Refracted - Overcoming Writers Block
Refracted - Overcoming Writers Block
Overcoming Writers Block
The Usual Backstory
A question I got following my last issue was what are my strategies for overcoming writer’s block. Before I answer, I’d have to give more context, so we’ll have to go some years back. Since a child, I’ve always been fascinated with how we humans express ourselves. Thanks to my mother’s biology books, I discovered that my pre-historic grandpa was very close to modern-day baboons. With that in place, the transition from ape to human occupied my child mind. I was trying to figure out how we evolved from swinging on lianas and beating our heads in with stones to the development of languages and alphabets, mainly the Bulgarian I had my fair share of trouble in school. On top of this interest, I had specific conditions in which I had to grow up that required me to pay attention to communication even more. I learned to read non-verbal queues, tone-of-voice and word usage by my relatives and peers from a very early age. This skill directly translated to my close observation of how people express themselves in a written form once I write in my own language. Since the age of 12-13, I was giving my first attempts of writing short comical stories that I was sending around to my schoolmates on Skype with mediocre success. I even had a position suggested for our school newspaper that I rejected because I had a bike to ride. In my early teen years, I was logging an angsty daily journal. Later in my uni, I took on creative writing classes, reaching the point where the professor, a famous Bulgarian writer, read an essay of mine in front of 150 people (a humbling experience). Since I’m done boasting around, I believe I proved my point that writing is something that I’ve enjoyed doing for a while, no matter how challenging it is to this day.
Solving Writers Block
I have to be fair with you - with every piece I write, I experience our well-known phenomena of writer’s block. No matter if it’s the white sheet of my journal or the methodically blinking cursor of my text editor, there’s always this feeling of hesitation. I jot down a sentence, ponder upon it, delete and then we’re back at ground zero. Then this process repeats itself for a while, while the feeling of insecurity slowly creeps in the back of my head, carrying its questions like:
“Is this even worth writing?”
“Is this even worth reading?”
“Is it understandable?”
“Is it engaging?”
I’ve lost countless blog posts and newsletter ideas, discouraging myself with questions like this. The mixture of high expectations, structure and anxiety has led me to throw away ideas far too often. On the contrary, I had no problem writing to myself - I was writing about my days, the observations and revelations I had with such ease that I felt might be the key to my problem.
Leonid Pasternak - The Passion of Creation
I’ve lost countless blog posts and newsletter ideas, discouraging myself with questions like this. The mixture of high expectations, structure and anxiety has led me to throw away ideas far too often. On the contrary, I had no problem writing to myself - I was writing about my days, the observations and revelations I had with such ease that I felt might be the key to my problem.
And that’s how I found the fix that is both simple and effective - write your thoughts first and edit later. Spew out the ideas running through your head without much attention to spelling, grammar, proper word usage, flow and tone. Allow yourself to remove that anxiety by knowing that your first draft is always going to be messy. If you’re one of these people that always like to have their things in order, remind yourself that you can’t put nothingness in order - you need some substance to work with.
Enjoy the mess you’re creating because no matter how cliched it sounds, there’s always order in chaos. I discovered that I’m having a ton of fun going through the nonsense I’ve written, sifting through the rubbish until the essence is the only present thing. I’ve even reached the extents where I save whole chunks of text from such mind-dumps, marking them as future ideas that I can write on. Once your messy first draft is in place, it’s a ton of editing, improving, and playing around from there onwards.
Conclusion
The most effective way to deal with writer’s block is to write as unfiltered, raw and direct as I could. No holds barred and no expectations for the first draft - it’s mind-dumping to its core. While “copying” my thoughts in my editor, the only thing that could slow the process is my typing speed. I couldn’t worry less if what’s written makes any sense or not, because this is a future responsibility. Draft one is meant for the roughest, rawest, most random mind dumps, which later we shape, bring structure and curate for our readers. So I advise you, when you end up in writer’s block, let yourself free and “duplicate” your thoughts with no expectations. I assure you, you’ll end up with more than just staying frozen like a deer in front of the headlights of a truck.
Enjoyed
Listening to Master of Reality by Black Sabbath
Hitting my life goal of lifting 100kg bench 💪
A good glass of Bulgarian wine
Matthew Fenton’s Winning Solo
Thankful for
The privilege of doing what I love for a living
The freedom with which I communicate and meet people
The delicious dishes my wife cooks
Let’s get a discussion going!
Is there anything you’d like to read about next? Do you need any help with something? Reply to this email and let me know - I want to shape this newsletter around our mutual interests.
If you enjoyed this issue and found it valuable, please share it with at least one person.
Let’s connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium or Instagram!
A weekly newsletter by Alexander Traykov set to explore how design, technology and culture intertwine in our day-to-day lives.
If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.
If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.
Powered by Revue
Knyaz Boris str 169a, Sofia 1202, Bulgaria