Let’s talk about writer’s block and what we can do to combat it. At least one of these will help you!
Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
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TRANSCRIPT STARTS HERE:
Kat
Hello. Welcome back, everyone, to Pencils & Lipstick. This is episode 191 of the podcast. And today we’re going to be talking about ways that you can get rid of writer’s block or at least try to overcome it. I have quite a few points and quite a few things that you can try that I think you’ll probably find at least one or two that will work for you. Writer’s block can be a real pain for a writer. And it was sent to me as an email, somebody asked me about it. So I thought, I answered them, but then I thought, well, this would be a great episode topic for the podcast as well. Before we go into the podcast, I want to just let you know that we are going to be streamlining the podcast process quite a bit. We’re going to be focusing more on the video type. I know that’s not necessarily a podcast, I guess, people have so many little definitions for things. So we are over on YouTube, in case you didn’t know, we are putting out little shorts on social media or even on TikTok, although I’m not as consistent with that over then TikTok as I should be. But we are going to keep trying, right? This is what we do. So as far as audio goes, we will still be on the same platforms as before. You will just not get the musical intro as you do right now. But it’s just one of those things that we have to do. The podcast is awesome. I really love it, but it is a money spender, not a money maker. So that’s all right, we got things like that in our lives. I enjoy doing it. I will still be having interviews. It will just be a little bit more streamlined. So hopefully the sound will not drop off too much. I got some different things. I will be the one doing it at this point. Laura has been lovely as a replacement. It’s honestly just money, so we’re just going to be streamlining a bit. So if you like watching videos, you can find us over on YouTube. In fact, you can find me sitting in Spain right now in a rather bland room because I don’t want to show you the mess behind me. So there’s nothing interesting to see.
Kat
Before we get into the interview as well, I want to let you know that I had an interview with Lisa Shaughnessy over on her website, the Writers Retreat Sampler. And I talked all about the Toledo Writers’ Retreat that is coming up that I am going to be I’m putting together with Marci Renée, it’s called the Write With Us Writing Retreats in Spain. We have one in September. It’s pretty much closed at this point. There are only so many people that we can admit, but we’re going to have more, another one in April. We’re going to do it in Segovia and we’ll have another one in Toledo next year at the beginning of October. So if you want to know more about that stuff and want to figure out when I am on other people’s things, like I will be on Daniel David Wallace’s Summit this summer and fall as well. So if you want to see me on those different summits and listen to those interviews, you should join my writer’s list. Because if you’re on my writer’s list, you would have already known all about this stuff. You can find the link below in the show notes if you’re listening to audio or right below in the YouTube area there. Youtube doesn’t really let you click links. You have to copy paste it, which is annoying. But whatever, you can find it there. So if you get all my writer’s newsletter, you get different topics than… usually different topics than what is on the podcast. Sometimes it’s a little bit of the same, but we’ll also be shutting down the podcast website, not that you know that it’s there because you all never go there. So anyway, we’ll probably be shutting that one down as well. Other than that, nothing really is going to change. I’m going to keep interviewing people, but we’re going to focus on the visual a lot. I’m going to have a web designer who specializes in making web pages for authors come in. And so you’re probably going to want to watch that on video, although I’m sure the audio will be helpful as well. But we will stay on the audio, the podcast platform. So if you are on an app listening to this right now, please subscribe. You’ll still get every Monday, it will just automatically download for you. If you could review the podcast, that would be awesome. We had a couple of new reviews come in, which is just fun to see. And if you guys want to be interviewed on the show, if you think it would be a good fit. I just want to go over a couple of the… I’m thinking in Spanish right now, like the guidelines, I guess, that we go for the show, especially as we’re finishing up the fourth year, within a month and a half or so, and we’re going into the fifth year. So if you are an author and you think you want to talk about your books for this show, for Pencils & Lipstick, you have to have published at least three books. There are other podcasts, other video interviews where you can go to. And if you need help trying to find them, I can help you try to find them. Emma Dhesi has one called Turning Readers into Writers. It’s a YouTube interview place, but I’m not so much focused on the beginning, and I know that we’re all really excited with our first book, which I think is great. It’s just that this is really focused on the craft of writers writing and publishing and marketing, and you don’t really know all those things with the first book. Now, I think the only exception to that would be if you just blow it out of the water with your first book, you just do everything perfectly and just amazingly well. Maybe you’re a marketing genius and you want to come on and share how you did that. I would probably consider that for sure. So you could get a hold of me at writeyourlife@katcaldwell.com. If you are somebody who does something, a service, or has created a product for writers to make writers lives easier, whether it’s a software or product or course, you have a higher chance of getting on than a writer who’s just published one book. So that’s a weird vague guideline, I guess. And honestly, even with the three books, I put that as a guideline there. It’s really about authors who want to come in and talk about their process in the journey and the successes that they have found. So you might be a little bit confused if you’ve been listening for a long time. In the first couple of years, I did bring on people who had just written one book, but we are shifting that a bit. I really want to give people new things to hear about. A lot of indie authors need to learn about marketing and selling. And so we definitely want to hear from you if you are just blowing it out of the water on ads or marketing in a different way or anything like that. That we definitely want to hear about. And just in general, that usually comes with the more books published. But again, if you like doing an amazing job with one book, hit me up, we’ll see. We can talk, we can always talk. And even if I say no, it doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends.
Kat
So let’s get into breaking down writer’s block. I think this is a great topic to talk about in the summertime when we’re inundated with family and friends and traveling and going to the pool every day or taking your kids to the park or just kids, at home, all the time. And your mind is probably just going a million miles a minute. So writer’s block can definitely happen. It can It can happen a lot of times when you’ve been away from your work for a while, which can happen in the summer, right? Or it can happen when you’ve really pushed yourself to work a lot and you just haven’t given yourself time to think of the whole story or it can just happen out of the blue, right?
Kat
So the first thing that I want to say is if writer’s block happens, take a break. And I have talked about this in so many different interviews in so many different ways. But walking is an awesome thing for you to do. It is scientifically proven that walking is great for your brain and not only your brain, but your creative brain. Some of the most creative people in the world were walkers, and they would solve their problems while walking. One of my favorite books in the world is Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, I think that is, but I think I also might be getting that wrong. Let’s look this up. It is the best book ever because it talks about walking and resting and how you can stimulate your creative brain so that you can finish your work. Right, it is Rest, where you get more done when you work less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. That is really hard for me to say. I’m very sorry if I didn’t pronounce that correctly. I will have the link in the show notes. How’s that? Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. You can find that on Amazon. It’s an amazing book. So take a break, take a walk. If you are writing and you’re in front of your computer and you’re like, No, Kat, I don’t want to get up and take a walk. I just sat down. I just told my family to leave me alone, and yet I still don’t know what to write. Fine, be stubborn.
Kat
So jump ahead in your story. One of my favorite things, and in fact, one I just told a writer this past week is jump ahead. He was stuck in his story. He had all these characters coming in and had their backstory lining up, and then he just got stuck. And I said, jump ahead to either the climax or the ending. And not only that, but write it two or three times in a different way, whether it’s a different point of view, whether it’s from using a different character to do things or just completely different. The climax is really important in your story and the ending is really important in your story. So if you are stuck wherever you are, jump ahead, write out the climax or write out the ending, but write it in 2-3 separate ways. And give yourself the freedom that that doesn’t have to end up being the climax or the ending, for real. Now, I have done this before and I found an amazing ending for my book Crossing the Mota. I’m really happy with that ending. And that is what I visualize as I write the book to finish it. That’s the place that I want to finish it at. So that’s why this is helpful, because if you get the climax and you do find the thing that you want to have happen, even the written out part needs to be changed or edited or just redone in general, you have the idea, you have the seed, and that is where you’re going to write towards.
Kat
Number three, pretend you’ve never read your work before. I’ve never done this before, but I saw it, I think, on Masterclass.com or something like that. And I just thought it was interesting. I think this would be a really difficult thing to do for certain brains, like my brain. I’m not sure I could trick myself into thinking. But if you print it out or if you make even your draft into an eBook and send it to your Kindle, a lot of authors do that. And that way you can read through it. I feel like the Kindle would work better because you can almost trick your brain into thinking that you’re reading another book. And then you just allow yourself to get immersed in the story and you’ll probably find like, oh, what’s going to happen next? You know how you always try to jump ahead of the characters of the books you’re reading? I think that’s the idea behind this.
Kat
All right, number four is write something else. Just go on and write something else. Not everyone agrees with this idea. I always have a couple of things in the works, and I wouldn’t necessarily say start a new novel, but write a short story, write a poem, write a flash fiction, pick out a random photo and try to make up a story about it. I really like short stories. I think they’re really cool. You can practice your story craft with short stories, hitting all the points that you need to hit. So yeah, write a short story. It doesn’t have to be fiction. Write a memory about your childhood and see if you can make it into a short story that has a climax and an ending. And then it’s something fun to share with your readers, right?
Kat
The next one is create a deadline for yourself. So visualize yourself as a professional writer, somebody who’s full-time writing, who is only going to get paid if this deadline is hit. You are in that time of Fitzgerald or whoever that you admire in the classics and you’re sweating and you’re going to stay up all night, come hell or high water. So visualize this deadline and write towards that deadline. The this is tricky in your brain a little bit, right? But it will also probably cause you to overwrite, just FYI. But that’s okay too. If you just visualize that deadline, I got to get this done. I got got to get it done. I got to get it done. And something will probably happen at that point.
Kat
The next one, I think we’re on number six, get crafty, do something else creative, do a puzzle. Puzzles are awesome for just letting your brain relax. That’s not even what I want to say. Get crafty. Get out your paint, your glue, and draw out your characters or your plot map, or make a diagram of the relationships in your book, but not with words. Do it with stickers and glitter and markers and crayons and have fun and allow yourself to be immersed in that. You’ll probably find that you’re just going along with the story in a whole different way at that point.
Kat
The next one is do something that requires no “real” thinking. I have puzzle in this one or even more mundane, shower or clean your kitchen or fold your clothes. Now, puzzle, I think is in this, although all you puzzlers are going to get mad that I call that mundane, but really just shuts down your brain. You’re so focused on finding that same blue that turns out it’s not the same blue because it’s shadowed and the way that the puzzle is cut, it doesn’t look the same. You’re so focused on something else that you’re shutting down that pressure in your head to figure out the story. Showering, cleaning up, folding clothes, that’s also the same thing. You’re focused on something else. And a lot of times you will get ideas that will just come to you all of a sudden. And you’re like, That’s so easy. You just need to shut down that other part of the brain.
Kat
Another idea is to free write for 30 minutes or try writing, free writing, with a writing prompt. This is a really good way to just find a different thing to write about. We talked about this with writing something else, but if you’re so stuck that you can’t even find an idea for a short story, just free write. Find some prompts. There’s tons of prompts out there. Story-a-day.org has lots and lots of prompts. I have a short prompts course, it’s free, it comes to your email. Lots of people have prompts. Or if you like to free write, just set the timer and write about whatever. Like sit on a park bench and describe all the people and just get it out. Just get out some words on the page.
Kat
Now, this other one is interesting because I hadn’t thought of this before, but this next one, it’s write for 10 minutes about everything that you did that day. And if you can’t fill the 10 minutes, then that week or that summer, this summer or this month or your life, for goodness sakes, if 10 minutes starts being really, really long. But the point of it is not the words. The point of it is to notice what distracts you while you do it. So do you pick up the nail polish bottle while you’re writing because you can’t think. Do you pick up the empty box? I like picking up all the things around me. Do you pick up your phone? Does your computer have notifications still on even if they’re silent?Do they show up in the corner? Do people call you? Is the cat meowing? Is the outside too loud? Whatever it is, notice what distracted you and then set about to rid your area of those distractions. Interesting, right?
Kat
Next point is talk to a friend, but better yet talk to a writer friend. Talk about your stories. Have an exchange time in which you are not really looking for feedback, but you just need someone to tell your story to. And then you agree to hear about their story, I guarantee you, you will figure something out. Something will come to you. Now, I listen to Shonda Rhimes talk about writer’s block, and this next point is from her. Shonda Rhimes says that when writer’s block used to come to her, it was crippling. And so she just started to refuse to believe it existed. She literally told herself over and over again, writers block does not exist, so it’s impossible that you have it right now. I know that’s crazy, right? But she claims that it works. She also says that she starts writing something else. So my point above is stamped and approved by Shonda Rhimes. I mean, what else could be better than that? So trick yourself into believing that writers block doesn’t exist. And so you are not blocked. You are a writer and you’re going to keep going.
Kat
Now, this next one, try dictating. That’s like talking to a friend, but dictating as many of you probably have heard me say, I like taking walks now since I can’t run and just talking through my characters or talking from the point of view of a different character. That’s the book’s not in their point of view. And just, I don’t know, what would she say? What did she do after that scene and just dictating it out. And it’s interesting because it’s not a dictation in the sense that I expect it to go word for word back onto Scrivener. It’s a dictation of just rehashing the characters or again picking them up, maybe through the eyes of a different character and just having fun with it. Writing that out might feel like work, whereas dictating it while I’m getting some exercise just feels more fun.
Kat
My next point is to just sit down and write even if it’s crap. And anyone who likes to be very concise in writing isn’t going to like that point. I’m an overwriter, as you know, and I am trying to not be an overwriter, but there are times where you just need to write even if it’s crap. I don’t know how many times days in my life where I force myself, especially during the school year, not in the summer, to write five times a week. And a lot of times it’s crap, y’all. Really, it gets thrown out. But it’s just writing. You’re still putting words on there. You’re still trying to figure something out. And there’s always something that comes out of it. So set a time of day and stick to it and write, even if it’s crap. And I can’t even tell you how many quotes there are from writers on the internet who are like a writer is somebody who sits down and writes, whether it’s crap or not. I don’t think they say it like that, but there’s a lot of writers who basically say that. Some of us might see it as a hobby, but the reality is most of us want to see our work published, and so you have to treat it as a job in some way. So you’re just going to have to write. But really, if writer’s block is really bothering you, sit in a comfy chair and read a book, not on the craft of writing. Read a book that will just take you away. Whatever your favorite genre is, pick it up. Maybe you’re rereading a book that you love. Maybe it’s a book that you just really were going to use as a victory book for having finished your manuscript. Just pick it up and read it and give yourself a break and have some fun.
Kat
You can also change the music that you listen to while writing. And if you don’t listen to music, you can add music to your area while you’re writing. I don’t listen to music. I know Carissa Andrews listens to like, it’s not even music, it’s like a monotone tone. You could try that as well. But yeah, change it up. Either change the music or add music or maybe shut off the music.
Kat
Something that could be fun instead of picking up a book, is watch a fun film. I especially love finding short films that people have made, especially I think they win, like the Cannes Festival short films. Some people are super creative. At these short tiny films and just enjoying somebody else’s creativity can really get your brain moving and you’re just like, That’s so awesome. I want to write a story like that, too.
Kat
Get up from your desk. Even if you are the person who’s like, no, this is my time to write. Okay, fine. Get up from your desk. Don’t let anybody make eye contact with you. Go get something to drink, get an elixer to drink, maybe a cayenne pepper lemon honey elixir, wake you up. I also like coffee or a tea, get something cozy, close your eyes, run around, whatever, and go back to your desk. Other than that, you don’t have to be at your desk. Even if you’re in your office, you could do this, too. You could exercise or you can meditate. So I am crap at meditation, but I’m trying. So we can all try meditating. And there’s a couple of different YouTube videos that are free to help you meditate. Exercise, do some jumping jacks, push ups, high knees, I don’t know, work on that core. Again, it’s something that will move your hormones around, get your energy level up, and that will probably shift your brain thinking a little bit more.
Kat
Also, last point, and this is a shout out to all the writers out there, whether you are writing blocked or not, eat something nutritious. Yes, eat something nutritious. Your brain needs to be fed by nutrients. I know when we are frustrated with ourselves or we are just anxious as humans, many of us reach for the salty crappy snack or the sugary crappy snack. I am just as guilty as anybody else, but realize that your brain, your creative brain and your body need nutrients. And so get up and eat something nutritious, even if it’s like avocados toast or tomatoes toast. We’re half Spanish in our family, so a slice of toast with some olive oil and slices of tomatoes with a little pinch of salt is probably the best thing ever in the whole world. I’m telling you, do it. If you want something sweet, cut up some fruit, even add a little bit of cream to it, maybe, or some Greek yogurt, eat something nutritious, add some pumpkin seeds or some pecan nuts, maybe. Feed your brain, feed your body.
Kat
These are all my ideas for helping you break writer’s block. I hope that you can find one of them and that one of them works for you. If the first one doesn’t work, try the next one. The truth is, you are a writer, you have a story within you and you you can finish it. Before we go out and into the sunset or to the pool or wherever you’re going, I want to encourage you that writer’s block is completely normal, but you can finish your book. You can keep going and you can overcome writer’s block. I will see you next week.