Stephen King argues that writer’s block is a myth. Is writing still hard if you’re willing to just set pen to paper without trying to filter for good ideas? I find this kind of free writing to be almost repulsive to me, but I think it is just a weird bias that I have and a lot of people have but don’t ever move past. I know that many of my favorite writers endorse reckless first drafts and brainstorming sessions.
Maybe writing’s difficulty is overestimated by the general public, but underestimated by amateur writers? That seems compatible with both our positions.
A related anecdote: Stephen King had writer’s block while writing “The Stand.” He overcame it by detonating a bomb and killing half the main cast.
I find the bemoaning of so many writers regarding writer’s block to be a far less serious issue than they intend me to think it. I won’t say I don’t believe in writer’s block. I’ll say my evidence is inconclusive. My personal experience has been that “writer’s block” tends to stem from other, less “artsy” problems. Laziness, ennui, angst. Typically, for me, writer’s block is overcome by shutting up and writing or by admitting “this project isn’t going to work. Restore, restart, or quit.”
Stephen King argues that writer’s block is a myth. Is writing still hard if you’re willing to just set pen to paper without trying to filter for good ideas? I find this kind of free writing to be almost repulsive to me, but I think it is just a weird bias that I have and a lot of people have but don’t ever move past. I know that many of my favorite writers endorse reckless first drafts and brainstorming sessions.
Maybe writing’s difficulty is overestimated by the general public, but underestimated by amateur writers? That seems compatible with both our positions.
A related anecdote: Stephen King had writer’s block while writing “The Stand.” He overcame it by detonating a bomb and killing half the main cast.
I find the bemoaning of so many writers regarding writer’s block to be a far less serious issue than they intend me to think it. I won’t say I don’t believe in writer’s block. I’ll say my evidence is inconclusive. My personal experience has been that “writer’s block” tends to stem from other, less “artsy” problems. Laziness, ennui, angst. Typically, for me, writer’s block is overcome by shutting up and writing or by admitting “this project isn’t going to work. Restore, restart, or quit.”