taken to write it, or the research you put into it, or is it something as simple as pure talent, because if that's the case, Lord almighty I hope I was blessed with it. :0) Cheers!

1 comment:

  1. Immune to writer's block? Nah, I think everyone experiences it at one point or another, sometimes more than others. I think it's just finding how to work against it. I'm sure I'll experience it when I start writing!

    What makes a good book? Hmmmm... I immediately think of one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies:

    “No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.”
    Ernest Hemingway (in Midnight in Paris)

    This may sound clichéd, but what makes a book good is YOU. What you think of its contents, whether you are the author or just a reader. That's the magic of a book: it can speak to everyone in their own special way.

    Keep at it!

    ReplyDelete