{"id":3640,"date":"2012-07-04T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=3640"},"modified":"2012-07-04T06:00:40","modified_gmt":"2012-07-04T11:00:40","slug":"fisticuffs-at-dawn-the-writers-block-duel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=3640","title":{"rendered":"Fisticuffs at Dawn! The Writer’s Block Duel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
One of these girls believes in writer’s block. The other does not.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think it\u2019s hilarious that the existence or non-existence of writer\u2019s block gets people\u2019s panties in such a tight little bunch.<\/p>\n

Unlike a lot of people, my feelings about it are lukewarm, maybe tinged with amusement.<\/p>\n

Is there a magical curse that blocks the flow of a writer\u2019s creative source, sucking him dry and preventing him from writing anything but total and utter crap? No. Of course not. But writers are a superstitious lot. We have to be. Making stuff up is what we do.<\/p>\n

But.<\/p>\n

There are always going to be days when we pull out every single word onto the page like a fishhook that\u2019s been embedded deep in the skin. It\u2019s not always manic rivers of prose flowing from lightning-charged fingertips.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just how it goes.<\/p>\n

So, is there such a thing as writer\u2019s block?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s semantics, that\u2019s all. If I\u2019m blocked, it\u2019s because there\u2019s either something wrong with what I\u2019m writing, or something wrong with what I\u2019m thinking.<\/p>\n

Sure. Writer\u2019s block exists. But only because I\u2019m a writer and I\u2019m blocked. Not because my fluttery muse deserted me, or because the hotel I\u2019m writing in is haunted.<\/p>\n

All work and no play makes Rachel a dull girl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think you\u2019re well and truly blocked, check your manuscript. Did you veer off the road somewhere? Your subconscious knows it, and it\u2019s trying to tell you to go back.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s not it, go look in the mirror. Have yourself a little chat with your own face. Why are you fighting against writing this? What are you avoiding?<\/p>\n

Go for a long drive. Wear a hat. Put on a pair of stripey, fingerless gloves. Move your writing to another room. Take a day to forget about it and let your subconscious work on the problem for awhile.<\/p>\n

But the more you stress about Writer\u2019s Block<\/strong>, the more it\u2019ll become a real thing.<\/p>\n

It exists. It doesn\u2019t exist. Whatever. Work through it, or scoff at it. Meh.<\/p>\n

My muse and I will be over in the corner, watching the debate.<\/p>\n

Semantics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think it\u2019s hilarious that the existence or non-existence of writer\u2019s block gets people\u2019s panties in such a tight little bunch. Unlike a lot of people, my feelings about it are lukewarm, maybe tinged with amusement. Is there a magical curse that blocks the flow of a writer\u2019s creative source, sucking him dry and preventing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1272],"class_list":["post-3640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-writers-block"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3640","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}