We take a look at two stereotypes about authors and breakdown whether or not they’re accurate…
It’s a curious phenomenon that creatives are viewed through a lens of exceptionalism, like we’re some kind of mythical half human half mystic mountain spirit. Indeed, arguably, the act of creating is often viewed as something that requires something akin to a blood sacrifice to be successfully executed.
Perhaps that last part is a little extreme, but it’s certainly true that there are certain stereotypes that accompany authors and the process of writing. Most of them are grounded in some truth, but the reality is far from an author lounging around their house, waiting for inspiration to strike, the jumping up when the stars align to show them the perfect combination of words and ideas to create the perfect story.
So let’s examine the two biggest stereotypes and determine if they actually have merit.
First up: Procrastination
Procrastination is an interesting issue, because most people are guilty of it. Writers in particular are notorious for finding ways to delay actually putting their butt in a chair and slapping some words onto a page. The irony of this tirade is that I write this article as a means to procrastinate writing a chapter of my current work in progress.
Nobody can quite agree on whether procrastination is an important part of the writing process, or indeed, why we are so susceptible to it. This article suggests, amongst other things, that procrastinating comes from a deep-rooted fear in authors who have experienced great success in English throughout their education, and who, when faced with the boundlessness of the blank page and a non-specific directive: write, find themselves paralysed for fear that they hype (which may simply exist in their own head) may not actually reflect reality.
By contrast, this article speaks to the value of procrastination, of consideration.
“Ernest Hemingway told a fan who asked him how to write a novel that the first thing to do was to clean the fridge”.
At this stage I’d like to pay homage to perhaps the most famous literary procrastinator of our time, George R R Martin. Evidently it’s not been a huge problem for his overall success, but it has also created a generation of frustrated readers…
Evidently, the stereotype of the writer putting off writing with any number of convenient tasks or distractions is an accurate one. Whether that helps or hinders is probably dependent upon the individual in question, and where they are up to in the work in progress. On a personal note, when I finally run out of dishes to do, or clothes to fold, or emails to answer and say it’s time to get down to it, I’m very strict about meeting the word count I set myself, and on not giving in to the temptation of other tasks which seem to require my attention.
Verdict: True
Let’s move on to the trope of writer’s block, or the patient attendance for inspiration.
It would be a lie to say that writer’s block isn’t a real phenomenon. Too many authors have spoken about it for it simply to be dismissed as a collective imagining.
In his hilarious book, How to Be a Writer, John Birmingham quotes Philip Pullman’s comments about writer’s block, suggesting that when referring to writer’s block, we replace the word ‘writer’ with ‘plumber’: “Do plumbers get plumber’s block? What would you think of a plumber who used that as an excuse not to do any work that day? The fact is that writing is hard work, and sometimes you don’t want to do it, and you can’t think of what to write next…Do you think plumbers don’t feel like that about their work from time to time? Of course there will be days when the stuff is not flowing freely”. Birmingham actually refutes Pullman’s claims that writer’s block is not a viable phenomenon, citing his own experience of it. However, he advocates the Pomodoro Technique as a way to overcome the tyranny of the blank page (likely this would assist in circumventing procrastination, too).
In his fabulous memoir On Writing, Stephen King lays out the manner in which he maintains momentum through strictly maintaining a writing schedule, and is strict with himself about not leaving his writing session until he hits 2,000 words. If he’s suffering from a point in the story where inspiration on how to continue is ebbing, he’ll introduce a new problem to drive the story onward.
Obviously then, writer’s block is likely to be experienced by most authors at some stage, but it doesn’t have to be the full stop that people often perceive it to be.
Verdict: True, but there are ways to overcome it.
Overall Verdict: I’ve only looked at two examples here. There are many more (such as “how could you possibly come up with all those ideas”) which serve to be brought into consideration.
The bottom line is that writing is like any other job: a good routine, self-discipline, and techniques to overcome tough spots are the best ways to overcome the perils and pitfalls that prevent work from actually being produced. Chronic procrastination or wallowing in the agony of writer’s block in order to produce work don’t have to go hand in hand with producing a work of fiction, and where they do pop up, there are ways around them.
