Waaaaay back in the beginning of this series of posts (Chapter 2), we talked about when someone is in stress the cortex goes on holiday. Like, “Bye! Goin’ on a cruise around the world.” The stress of writing can trigger the cortex’s inability to fight off many forms of resistance. With the cortex sunning itself on the shores of the Mediterranean, you can become easily confused and
overwhelmed. Your memory can be affected along with the ability to work out the details of your storyline. Making you find ways to distract yourself and in the end giving up on your writing.
Wow, the cortex can be a jerk sometimes. Geesh- leaving us stranded like that. That would explain some of the things I do when my writing decides to hide from me. Did you know my books are alphabetized by author name and genre? Yup, so are my movies, CD’s (yes, I still have those), records (gotta love vinyl), and my research books are kept separate from books for entertainment. But I find my research books entertaining so that can become confusing. Sorry, went off on a tangent there. Back to the book at hand, Around the Writer’s Block by Rosanne Bane. Do you have your copy? I’ll wait. Make sure to fill your cuppa and grab a new nibble while you are up. When you get back, meet me at the bottom of page 215.
Okay, well Ms. Bane points out on page 216 that we need to be careful in our diagnosis of resistance. It could be any variation of our saboteurs or it could be life’s events that will pass in time. These are things that need our absolute attention for a minimal period of time and then life will return to normal. Let’s look at different examples.
- When your desk is covered with mountains of
research and you have to muddle through it. This is the writer’s life and can
be a form of resistance if you leave it there.
- Medical procedures are things that eat up time but will pass allowing you to get back to your writing.
- When you have a list of appointments, events,
other priorities lined up- those are a form of resistance.
- Simple things that are a one and done are just part of life. Dental appointments- those happen about twice a year if your teeth are healthy. One and done and back to work.
You can always find distractions. They are EVERYWHERE if you look hard enough. Family needs, your home, friends, work distractions- there is always something or someone that can and will eat up all of your time if you let them. So, how do you know when it is true resistance or life just tossing you a curve ball?
Curve ball: if you have your phone in your hand talking to the fire department, emergency room, or the police that is a hot mess of a curve ball.
Resistance: Your computer is updating…and updating…AND UPDATING. Yes, this is a pain but not a reason to walk away from Product Time. We have these things called paper and pencils. Yes, those. You can still write. Just do it in the Old School way.
Why the Why doesn’t matter.
We all want to know why writer’s block happens but that is simply a waste of time. Sometimes, knowing how and why it happens can be helpful but if you never figure out your trigger it doesn’t matter. What matters is learning how to recognize it and moving beyond it. If you over focus on the why you will never find the door to get out.
Our next post will cover Step Two: Relax into Resistance
(Sounds like a sci/fi movie title. I don’t like sci/fi)
New Ink. Used Ideas. 