Need Help Writing ?

Kia Ora

Good afternoon from New Zealand Friends and Colleagues

I have seen quite a few cries for help in relation to writers' block of late and I thought I would share some more of the learnings that I received in my time working with published best-selling British author Margaret Graham.

I did a residential writing retreat with Margaret about 15 years ago and learned a great deal from her that I put into practice regularly with all of my writing styles or projects.

The Block

The good news, if you suffer from writer's block is that you are not alone. There is nothing wrong with you. You are a normal human being experiencing normal feelings and emotions.

This is a situation that the most professional and prolific commercial writers suffer from time to time so you are ion really good company.

It is often caused by unconscious tension or tiredness or both. So one of the first things to consider is don't try to force it. You are on a path to further distress and frustration if you do. What you need to do really is let go and relax.

Therefore the best advice is get up and walk away, leave it alone for an hour at least and longer if you can.m

An Exercise to Get The Tap Running

Go somewhere away from your normal writing work station (important that you get away from your Blog workplace) with a pen and pad, or pencil if you prefer.

There actually is something nice about the soft feel of a pencil lead gliding across paper, which in itself can be quite soothing. Don't do this on a keyboard it won't work. Don't worry about your scruffy writing this is just for you no one else will see it, this is catharsis.

Make sure that you find somewhere really comfortable where you know you will relax, you are not going to work now, you are going to do a kind of writers meditation exercise.

Now pick something from your childhood:

• A place where you lived
• A cherished friend you no longer see
• A favourite toy
• A family holiday

When you have chosen the topic just write about it. Describe the scene, the look of the place, the funny wee things that stick in you're head, the smells, your feelings, what you did, what you liked, what you didn't like, your reactions, to people and places and things.

It doesn't matter if you skip back and forth, don't worry about structure, just free you mind and describe in writing.

You can do this for 20 minutes or for the whole hour, just as long as you need to.

If you relax into this and just let yourself go you will feel the tension and the pressure that you feel, to 'perform' for your Blog, dissipate and your mind will clear, because it has been distracted towards something that is not about pressure to perform for a determined outcome.

You will be surprised how well this works. I hope that you try it the next time this happens to you and let me know how you get on.

Stream of Consciousness

The other technique that I blogged a few weeks ago is great for preventing block if you are doing it every day or as often as you can.

Here it is again if you didn't see it or want to revisit. It is more of a free flow exercise and done in the waking moment. While the above exercise is deliberately designed to distract from a pressure block that has manifested while working.

Stream of Consciousness

Have a great weekend when it comes folks it is already Friday afternoon here in New Zealand

Kia Koa, Kia Kaha

Hamish🧐