Sean D'Souza regularly writes for the NZ Herald, NZ Business and other local and international magazines. He has appeared on TV and Radio worldwide. His websites are
http://www.psychotactics.com
http://www.5000bc.comHe is the author of several books including the very highly rated book called "THE BRAIN AUDIT".I know I am not alone in getting writer's block. This happens to the best of us, at one time or another. Your mind is not coming up with anything to write about, or you have something to write about, but can't find a way to start writing it. It has helped me to go to Starbucks or the library to get out of this "block".
I subscribe to Sean D'Souza's newsletter and I find his articles very enlightening. He analyzes the reasons for things and gives you a different perspective as to why things are the way they are. He wrote the article below and offers an article writing course as well.
Why We Get Writer's Block (And How To Overcome It)You know the feeling of getting stuck, don't you?
You set out to write something: Maybe an email, maybe an article.
And you sit there at the computer completely disgusted. Because no
matter how much you try, and whatever you write, the words just
don't seem to flow.
==============================
So why don't the words flow? ==============================
To understand what causes a block, you have to understand what's
happening in your brain.
Let's start with what the brain does best.
The brain recognizes problems.
And overcomes them.
So if I were to put a chair in your way, your brain would know
exactly what to do. It would either remove the chair, so you could
move forward--or it would go around the chair.
And no matter how many types of chairs it sees in future, your
brain will know exactly what it needs to do to overcome the problem.
But what if there were no chair?
==============================
What if there were an eight-hundred pound gorilla sitting in the
way, instead?==============================
Suddenly your brain doesn't know what to do.
So it panics.
You either run. Or you freeze in your tracks.
In effect, the brain retreats or shuts down.
This shut down mode, is 'Writer's Block.'
And the block goes beyond writers.
It affects composers; artists; actors; sports stars.
And of course, you and I.
To avoid this shut-down, we have fire-drills.
===============================
Yes, you read right--fire-drills...===============================
The reason why you had a fire-drill in school or at an office,
isn't because the organisation likes making you run out of the
building, and onto the street.
The biggest reason for fire-drills is to know what to do in an
emergency. Because contrary to what you may believe, people don't
actually panic in an emergency. They sit there, transfixed, as if
in a bad dream.
And when you have an emergency: When you have to write a report,
or a presentation, or an article, your brain panics. It freezes.
Suddenly it has an 800-pound assignment in the way.
And it has no memory of any fire-drill.
The brain goes into panic mode.
It scans memory bank after memory bank for a memory of success.
===============================
On the contrary, it finds failure after failure===============================
Writer's block after Writer's block.
And so the failure perpetuates itself--and you run into yet another
writer's block.
===============================
Then of course, you believe that you have no ability to write===============================
That others were born to write.
And that you're just not a writer.
You believe that others are more talented than you.
===============================
But do you understand what the so-called 'talented' people are doing?===============================
They have a memory of success.
And it's not random success.
It's the success that's a direct result of having:
1) Structure
2) A mentor
3) Memory banks filled with success.
You see, when they were learning a skill, these um, 'talented'
people had a mentor; a teacher; someone looking over their shoulder.
Someone who not only takes them through the fire-drill, but helps
them if they make the wrong move.
And this gives the 'talented' person, a memory of success.
The more the success-drill is repeated, the more it get ingrained.
=============================
And then a real fire breaks out...=============================
You have to write a page for your website.
You have to write an article.
You have to write a 10-page report.
And if you've been through the drill, you not only have access to
the mentor, but you also have the structure, and the success-drill
deeply ingrained.
===================================
This 'success-drill' memory becomes the dominant memory===================================
This success-drill memory is why you learned to walk.
Why you learned to talk.
Why you learned to balance on a bike.
You definitely needed:
1) Structure
2) A mentor
3) Memory banks filled with success.
So yes, if you're sick and tired of running into Writer's Blocks.
If you want to learn to write just like I have, then please stop
believing in this nonsense called 'talent'.
Trust me to show you how you too can write--and become the expert in
your field. The expert that writes not just great newsletters and
articles, but is able to write books or just about anything.
========================
Judge for yourself at:========================
http://www.psychotactics.com/articlewritingPsychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND
How have you overcome writer's block?
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