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- “The Words” – a story of a blocked writer telling a story about a plagiarized story.
- “The Life of Pi” is a tale of writing woes, and a hero with a tiger in his tank
- When enthusiastic feedback activates writer’s block
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Category Archives: Mental health and writing blocks
The rumors of Morgan Freeman’s demise are exaggerated, but he is paralyzed in, “The Magic of Belle Isle”
Sometimes dying is a great way to overcome writing blocks, and this appears to be true for the much admired actor Morgan Freeman, who was recently survived a widespread social media death hoax. Following his resurrection, he starred in The Magic … Continue reading
Writing Blocks and Orchid Screenplays: How Do You Do Something You Don’t Know How to Do?
To grow and develop as a writer you need to face challenges and problems that are new. This means plunging into projects that you do not have a clear road map for, and somehow trusting that you will find your … Continue reading
Herman Melville’s Moby Block – a whale of a writing problem
For months before writing the one of the greatest novels in American literary history, Moby Dick, Herman Melville was blocked. Like Ahab’s obsession with the white whale, Melville’s literary ambitions consumed him, but he wasn’t producing. According to Elizabeth Renker, … Continue reading
Allen Ginsberg Howl-ed his way out of writer’s block
During a period in the mid 1950′s, after he had moved to San Francisco, poet Allen Ginsberg suffered from a year-long writer’s block. He was profoundly unhappy working at an ad agency, and wasn’t writing. Finally, his therapist recommended that he do … Continue reading
I’m not currently blocked, but I’d like to try the “Buy a Villa in Tuscany” treatment anyway.
The movie Under the Tuscan Sun shows us a treatment option for overcoming writer’s block that is both expensive and time-intensive, but evidently quite effective. Especially if you’ve dreamed of 1)living in sunny Tuscany, 2) having an affair with a sexy … Continue reading
Who knows what evil lurks in the mind of a blocked writer? The Shadow knows…
Winter. February. Long dark days. The time when writers in the northern hemisphere scribble in the shadows. Winter is a good season for writers because we are more likely to stay inside at our writing stations and less tempted to … Continue reading
Don’t just sit there…write something! Workshop in Carmel CA on March 3
I will be offering a workshop entitled, “Overcoming Writing Blocks and Procrastination” in Carmel CA on Saturday, March 3 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. This workshop is appropriate for writers of all genres and skill levels who seek to improve their … Continue reading
Many a blocked writer languishes on the “Procrastination Wheel of Suffering”
Above is a visual depiction from my book of the process of procrastination. It is a summary of the patterns I frequently see in blocked writers, and based loosely on the Buddhist “Wheel of Samsara,” which depicts the cyclic, self-perpetuating nature of human suffering. … Continue reading
Posted in Common Writing Block Problems, Mental health and writing blocks, The Blocked Writer's Book of the Dead, Tips for overcoming writer's block and procrastination
Tagged procrastination, procrastination wheel of suffering, writer's block, writing advice, writing deadlines, writing habit change
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“You can’t step in the same writing block twice.”
The obscure Greek philosopher Heraclitus never said ”You can’t step in the same writing block twice,” but if he had, I would be in complete agreement with him. In my twenty years of assisting authors with writing productivity problems, the … Continue reading
Posted in Common Writing Block Problems, Famous writers, Mental health and writing blocks, The Blocked Writer's Book of the Dead, Tips for overcoming writer's block and procrastination
Tagged avoid writing, Famous writers, Mental Health and writing, schedule, time management, writer's block
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Rejection (real or imagined), dumb thumbs-down, and writing blocks
When ancient gladiators like Russell Crowe fought in the Colosseum in Rome, receiving a “thumbs down” from the Emperor meant a horrific death by spikes, battle axes and lions’ teeth. As brutal as that was, a gladiator’s life is a … Continue reading
