Since my One Act season ended, I’ve had several inquiries from teachers about my creative writing process. I write my plays privately (as in, I’m not paid for it), but I do have experience with battling writers’ block. My last play was even named “Writer’s Block!”
While we don’t all write creatively, we do require that our students write in our classes. And that means we will need to help students battle writer’s block. Whether it be writing for essays, analysis, reporting or creative writing, we all experience blocks at some point. Here are some tips to pass along to your students as they battle writer’s block.
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Stop writing in a linear way
One of my biggest tips when you’re stuck writing is to stop worrying about what comes next. When I write a play, I usually write the climax first, then build around it. I take what I KNOW and write it down. Once that part is strong, I’m able to move outwards from that moment because I know it’s solid.
This doesn’t only apply to creative writing. When I write an essay, I save my introduction for last. When I’m writing a blog post, I usually write my headings first. The whole process is scattered, reflecting my brain process. But I fill in the gaps and make a cohesive statement by the end.
Take a walk
I tend to write my plays in June and July when the weather in Minnesota is nicest. It’s not uncommon during these months to find me out and about my neighborhood in the afternoon and evening hours. It’s how I get “unstuck” when writing or how I work out a plot problem. Getting my feet moving and stepping away from my computer helps me clear the anxiety and work out a lot of the kinks that I build up by sitting still. Sometimes, I’ll have a “Eureka” moment when I’m out walking, so I use my phone’s voice memo feature to record ideas that I have on the walk.
This is a great suggestion for students who get stuck as well. Classes, especially those on a block schedule, can benefit from writing walks. You can give students more than just some free time and instead give them a route to walk and 1-2 focused questions to answer while they walk. This can also be done with a fellow student, as the give-and-take can also help some writers.
Listen to themed music
I know this sounds unoriginal, but music is essential to my writing process. One of my One Acts was about a character obsessed with classic rock, so I listened to The Who, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and other bands while I wrote. Sometimes I had to switch to instrumental music, but overall it helped me infuse the script with a sense of their musical style.
In creative writing classes, I recommend urging students to create themed writing playlists. For example, if I was writing a short story set in the old West, I’d try to play music that matches that mood. I also like to play themed instrumental playlists when my students are writing on-demand, such as the soundtrack of Spotlight for Journalism or Pride and Prejudice for AP Lit. Spotify is great for finding curating musical playlists.
Keep the process private
My favorite writer is Stephen King and his memoir, On Writing, has become my writing manual. One of his tips is to keep the writing process fairly private until it’s finished. This can be hard for many writers, especially when the process takes weeks, months, or even years. However, he suggests following this writing plan:
- Write a draft.
- Edit the draft.
- Read the draft. When satisfied, stow it away for 2 weeks.
- After two weeks, read and edit again. Restow if major edits are made.
- When the draft is ready, give it to a trusted editor.
- Integrate their feedback and begin the process all over again if major edits are made.
Stephen King’s trusted editor is his wife, Tabitha. Mine is my co-worker and friend Janette, also our One Act director. Janette can read the script looking for symbols and production concepts, as well as apply the script to what our community can put on our stage.
For students, this is a tall order. Students LOVE to share. However, if you urge them to keep prolonged writing a private journey it can help them avoid the “too many cooks” problem. You can also encourage them to find a trusted peer editors and let that person be the only one who helps them write their essay or writing assignment.
Have a (loose) plan
Here’s where Stephen and I differ. He likes to launch into stories and not know where they’re going to go. I, however, am far too much of a control freak to do that. I usually have a broad idea of what I’m aiming for when I start a writing project. Now, that’s not to say that my end result isn’t vastly different from how it started. My one act Z and the Teenage Wasteland took almost two years to write and was shockingly different from what I started.
A loose plan is the best strategy for student writers. It can help them from getting too far into writer’s block, where there is no escape but to start over. This is even more true with writing essays. I encourage students to have an outline in place for all essays, even a brief one for on-demand essays. It keeps them from running off-topic or forgetting what they were trying to say.
In Closing
I wrote this blog post and stashed it away for over a month. I wasn’t sure if it was right for my audience (teachers), since it seemed more directed at creative writers. And I doubt many of them follow me.
That being said, I do think writer’s block is a struggle that many of our students experience. It can look like procrastination or even laziness, but a lot of times it is just a problem with getting started. Therefore, I hope some of the tips in this post help you cultivate an atmosphere that helps students battle writers’ block and write content, whatever that content may be.
