Unexpected Advice for Writer’s Block
By Caro Granner
The first episode of Michaela Coel’s brilliant TV series I May Destroy You features a moment of candid desperation that any writer will find relatable. Faced with a deadline and the unfortunate consequences of her own procrastination, she sets up her work station and opens her laptop with determination... only to go to Google and type in “how to write fast.”
Just between us writers, who hasn’t taken to the internet, looking for that piece of advice that will suddenly make the blank page staring back at us feel manageable? Whether it’s Instagram accounts peddling inspirational quotes or endless lists of “10 tips every writer has to know,” there’s no shortage of advice for writers, from writers. (I’d hazard a guess that you found this post looking for some yourself.)
But when facing writer’s block, the advice we need doesn’t always come from the obvious places. While handbooks and how-tos can be helpful, there are a multitude of places to find guidance on getting unstuck. As author and activist Arundhati Roy says, “Everybody has something to teach a writer.”
If you’re feeling stuck and looking for something fresh to help the words flow, this list is for you. Below you’ll find nine pearls of wisdom, along with an example or short prompt to illustrate each entry. Inspiration can strike in surprising places, so this list includes not only poets and authors but advice from organizers, musicians, and even a few surprises.
1. “Small is good, small is all.” -adrienne maree brown
You may recognize this bit of wisdom if you’ve read adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy, as it’s the first in the list of fundamental principles that guide their organizing work. This attention to detail, honing in and seeing the large within the small, can be as powerful a mandate for writing as it is for political action. When you invite yourself to pay attention to the smallest details of your surroundings and stories, the world can open up to you in beautiful ways. While it’s tempting (and inspiring) to start with your biggest, broadest ideas and themes, starting small can be incredibly gratifying and revealing.
Prompt: Think back to the story you are hoping to tell. What is the smallest thing you can remember?
MORE TIPS: For more on using detail to enhance your writing, check out these tips from Grace Walter and Caro Granner.
2. “They’re all practice.” -John Denver
This piece of advice comes from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1989 record Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two. Denver’s contribution to this collaboration between musicians is “And So It Goes.” While the song’s reflections on home and love could form a great writing prompt themselves, what I’m most inspired by is the few moments before the song starts. Denver and the band can be heard noodling around, getting a feel for their instruments, and talking to one another before the take begins. One musician asks, “Is this practice?” Denver replies, “Yes. They’re all practice.” Then laughter, then a count of four, then a song. Denver’s sage, impromptu advice has stuck with me since my father first relayed it to me, and it’s as valuable in creation as it is in day-to-day life. When the terrifying prospect of trying to “get it right” comes creeping up over your shoulder, stopping you from putting pen to paper, these simple words can ground you and remind you that you don’t have to achieve. All you have to do is practice. And practice again. And again, and again, and again.
Prompt: What do you want more practice at?
3. “Write the D.” -my dad!
Speaking of my dad, this piece of advice comes straight from him. My father is a composer, and he once told me that when he is struggling to get started on a piece of music, he reminds himself that all he needs to do is write the first note– let’s say, a D. The vast expanse of the blank page can feel daunting, and the hardest part is almost always starting. When you start to feel overwhelmed by it all, try to zero in and remember that the only way to do anything is one thing at a time. If writing the whole story feels insurmountable, write the first sentence. If a sentence is too much, start with just a single word. Giving yourself that permission, knowing that it is enough, might help free up some space for creativity to come through.
Prompt: Before you sit down to write, give yourself permission to write just one word, sentence, or page. Even try putting it on your to-do list!
4. “This story never really had a point.” -Pete Wentz
These words, originally written by Fall Out Boy member Pete Wentz, came to me through Hanif Abdurraqib’s stunning, vital book of essays They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us. (Honestly, if I had to give just one piece of advice to artists, it would be: read his essays.) Wentz is talking about a song on a record, but I think his reflection also presents an interesting way of looking at personal storytelling. Once you’ve been writing stories for awhile, it can feel like you’ve gotten all the big, important ones out of the way, and now you’re just scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to write about. When this kind of writer’s block arrives, you can take Wentz’s words as an interesting prompt. Are there stories in your life that were interesting, or important, but that you just don’t know the point of? Rather than starting with a thesis statement or purpose and working backward, you can instead let your story lead you. Instead of fitting your messy, true story into the shape of a “point,” you can enter into the pointlessness and explore a bit. In the process, you might discover the “pointless” stories are surprisingly meaningful.
Prompt: This story doesn’t have a point, but…
5. “The poem, like the fire escape, as feeble and thin as it is, has become my most concentrated architecture of resistance. A place where I can be as honest as I need to—because the fire has already begun in my home.” -Ocean Vuong
When it comes to looking omnivorously for inspiration, there’s no one more skilled than poet and novelist Ocean Vuong. This quote comes from his essay “On the Weight of Our Living,” which explores the death of his uncle and the symbolic significance of fire escapes. (I also highly recommend his interview with Krista Tippett for the On Being podcast, where I first heard this quote.) What I find particularly thought-provoking about this line is the idea that a piece of writing can be like a piece of architecture. I am not saying that you, the writer reading this, need to model your next story on a building or staircase. What I am suggesting is taking a page from Vuong’s book and expanding the ways you think about your works of art. What unlikely metaphors could you find that help you look at your writing in a different way? What seemingly insignificant pieces of your everyday landscape have their own surprising connection to writing?
I’ll offer an example, inspired by Vuong’s words: I am a songwriter, and I like to think of an album as a city block. Driving down any street in my hometown, I might run across a daycare next to an old apartment building next to a resale shop next to a funeral home. The stories these places hold are so vivid, and they sit side by side, together, a collection. Like the chapters of a book, or the tracks on an album.
Prompt: Look around you. What do you see that’s in the shape of a story?
6. “Talk out loud to the disheveled part of you.” -Sonalee Rashatwar
I hope I’m not alone in admitting that I have an unreasonable number of quotes saved and screenshotted in my phone, in the hopes of coming back to them for inspiration. One such quote uncovered from my notes app comes from Sonalee Rashatwar, a social worker, sex therapist, and great Instagram follow. Their advice, offered in an Instagram caption about practicing self love, also strikes me as an interesting writing prompt. As a writer, it’s only natural to be a bit preoccupied with audience: who is listening to your story and how they’re receiving it. What would happen if you turned inward, instead using yourself as our own audience? Offering stories to others can be both a joy and a responsibility. As an exercise, try to set that down and talk only to your inner self. You may discover something new in your language, your perception, what you need to say and what you need to hear. Try it out!
Prompt: If I could say anything to the most vulnerable part of myself…
7. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
The first time this tip was given to me, I really needed to hear it. I was in college, sitting in my professor’s office and stressing about an assignment, probably rambling and definitely overthinking. At the time, I took it as an invitation to stop putting so much pressure on myself, to do something that isn’t amazing but is good enough.
I’m sure I’m not the only writer (or the only perfectionist) to have received this piece of advice. But helpful as it is, I think maybe I’ve misunderstood it. Even when I do embrace “good enough” and allow myself to create something less-than-perfect, I’m often still left with the idea that there is some perfect version of my creation out there. I might not have attained it this time, but it’s still possible, and maybe I’ll get there someday! But here’s the thing: there’s a difference between giving yourself permission not to be the best, and giving up on the idea of “best” entirely.
I didn’t realize this until I googled the quote, trying to figure out who to attribute it to. I came across a blog post by author Don McMinn. McMinn writes, “This aphorism is an old Italian proverb first made popular by Voltaire who used it in his poem La Bégueule. The literal translation is, the best is the enemy of the good.” Hearing it put this way, this piece of advice strikes me differently. It’s not that the best is out there, but sometimes it’s okay to fall short of it. Rather, “the best” is actually undesirable, antithetical to doing good work. Reframed this way, Voltaire’s quote gives us permission to set new goals.
Prompt: Next time you sit down to write, remind yourself of this: I don’t have to be the best. In fact, my writing will be better if I am not trying to.
8. “Writing is an act of obsession, after all. And obsession is, by nature, a one-way street. Only love can ever answer back. And for that you have to have another person.” -Jason Mott
Any writer will tell you that in order to write great things, you have to read great things. The past few months I’ve been reacquainting myself with a daily reading practice, and the first book that helped pull me back into it was Jason Mott’s stunning novel Hell of a Book, the source of this quote. Mott’s words have stuck with me, rattling around in my creative and obsessive brain, and I hope that they stick with you too. I’m sure you wouldn’t be a writer if you didn’t believe in and value the act of writing, but you also know all too well that it can be solitary and frustrating. Mott offers an invitation for those moments when you’re all by yourself and stuck on how “the page never answers you back:” find the love. Love is what can answer back to us, can speak when we’re blocked in silence. Follow your love, and let it lead you to other people. Whether it’s locating love in whatever story you’re writing, or getting up from your desk and finding someone you love to connect with face-to-face, reaching out in love is sure to help you somehow.
FURTHER READING: For more on community and connection in writing and storytelling, check out these reflections by Michael Dean and this overview by Grace Walters.
9. “Take your medicine, and give it time to work.”
This bit of advice is last on the list because I think it’s the perfect place to end, and because it’s my favorite. With the utmost respect to the writers and thinkers represented in the previous entries, the source for this one is particularly special: the bulletin board in the waiting room of my doctor’s office (talk about inspiration striking unexpectedly!) A couple of months ago, as I sat listening to my headphones and waiting much longer than I wanted to for my appointment, I absentmindedly looked up at the TV screen in the lobby. The digital bulletin board cycled through ads for medications and health tips, one of which was this little piece of advice about medicine. I immediately loved it.
When you’re in search of inspiration, it can be so easy to place unfair demands on yourself, willing the muse to come and ending up frustrated when it doesn’t. This simple quote reminds me that these things take time, that just because you’re not hit with inspiration right now, doesn’t mean it’s not coming. Some things just need to percolate and rise to the surface on their own time. If you’re leaving this list of advice feeling blocked or frustrated, I hope this last entry can provide some relief. Just by seeking out new ideas, you’ve taken your creative medicine. Now give it time to work.
Want to learn storytelling online or in person? Join Story Jam for our classes, workshops, corporate trainings, and our upcoming 2022 writing retreat! All offerings can be found at storyjamstudio.com. Story Jam also offers a free monthly open mic called The Cocoon where you can share your stories in an affirming online space. In addition to our classes, Story Jam has been spotlighting true, personal stories from a fantastic lineup of diverse performers since 2014. Story Jam hosts monthly shows at Artifact Events in Chicago and Madame Zuzu's in Highland Park, IL. Learn more at storyjamshow.com!
References/Citations
I May Destroy You, created by Michaela Coel
“Arundhati Roy, The Art of Fiction no. 249,” The Paris Review. Arundhati Roy interviewed by Hasan Altaf. https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/7814/the-art-of-fiction-no-249-arundhati-roy
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, adrienne maree brown. https://store.alliedmedia.org/collections/emergent-strategy-ideation-institute/products/emergent-strategy-shaping-change-changing-worlds?variant=37184907804821
“And So It Goes,” from Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A26mV3GuK9Y
They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, Hanif Abdurraqib https://twodollarradio.com/products/they-cant-kill-us
The Boy with the Thorn in His Side, Pete Wentz
“The Weight of Our Living: On Hope, Fire Escapes, and Visible Desperation,” Ocean Vuong, The Rumpus. https://therumpus.net/2014/08/28/the-weight-of-our-living-on-hope-fire-escapes-and-visible-desperation/
“Ocean Vuong – A Life Worthy of Our Breath,” On Being. Ocean Vuong interviewed by Krista Tippett https://onbeing.org/programs/ocean-vuong-a-life-worthy-of-our-breath/
Sonalee Rashatwar, @thefatsextherapist on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thefatsextherapist/
“Don’t let perfect be an enemy of the good,” Don McMinn https://donmcminn.com/2021/06/dont-let-perfect-be-an-enemy-of-the-good/#