Writer’s Block

Chapter Opener

23

tackle hard stuff

Writer’s Block

Waiting until the last minute to write a paper hasn’t been defined as a medical problem yet. But give it time. Already a condition called executive dysfunction describes the inability of some children and adults to plan, organize, pace, and complete tasks. No doubt we’ve all experienced some of its symptoms, describing the state as procrastination when it comes to doing the laundry and writer’s block when it applies to finishing papers on time.

Getting writing done isn’t hard because the process is painful, but rather because it is so fragile and vulnerable to ridiculous excuses and distractions. Who hasn’t vacuumed a floor or washed a car rather than compose a paragraph? Writing also comes with no guarantees, no necessary connection between labor put in and satisfactory pages churned out.

Like baseball, writing is a game without time limits. When a paper isn’t going well, you can stretch into fruitless twelfth and thirteenth innings with no end in sight. And if you do finish, readers may not like what you have done — even when you know your work is solid and is based on honest reading, observation, and research. Such concerns are enough to give anyone writer’s block.

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© Peter Glass/age fotostock.

So what do you do when you’d rather crack walnuts with your teeth than write a term paper?

Break the project into parts. Getting started is usually the hard part for writers simply because the project taken as a whole seems overwhelming. Even a simple one-page position paper can ruin a whole weekend, and a term paper — with its multiple drafts, abstract, notes, bibliography, tables, and graphs — stretches beyond the pale.

But what if, instead of stewing over how much time and energy the whole project will absorb, you divide it into manageable stages? Then you can do the work in chunks and enjoy the success that comes from completing each part. That position paper might be broken down into two, maybe three, less daunting steps: doing the assigned reading; brainstorming the paper; writing the page required. The same procedure makes a research paper less intimidating: You have more elements to manage, but you also have a strategy to finish them.

Set manageable goals. Unless you are very disciplined, writing projects sop up all the time available for them. Worse, you’ll probably expend more energy fretting than working. To gain control, set levelheaded goals for completing the project and stick to them. In other words, don’t dedicate a whole Saturday to preparing your résumé or working up a lab report; instead, commit yourself to the full and uninterrupted two hours the task will really take if you sit down and concentrate.

If you have trouble estimating how much time a project may require, consider that it is better to set a goal than to face an open-ended commitment. That’s one good reason both instructors and publishers set deadlines.

Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time. . . . The wait is simply too long.

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— Leonard Bernstein

Photo by Marion S. Trikusko, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-U9-24858-17 (P & P).

Create a calendar. For complicated assignments that extend over weeks or even months, create a calendar or timeline and stick with it. (plan a project) First break the task into parts and estimate how much time each stage of the paper or other project will take. Knowing your own work habits, you can draw on past experiences with similar assignments to construct a feasible plan. You’ll feel better once you’ve got a road map that leads to completion.

Don’t draw up a schedule so elaborate that you build in failure by trying to manage too many events. Assume that some stages, especially research or drafting, may take more time than you originally expect. But do stick to your schedule, even if it means starting a draft with research still remaining or cutting off the drafting process to allow time for necessary revisions.

Limit distractions. Put yourself in a place that encourages writing and minimizes any temptations that might pull you away from your work. Schedule a specific time for writing and give it priority over all other activities, from paying your bills to feeding the dog. (On second thought, feed that dog to stop the barking.) Log off your Facebook and Twitter accounts, turn off your cell phone, start writing, and don’t stop for an hour. Really.

Do the parts you like first. Movies aren’t filmed in sequence and papers don’t have to be written that way either. Compose those sections of a project that feel ready to go or interest you most. You can fix the transitions later to make the paper feel seamless, the way movie editors cut diverse scenes into coherent films. Once you have whole pages in hand, you’ll be more inclined to keep working on a paper: The project suddenly seems manageable.

Write a zero draft. When you are really blocked, try a zero draft — that is, a version of the paper composed in one sitting, virtually nonstop. The process may resemble freewriting, but this time you aren’t trawling for topic ideas. You’ve already done the necessary background reading and research, and so you’re primed to write. You might even have a thesis and an outline. All you lack is the confidence to turn all this preparation into coherent sentences. Repress your inhibitions by writing relentlessly, without pausing to reread and review your stuff. Keep at it for several hours if need be. You can do it — just imagine you’re writing a timed exam. (understand essay exams)

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Peter Dazeley/Getty Images.

The draft you produce won’t be elegant (though you might surprise yourself) and some spots will be rough indeed. But keep pushing until you’ve finished a full text, from introduction to conclusion. Set this version aside, delaying any revision for a few hours or even days. Then, instead of facing an empty tablet or screen, you will have full pages of prose to work with.

Reward yourself. People respond remarkably well to incentives, so promise yourself some prize correlated to the writing task you face. Finishing a position paper is probably worth a pizza. A term paper might earn you dinner and a movie. A dissertation is worth a used Honda Civic.