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- “The Words” – a story of a blocked writer telling a story about a plagiarized story.
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- When enthusiastic feedback activates writer’s block
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Tag Archives: anxiety and writing
I think (positively) therefore I write. Beating blocks with tools from cognitive therapy.
David Burns wrote a self-help best seller, Feeling Good, based on principles of cognitive therapy, a psychotherapy modality pioneered by Aaron Beck and others. Much of the advice in this book is applicable to writers who are struggling. Cognitive therapy … Continue reading
Posted in Common Writing Block Problems, Famous writers, Mental health and writing blocks, Tips for overcoming writer's block and procrastination
Tagged anxiety and writing, depression, Famous writers, Mental Health and writing, perfectionism, procrastination, writer's block, writing advice
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Imagination gone wild: catastrophizing and writing blocks
The human imagination is a many splendored thing, and as a writer, you depend on it. But in addition to providing wonderful ideas and images for us to use in our work, imagination can also take small challenges and transform … Continue reading
Owen Wilson wrestles with writing in Woody Allen film, “Midnight in Paris”
In Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson portrays a screenwriter visiting Paris with his fiance and her not-fully-approving parents. He regrets the decision he made several years earlier to leave Paris and abandon his dreams of being a novelist. Now, as his … Continue reading
Flogging a dead horse: writing hard but never reaching the happy trails…
Writing and riding have a lot in common, in addition to being (almost) homonyms. Both are learned skills that demand patience, a sense of control, discipline and an ongoing relationship with a powerful beast. The beasts are: 1) a real … Continue reading
The Titanic hit a block and sank. You can do better.
The Titanic was surprised by a block of ice beneath the dark North Atlantic waters. It sank like a stone. This needn’t happen to your writing. In the process of imagining, initiating and completing a writing project, we have many opportunities … Continue reading
Bad news and good news about fear, loathing and writing blocks
The bad news about fear and loathing for the writer is that these two emotional states can stop the flow of words. The good news is that they can be transmuted into writing fuel. Hunter S. Thompson made fear and … Continue reading
I hate writing and I love writing
A woman author once said this to me during a workshop on improving writing productivity. It sounds absurd, but I knew what she meant. Writing was her primary passion and yet she felt emormous resistance to doing it at 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 anxiety and writing, Famous writers, procrastination, writer's block, writing advice, writing dread
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The “Kathy Bates Writing Block Cure” is effective, but I’m hesitant to endorse it
James Caan, playing a writer in the movie adapted from Stephen King’s novel Misery, wakes up after a car wreck in the home of an obsessed fan, Kathy Bates, who had rescued him. Crippled and immobilized by the accident, Caan is trapped … 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 actor who writes, anxiety and writing, Famous writers, Mental Health and writing, procrastination, writer's block, writing advice
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Starting up again, after a long writing drought
If you’ve had a long non-productive spell in your writing and are making plans to start up again, structure your reentry plan so that failure is unlikely to occur. Protect yourself from the habitual tendencies that will predictably derail your … Continue reading
Does your imagined audience hinder you from writing?
As a writer, you are frequently advised to write with a clear sense of who your audience is. This helps you focus and tailor a written communication that will achieve the greatest impact. Such advice to writers is fine and … Continue reading
