Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Overcoming writer's block...

Margaret Atwood's "ten tips for writers' block" (we must assume that she wants us to overcome this state, rather than be consumed by it), which first appeared on her blog, were printed in The Guardian's Review at the weekend. I am something of a Womble and, with one eye on snippets that might prove useful to myself or others, I dutifully cut out this short single column piece then placed it atop a small pile with other such cuttings that I have yet to put in any kind of order. "At the very least," says Mags, having suggested in point 1 that physical exertion might jolt the writer back to the work of words, "take a bath or shower". Eating dark (60% cocoa or more), shade-grown organic chocolate is another top tip, as, at 3, is "write in some other form...a grocery list". Perhaps most useful, amid other advice in point 10, to those that frequent creative writing classes and choose to stick, headstrongly and against any constructive criticism proffered, to polishing, honing and constantly whittering on about that single piece of writing that would be better off shelved, is the simple but quite perfect "start something else".

3 comments:

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More Chips (with gravy) on my shoulder said...

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Music Man said...

Thanks for pointing out these hints. I was writing a grocery list but got stuck on what I wanted so changed the form and started writing a novel to break the block. Now I've no groceries and am a starving novelist in a flat in Marlborough Ave.

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