Block, or What?
Posted by mimi on May 13, 2009 in dish | 0 comments
More cleaning of the cabinets today, since les élèves are taking an exam, and of course I get sidetracked by a book. Miracle’s Boys, by Jacqueline Woodson. One thing leads to another, I end up at her website, and I find this:
I don’t believe there is any such thing as Writer’s Block. I think it’s just your mind telling you that the thing you’re writing isn’t the thing you really want to be writing. If this happens to me, I start writing something else.
Okay, she has a point. I just wish it weren’t quite so, erm, pointy. I’m a big one for avoiding work. Doodling, planning, scheming, but not actually writing. Does that qualify as a block? The difference between me and Jacqueline Woodson (who really is a fine writer for young people–do check her out ASAP) is that she’s productive. I’m not. I make a fine case for wanting to be a writer. Actually doing the writing? Not so much.
It’s interesting, since I was all kinds of productive during NaNoWriMo. Getting up at 4:00 and slapping on the headphones was a great way to get a story out. Once it’s down, though, I lose steam. That, or get sidetracked by another idea. Since new ideas are always far more interesting than the work required by revision, I get sidetracked. Easily. Woodson might claim that the new idea is what I should be writing (that thought sure is seductive!), while the “write every day no matter what” crowd would say I’m a dilettante. I think I’m both, but I’ve never been a clear judge of my own character.
What say you, writer types? Do you stick with a book until the bitter, multi-revised end, or do you flirt with the new guy when he sashays through your cortex?
