{"id":3567,"date":"2012-07-02T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=3567"},"modified":"2012-07-02T06:00:38","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T11:00:38","slug":"punch-boogeyman-throat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=3567","title":{"rendered":"Punch the Boogeyman in the Throat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne reason I don\u2019t suffer from writer\u2019s block is that I don\u2019t wait on the muse, I summon it at need.\u201d \u2013 Piers Anthony<\/em><\/p>\n

I know some people will hate me for saying this, but there is no such thing as writer\u2019s block.<\/p>\n

Writer\u2019s block is built on shaky self-confidence and not much else. It\u2019s like being afraid of the boogeyman. We can all relate, but there is nothing there. Get out of bed and if something grabs you, punch it in the throat. It\u2019s probably your significant other. That will teach them.<\/p>\n

Chances are, you can think of something to write. You just can\u2019t convince yourself that it is going to be worth a crap. Then it snowballs. You become convinced your ideas suck. Then you start thinking that your writing sucks. Next, you are questioning whether you are really meant to be a writer, at all.<\/p>\n

Just\u2026stop.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There is nothing to writing. You just do it. Writing well is difficult. Writing something original is next to impossible. But the act of writing is as simple as breathing. The only way to get something good or original is to take that first breath and write.<\/p>\n

Writer\u2019s block is about thinking. Writing isn\u2019t about thinking. It\u2019s about writing. Re-writing is about thinking. So, don\u2019t think. Write.<\/p>\n

It sounds simple because it is. The idea of writer\u2019s block is complex. Look for the simplest possible answer. Some writers get blocked because they are hung up on rules and expectations. Forget rules. Forget expectations. You are either writing or you are not.<\/p>\n

Stressed out and can\u2019t focus? Write about why you are stressed out and can\u2019t focus. Get all that crap out of your system and feed it to a story so it can do some good. It doesn\u2019t matter if no one reads it.<\/p>\n

Some of you are still skeptical. There has to be more to it, something scientific. Fine. There is a theory that writer\u2019s block may be related to the instinctual fight or flight survival mechanism. When you get stressed out, you lock up.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve come to the right guy. I happen to be an expert in that area as it relates to teaching self-defense. I\u2019ve studied the psychological and physiological aspects of combat. I\u2019ve studied martial arts for over ten years. I constantly help people overcome that instinct to freeze in stressful situations. I accomplish that by training people in stressful situations. I show them they have the ability to fight back, even when their instinct is to freeze. \u00a0I give them confidence that they can act in any situation. If they are stressed, they can still fight. If they are hurt, they can still fight. If they are exhausted, they can still fight.<\/p>\n

Apply this to writing. If you feel blocked, write anyway.\u00a0 If it is crap, that\u2019s okay, keep writing. The more you write through stress, the less it will affect your ability to write. The less it affects your ability to write, the more confidence you will have that what you are writing is good.<\/p>\n

Stop dwelling on writer\u2019s block. Stop thinking about how everything you write is going to be worthless. Stop considering natural remedies or human sacrifice. Stop reading about writer\u2019s block, as soon as you finish reading all of this week’s posts.<\/p>\n

Start writing, and never stop again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne reason I don\u2019t suffer from writer\u2019s block is that I don\u2019t wait on the muse, I summon it at need.\u201d \u2013 Piers Anthony I know some people will hate me for saying this, but there is no such thing as writer\u2019s block. Writer\u2019s block is built on shaky self-confidence and not much else. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[116,1079,1272],"class_list":["post-3567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-boogeyman","tag-stress","tag-writers-block"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}