Writers block is brought on by wanting to write well and fearing you’ve not. You don’t have to write well you have to revise well.
Janet Reid posted that on her blog recently.
This was a lightbulb for me. If you read my post from two days ago, you’ll understand why. I think this is exactly the reason why I find it so hard to write sometimes. I worry too much about getting the craft right. That my writing isn’t going to be the best it needs to be. I need to remind myself it doesn’t have to be. I can fix it all when I edit – and I’m lucky, I really enjoy editing.
I’m going to try and write without thinking or worrying about whether the word is perfect. If I’m telling not showing. If I’m using passive not active tense. All that craft can be fixed when I edit. Do Janet’s words resonate with you?
October 14, 2017 at 2:10 am
I remind myself that writing a novel, short story, or flash fiction is like sculpting. The sculptor doesn’t start crafting the nose and hair detail immediately from the block of stone. Basic shape comes first; detail comes in when the piece has taken form.