I have a confession to make. I don’t blog every day. I block out portions of my time to write, and when I write I often switch between writing these articles and working on my manuscript. Today and yesterday I blocked out my entire day. I did nothing but sit and write.
Yesterday I did fantastic, with 15 fantastic blog articles, and four chapters edited on my novel. I wrote, I researched, I problem solved. I went to bed feeling like a super star.
I got up today and couldn’t budge a mental muscle. 12 hours of writing time came and went. My manuscript came along, but at a painfully slow pace. I gimped out 219 words and the solution to one (minor) problem. I wrote no blog posts except for this one, and I had all the time in the world to write.
Thinking about it, the way I feel is kind of like how I feel the day after a really good workout. My mental muscles are just as tired and sore as my physical muscles are when I push them past their normal pace.
Which makes me wonder this also: Is there such a thing as writer’s block? Or is it really flabby creativity? Are we unable to come up with things to write because we’re trying to “lift” too much? How do you correct that? What would our version of a personal trainer be?
That’s my thought for today, and it has given my very sore mental muscles a strain just for trying it. I’m done for a while. My brain needs a break.
A.M. Kuska's Blog 
Aug 08, 2010 @ 12:28:46
I am sitting on a bench outside our building listening to an owl hoot. I drink my morning coffee and think. I don’t know the answer to your question. Sometimes words seem to pour out like water down a pristine fall. Other times not. Why? Our gift is from God. Maybe sometimes he makes us wait. I really don’t know.
Aug 08, 2010 @ 12:33:51
Wow! Fifteen blog articles? An entire day of writing? What a treat. To do that, first of all I’d have to be alone and that doesn’t happen very often. I love being alone. I think the writer’s block thing is a myth. If you can take the time to sit and write, anything, the words come. They just do. For me it’s all about easing into the vivid continuous dream and floating away. Thanks for commenting on my blog!
Aug 08, 2010 @ 14:38:10
Is there such a thing as writer’s block?
No and yes, but not really.
Or is it really flabby creativity?
Yes and no, sort of… ish… but I wouldn’t call it “flabby”.
Are we unable to come up with things to write because we’re trying to “lift” too much?
This more than the abovementioned, usually. “Trying too hard” can often be an impediment, primarily when you’re working solo and not in a group.
How do you correct that?
One thing that can be done is to train yourself, just the same as you train a dog or a horse — or as a soldier is trained. Set a schedule, and stick to it. A specific time to begin, a specific time to end. Specific tools, such as pen/pencil and paper, typewriter, or word processor. Specific environment, the same one every time if at all possible. And do not deviate from the procedure. It’s like the military and its drills. Eventually, either in a few months or a few years (I’ve seen both cases), your muse/whatever-you-choose-to-call-it will warp to fit. I’ve a good long-time friend who’s a successful playwright due to following that system.
Another thing you can do is always have something around with which to write, so that you can catch all your ideas on paper as they show up. This technique can be hectic. You will also wig out if you ever misplace or actually lose your pad/folder/folio, which will happen from time to time. This method is sometimes the choice of writers, ones who really romanticize the notion of being a “creative, unpredictable type”. It’s also the choice of the generally unorganized, and that group includes me.
I’m sure there are other recommendations to be made, but those are the ones with which I am the most familiar.