Beating Writers Block And Mining Your Life For Writing Material
David Bridger recently wrote post about mining your life for writing material.
The concept really struck me, because there are so many people writing about so many things, that it can be hard to come up with something new.
The best way to do this, is to look to your own life in relation to the subject that you are talking about.
For instance, I wrote a tribute to Australia’s Vietnam war veterans here, but tied it to my decision at that time to run away and join the Foreign Legion after a broken romance.
The most ridiculous thing about my decision at the time was that I had always been a conscientious objector, and although conscription ceased in Australia just as I was coming to that age, I had faced the fact that I was in for a lot of trouble.
Anyway, nothing happened, I never got the girl back, thank heavens, and we all lived on…
When I resigned from my job last year, my intention was to follow my life long passion for writing on a full time basis.
As time moved on though, I realized that when I was working full time, I was achieving a lot more, and was much more organized.
I had also found that I was trying to force my self to write, and it just wasn’t happening for me.
What to do? Something completely different.
Since Christmas, I have made a point of taking on short term work assignments completely unrelated to what I do on line.
For instance, this weekend, I am hosting a group of Japanese students on a tour of the Jenolan caves in the blue mountains, west of Sydney.
I did something similar with a group of Korean students earlier in the year.
As well as that, for the next little while, I am working as a relief school bus driver, collecting country kids from farms and out lying villages, and taking them to school in town.
Up with the birds, and setting out at first light, I’m covering a distance of over 150 miles each day.
It’s already working, with a stack of ideas on paper, and more forming as I go.
This morning, about half an hour out of town, I picked up a couple of students at their farm gate.
As I changed gears heading up the hill, I glanced to the left, and saw two kangaroos hopping alongside the bus.
I slowed down to let them get away, but they slowed as well. So I tried accelerating, but, they just hopped faster as I did so!
I’d had this experience a few years before, in my wife’s new car, and had ended up hitting a huge male kangaroo.
Remembering the damage he had caused, I tried to take evasive action, but having terrible traffic sense, the animals began to veer into the bus.
In desperation, I hit the brakes and the horn at the same time, startling them and causing them to hop off in the opposite direction!
Now, as well as giving the kids on the bus a scare, it gave me something to write about tonight.
Do I want to be a full time bus driver?
Not especially, and when I am finished this ‘assignment’, I will find something else to do.
How do you come up with things to write about?
Do you suffer from writer’s block? How do you overcome it?
Ah, as a “full time writer” this subject is close to my heart, though for slightly different reasons; In publishing my own writing, I have become so busy working on the publishing side of the business, that I have no time for creative writing.
I tried giving myself “writing days” in my diary, but I just over-rode them with other tasks.
I tried to promise myself “art days” out in inspiring places, but they never happened either.
So I gave up on trying to give myself “creative thinking time” and tried to organise my working week so that I could have one day off in the working week to catch up on some of the many jobs that need doing around the house and garden.
So now, very prosaically, but very fruitfully, I now allow myself Fridays out of the office for chores, and have unexpectedly found time to think too!
Fridays (unless I have a bank holiday or other such holiday earlier in the week) are now for doing all the necessary household chores like grocery shopping, cleaning, washing etc.
This frees up my weekend for more fun stuff, and it gives my poor brain time to cool off a bit and think through some ideas while being usefully busy elsewhere.
Staring at a blank page is the surest way to kill off any small spark of inspiration you may been teetering towards!
Whereas doing mundane tasks that allow you to think are great for putting ideas together.
the other thing I’ve noticed about myself is that when I first started, my office was myrefuge, my safe quiet place to write.
Now, I feel much more free to be creative if I am elsewhere, especially a coffee shop with a big sofa! I can sketch out rough ideas to take back to the office for later, and it feels like a real treat.
Think I may go save this comment for a blog post of my own!
G’day Helen,
Your comment would definitely make part of a great blog post!
I think that most good writing, as far as I am concerned, comes from doing ‘other’ stuff rather than just forcing one’s self.
Another idea I have is to do some volunteer work somewhere next time.
Doing things like this keeps me around other people, which is also important!
Cheers!
I’ll tell you what works for me is I tend to stick to things I am definately passionate about, you know for instance those things that we really wish we could do, but cant or wish we could afford but cant do. I think everyone has some of that in them. Find something you like to blabber on about, not sure what that is because you’re always doing it and not paying attention to the fact that you do it? Ask a friend what you’re always on about. Or listen to the conversation amongst your group or gaggle of friends and see if you can find the niche thread in all that.
For instance when I am out with the boys we go on about cars. Man I could go about cars for ages, but only one or two very specific models, see where I am going with this.
We do a darts night every friday and usually the convo is about darts and dart competitions.
There are many ways to overcome the block to writing. And yes a good way to get over yourself is to walk away from it for a while. Sometime inspiration comes when you not doing what you should be. KNow what I mean
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Thats a good post. I have a hard time thinking of things to write. Usually it comes to me in the middle of the night with no explanation.
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Hi Allan,
Taking kids on tours in caves and driving a bus picking upkids, Allan, you’ve become the Catcher in the Rye! LOL!
It’s been a long time since my last visit here and since you’re the first name on my blogroll, you have first crack at the set of comments I have set out to do for this day.
I am in a southeast Asian country now, well since July 9th, taking part in the relief and rehabilitation efforts of this country’s cyclone victims that hit them sometime back. There’s plenty to write about here, but I can’t at this time as it will endanger my entire team.
Where we are is so primitive. No electricity and only batteries for light and electric fans at night. It takes 6 to 12 hours to get to the Capital City by boat and land, if you’re lucky. And when we get to the city, only on weekends, that’s the only time we can blog. But even there, the current is unstable and conks out in the middle of a post.
This will probably be posted on Tuesday or Wednesday when the CD I am encoding it into will be re-encoded through the kindness and devotion of my secretary – in her spare time if she has any. 🙂 This way, I can get more things done. I record sites on a CD and then make comments or post my own articles in the same way.
I haven’t experienced or don’t know if I have experienced writer’s block, although there are times when I start a post, delete it, write on a new subject, delete that again, until I find what is worthwhile in my estimation. The past month as well as this month though, I wouldn’t be as regular as I want to on account of the conditions here. Also, we are surrounded by military men who have made typewriters available, but that they will do the typing.
When difficulties arise, I simply choose some human interest topic, like those kangaroos you mentioned, or about baking, pizza preparation that is culturally based, or cannabis for health. That story about Starbucks closing in some areas including Australia is a cool subject too. The American orientation towards mass production for big profits was defeated by local culture and friendly service of home based coffee shops is a subject that could be interesting for global readers.
Anyway, this is too long already and I just wanted to say hi. Can you believe that? Take care! 🙂 –Durano, done!
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