Friday, June 18, 2010

Opposite of Writer's Block

Everyone has heard of writer's block but what about writer's explosion? Writer's explosion is the opposite to writer's block; there are so many ideas and words coming at once a writer just can't stop and capture them all, much less hope to recall them later. Imagine being at a very loud, crowded party and everyone there wants your attention while you try to keep an eye out for the bathroom. Maybe you'd prefer the empty room at that point!
While most people say writer's block doesn't legitimately exist and the only real thing that happens is you lose confidence or are scared to commit to the paper, writer's explosion is a very real phenomenon. So, how is a writer to get around this?

Combat the Explosion

1. Take a notebook with you everywhere, even by your bed. (Writers do this, anyway.)
2. Catch the most prominent voices first. The thought behind this is that they will shut up and let the quieter ones have a chance to talk.
3. Welcome the ideas and make time to hear them. If you try to block them out, chances are they won't go away if they are good. And if they ARE good and you get them to disappear for awhile, you may end up losing some of the message if you try to get them back out.
4. If you're working on a busy project, make an attempt to cut out extra stimulation. Daydreaming out the window may be productive to your story when you're in a rough spot but the person that walks by could force a character who used to be hiding into the front and then where are you? Hostage to your muse! (Busy usually denotes deadlines.)

I am sure there are more things to do. Add your own! Most writers would love an explosion so never deny it to yourself. You never know when you could use an extra snippet of dialogue or an extra scene.

Your mad writer,

Jennifer Jackson

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