Thought Confetti #4: Writer's Block
It's easiest to diagnose writer's block by writing about it
I don't know what I want to write about....
This is a classic way to start writing, by the way. Most of the time, when I start writing like this, I have no idea what I want to write about, and simply stating that out loud is fine.
There's no shame in not knowing. This should be obvious, but I think it's not at all obvious.
It seems like perhaps it's more obvious to children, or at least that's the impression I got observing Montessori classrooms. Not knowing as a child is the default state, and you're admitting it in every moment.
Even still, children enjoy pretending to know. They often go through a phase of "omnipotence" pretending. Pointing at things and saying what they are (incorrectly), or typing confidently on a keyboard though they are typing nonsense, or babbling without properly speaking any words.
This "pretending to know" instinct is powerful, as is the "admitting you don't know" instinct. If you have both, most mental blocks seem to shatter as soon as you begin.
In the pretending to know case, you simply write, unconcerned about whether you do or do not know how to write well.
In the "admitting you don't know" case, you write, and you write in a structured fashion to explore the depths of your own lack of inspiration or know-how.
In both cases, the blocker to writing is the obvious one, which is that I am not currently writing.
"I am not writing" is, generally, the biggest barrier to writing, as "I am not coding" is, generally, the biggest barrier to coding.
It's true that in edge cases, or on the path to mastery, you may be writing and yet still have barriers to the writing you wish you were doing.
It's true that, on the path to mastery, you may be coding and yet still have barriers to the coding you wish you were doing.
But those are problems for the intermediate writer, not for the novice. Furthermore, they are problems for the WRITER (e.g. the one who is currently writing), not for the non-writer (e.g. the one who is speculating about writer’s block).
In other words, the basic takeaway here is to quit overintellectualizing about the reasons I may not be writing. These reasons can be many and sophisticated. Perhaps it's because my stomach aches due to some food I ate last night, or perhaps it's because I feel sad, or perhaps it's because I'm busy and stressed by a work project, or perhaps it's because "i don't have enough time"...
But, another way to rephrase all of those reasons which is tautological and, to me, unlimiting, is to simply say that the reason I am not writing is that... I am not writing.
The reason this is so unlimiting is obvious and almost stupid. I can simply start writing. This option is nearly always available to me. Nearly anywhere I am, I have a medium to record my thoughts, whether it is my phone, my computer, or a pen and paper. So if in any moment I wonder why I am not writing, I can respond quickly "oh that's easy, it's because you're not writing right now", and then a brilliant idea to solve my problem will pop in my mind: "what if I start writing?". Ahh, Yes! That's it. Now I'm writing. I almost forgot.
(note to self, I almost lost my Squibbler game because I was trying to "add to dictionary" a term. I should turn off Grammarly on Squibbler)
Anyway, I have nothing left to say on the topic of "I don't know what I want to write about", so now I am once again without something to write about.
Maybe I'll try to synthesize the topic into a quip. General audiences love quips, after all, and mastering the quip is one way to master the art of writing.
"The reason I'm not writing is because I'm not writing"
"If I started writing, then I would be writing"
"You can become a writer if you just start writing"
"The reason you're not writing is because you haven't started a Squibbler"
Ah, here’s a great one: It's easiest to diagnose writer's block by writing about it
I wonder why I like these silly tautologies so much? I guess it's because I find them a bit funny, and the humor breaks me out of my over-analyzing mode and into an "ah, i guess there aren't any rules after all" mode. Neither mode is particularly "true", but the second one is useful for the writing process, especially if I'm trying to be creative.
Neeeext topic.
I entered a challenge with my friend Liam.
The challenge is: who can write the most/best essays on the topic of NYC Abundance in 1 month?
There will be 3 independent judges of our month's work, and whoever is judged victor gets to recruit the loser to work on one of their side projects for a month.
This is a major prize, in my opinion, and Liam is a brilliant friend, so his help on a side project is a huge win. I would like to win.
If I would like to win, I should create a strategy to win.
Because Liam and I are both novices in the domain of government writing, and because we are both relatively busy, I suspect a simple strategy is best. (In general, I think simple strategies, well executed, are underrated. Perhaps we read too much fiction and our head is filled with the inspiration of too-grand strategies)
Anyway, a simple strategy should do the trick, something like "write a short essay every day that summarizes a popular and already prescient issue in NYC abundance".
I could write these essays using a 3 part strategy:
1. brainstorm how I might find a topic and research that topic
2. collect a list of required reading
3. use Squibbler to blaze out a first draft in 15 minutes after reading that list.
Then I can simply publish my first draft with minor edits in the beginning, and as I gain a readership, I can send my drafts to other editors like Daniel or Priya who would be happy to review them for me.
I suppose I should start now... ok but there's one blocker to starting now, which is that I have an essay in my drafts I've been meaning to publish. I gotta do that, and then I'll get back to thinking about this.
That’s all this time. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
— Andrew