How to Overcome Writer's Block Once and For All

hi Jerry Jenkins here talking about all things of writing one of the most dreaded challenges you and I face writer's block you know well the frustration you have a story a message you care deeply about but you can't produce a single word you stare at a blank screen as that precious time you painfully carved out of your busy schedule ticks away you grow more and more agitated the longer you feel blocked and eventually you despair of ever reaching the masses like you hoped well I've discovered how to crush writer's block and my nearly 200 published books prove it through my blog at Jerry Jenkins calm and my private coaching community the Jerry Jenkins writers guild I help writers like you learn to craft compelling stories today I'll reveal my secret to crushing writer's block but before I do I want you to know of a special bonus I have for you at the end of this video it'll make you a more productive writer so be sure to stay with me to the end to get that free bonus so what's my secret to overcoming writer's block I treat it as the myth it is now I know what you're thinking if it's a myth why am i suffering from it right now believe me I know what you're going through like anyone else I faced those days when I'd rather do anything but put words on the page but let's think this through if writer's block were real why would it affect only writers imagine calling your boss and saying I can't come into work today I have workers block you'd be left off the phone and you might be told never to come in again no other profession accommodates such an excuse to quit working so we writers shouldn't either if writing is just a hobby to you a diversion something you can take or leave it shouldn't surprise you that you find ways to avoid it when it's hard what we call writer's block is really a cover for fear fear you're not good enough fear you don't know enough fear the competition fear of rejection you have big dreams and good intentions but just can't get past your fear would you believe that goes for me too yes even now every time I begin a new book let's be honest writing is hard the competition is vast and the odds are long and most writing coaches will try to talk you through all kinds of self affirmation to overcome your fear not me I stumbled upon an entirely different approach to writers fear I acknowledge that it's legitimate I should be afraid because I'm not good enough my fear is justified because the competition is so vast and talented so rather than try to overcome my fear I embrace it rather than let it overwhelm me and keep me from writing I acknowledge the truth of what I'm afraid of and let it humble me that humility motivates me to work hard and do my best writing every time it's hard work that leads to success fear doesn't have to paralyze us it can motivate us to do our best Dean Koontz who has sold more than 450 million books says the best writing is born of humility the great stuff comes to life in those agonizing and exhilarating moments when writers become acutely aware of the limitations of their skills for it is then that they strain the hardest to make use of the imperfect tools with which they must work now I've never been motivated by great amounts of money not that I have anything against that but that quote comes from a man worth a hundred forty five million dollars earned solely from his writing how humble would you be if writing had knitted you that kind of money yet humility is the attitude Dean Koontz takes to the keyboard every day if you're afraid fear the limitations of your skills then strain the hardest to make use of those imperfect tools with which you must work that's how to turn fear into humility humility into motivation motivation into hard work and hard work into success fear can be a great motivator okay now let's talk about good old-fashioned procrastination another malady that masquerades as writer's block everywhere I teach budding writers admit that procrastination threatens to kill their dream when I tell them they're talking to the king of procrastinators their looks alone call me a liar but it's true most writers are masters at putting off writing I could regale you for half a day with the meaningless rituals I perform before I can start but I overcame procrastination the way I overcame fear I've embraced it after years of losing sleep over it and resolving to beat it procrastination still plagued me finally I came to see it not only as inevitable but also as a necessary part of the process so I not only embrace it but I also schedule it right into my calendar when I do get back to my keyboard I find that my subconscious has been working on my story and I'm often surprised at what I produce by accepting an accommodating procrastination I can both indulge in it and make my deadlines here's how I determine how many pages I need to write per day to make my deadline whether self-imposed or Publisher imposed I also insert right into my calendar occasional procrastination or emergency non writing days now that said I can't always accurately predict how many such days I need which means I sometimes have to go back in and increase the number of pages I need to write per day to still hit my deadline but here's the key I keep my deadline sacred by never letting my pages per day figure get out of hand it's one thing to go from 5 or 6 pages a day to 7 or 8 but if I procrastinate to where now I have to finish two or three times that number of pages per day to make my deadline that's beyond my capacity even if I could do it it wouldn't be my best work and it would show and I never want to allow that so keep your deadline sacred by keeping your number of pages per day realistic and manageable and you can even accommodate and benefit from procrastination alright let's talk about perfectionism another contributor to writer's block many creatives especially writers struggle with perfectionism which can prove to be an enemy of productivity unless we wrestle it into its proper place in the writing process it can lead to paralyzing frustration as a perfectionist myself I'm tempted to tinker with my work while I'm writing until I'm happy with every word but that so slows me that I can spend hours on just a few paragraphs and that's no way to get a book written so how do I get past then I keep my writing wholly separate from my revising perfectionism within reason of course isn't all bad in the end as I said I want to be happy with every word before I submit my writing to a publisher now I know it won't really be perfect even after the publishing houses editors and proofreaders have done their work on it but I strive to make it the absolute best it can be before they see it that's when my perfectionist tendencies serve me best during the writing in my first draft I take off my perfectionist cap and suppress my internal editor that critic who wants to fine-tune every word and phrase as I go I have to constantly remind myself that now is not the time for perfectionism now is the time for productivity getting my thoughts down and roughly an order I know I'm being redundant injecting cliches making punctuation and spelling and even logic errors my goal during that stage is not perfection but production I need words on the page something to work with that's counterintuitive to us perfectionist we spot an error we want to fix it resist the urge during the revision stage you can put that perfectionist cap back on and welcome that inner critic back to the table force yourself to keep these tasks separate until it becomes second nature and watch your production soar all right finally another writer's block and posture is simple lack of concentration the real culprit distractions you sit to rate with the best intentions and something intrudes on your concentration it may be a loved one a roommate social media a game on your phone but soon you're lured from your writing there seem to be more distractions than ever these days so what's the solution sorry there are no shortcuts the question is how badly do you want to succeed at writing because it requires the concentrated effort you must block distractions how by making writing an absolute priority in establishing two inviolable rules to safeguard your work time first establish a strict writing schedule this is not a hobby a diversion something you're playing at to succeed you have to give it your all so tell anyone who needs to know that aside from an emergency you're not available let's face it no one will take this as seriously as you do they'll assume you can write anytime so why can't you break for a chat or to run an errand or to fulfill a favor learn to say no during the time you've set aside for writing you're working and unavailable second initiate a media fast while you're writing that means no radio no TV no email no social media when the writing gets tough and we should be laser-focused to smash through it's way too easy to take a break and find something else to occupy us at our fingertips are our email account Facebook Twitter online shopping and clickbait stories to derail us when we should be staying at the task and working through solutions we're checking out the ten ugliest actors of all time or 15 sea creatures so ugly you won't believe they exist before you know it your writing time has evaporated and you've accomplished nothing so resolve to abstain from social media during your writing sessions and if you need help to follow through on that Google freedom app or one of the many other programs that let you turn off social media for as long as you need to that's how I defeated writer's block once and for all and you can to stand up to it the way you would stand up to a bully and you'll find it's all bluster and myth embrace your fear and let it humble you to where you do your best work then watch your productivity soar if you found this video useful please like it comment on it and share it you can also subscribe to my channel by hitting the button below for more of my in-depth writer training now here's the bonus I promised for staying with me to the end click the link on the screen for instant access to my ultimate guide to maximizing your writing time it shows you how to block out distractions and overcome writer's block so you can get more words on the page I wish you all the best with your writing and I'll see you next time [Music]

Channel: Jerry B. Jenkins

Views: 116,163

Keywords: writer's block, how to overcome writer's block, how to beat writer's block, how to defeat writer's block, how to cure writer's block, writer's block cure

Id: LTrTBjwUulE

Length: 11min 44sec (704 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 27 2019