writers block

Someone once told me that making it past the first 50-100 pages is the difference between wanting to be a writer, and actually being one.

Some similar formula must apply to blogging. Maybe it’s the first fifty or one hundred posts, or maybe its 60 to 90 days that marks that turning point.

Whichever it is, I’ve got a long way to go. This marks my 18th post, in 34 days, and I’m hitting the wall.

You know the wall.. it’s that painful crashing sound when the initial rush of inspiration has worn off, the momentum slows down, and the mind fog sets in. Goals are no longer crystal clear. There are too many ideas, too many choices, too many directions.

Getting past the wall requires not just creativity and ideas, but determination, discipline, and a few tricks. Here’s some of mine:

• Quantity = Quality. For creative folks, a focus on quantity can actually produce higher quality: there’s a great story on this from in the book, Art And Fear, (read the excerpt ) but it boils down to the idea that if I produce MORE, your skills *and* productivity will improve far more than if you fret over producing one single great perfect work. Remembering this helps me.
• Get it out of your head and onto paper. If an idea is nagging at me, I try to sit down and write it out. I may not see the point in the subject, but the energy I use trying NOT to write something can use up all the energy I could use to write about something else. (This post is the result of that tactic)
• Write something. Anything. Just one word, faithfully written every day, is a success, and a step closer to that landmark 100 posts or pages. Even War and Peace is just one word after another. It’s tough for me to remember that sometimes.
• The Post Jar. I havent tried this yet, but I like the idea. Instead of keeping all my post ideas saved as drafts - I’d like to print them out, dump them into a big jar, and then periodically reach in, pick one, and blog about it.
• Go do ANYTHING else. Walk away from the computer. Set down the notebooks. Stare at the sky, the TV, clean the kitchen. Anything. Keep doing Anything until I dont want to do Anything anymore, because I want to write.

As I came up with that list, I noticed something important. They almost all have to do with NOT pressuring myself to produce something of worth or value. Yes, I have issues!

….There. Post #18 towards becoming A Real Blogger ™ and a whole bunch of words past the wall.