We talk about getting back into the “flow,” feeling like an idea dries up, sometimes that creativity rushes and overwhelms, or drip-drip-drips when we want it to gush. Instinctually, we seem to realize that creativity, and expressing that creativity, is as essential to our wellbeing as water is to our bodies. Sometimes facing blocks is best-done head-on. For me, getting to the root of the problem is quickest when I come at it sideways.

Lucky for us—I have read (or am reading) two books that will open our minds and blast open our blocks, if you are brave enough to join me. Are we ready to be brave? Excellent. 

Creativity Is Mysterious

First, I will admit that creativity’s source is mysterious. Like water, it feels like it is all around us in the air we breathe and buried in the ground we walk on. Creativity can feel like it is only reliably accessible to a select few who know where to dig or who know when it will rain and are in the right place at the right time.

Poppycock and fiddlesticks. Creativity is open for all. And those doors never shut.

Second, I will also admit it’s possible that reading about writer’s block is another form of procrastination. 

BUT…these books I am recommending aren’t writing craft books. 

There is a good reason for that. I don’t go looking for books that will help me with writer’s block because I refuse to admit there is a problem. That is the first step to recovery, right? Completely refuse to admit there is an issue? No? Well, it’s my first (and only) step. Huzzah for denial! Works all the time! (Kids don’t try denial without adult supervision.)

Usually what happens is I am reading a book for some other reason—like I think it might help me deal with my anxiety about the future, or it seems interesting. Honestly, there doesn’t need to be a reason except I liked the book jacket. (I DO judge books by their covers!)

Those books are the ones that end up unlocking creativity knots I didn’t even know I had, and that is exactly what happened with the two books I am about to tell you about.

“Every now and then one’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Future Forecasting for Combating Writer’s Block

Stretching our minds is going to be so much fun! 

Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything – Even Things that Seem Impossible Today by Jane McGonigal

Jane McGonigal is a future forecaster and game designer. I am already so intrigued, flipping over and reading the side flap.

I am about a third of the way through, and doing her “future imagining” exercises sounds terrifying after the last two years we’ve had, but it has unlocked a blind spot in my creativity I didn’t even know was there. McGonigal mentions these exercises help with creativity, but, honestly, I scoffed at it. 

I am not scoffing anymore. No scoffs! 

I have had three vivid dreams since I started these imagination exercises. Dreams in which I was an ancient Sumerian King fighting for his doomed kingdom, a small girl in India pitched against a global corporation, and finally, last night, I dreamed I was satisfied with everything in my life and utterly content. (Crazy right!?)

In completing the future scenario exercises, something has worked loose deep in my subconscious. There is something wonderful about tapping into your creativity while not thinking about writing. I used to paint when I was stuck on a plot point or scene, and now I know why. I needed to dip into that creativity well from another angle. Einstein used to play his violin. 

How Neuropsychology Is Catching up to Buddhism

You don’t have to be a Buddhist or a neuropsychologist to read book number two. The brief chapters are written in an easygoing style that is both straightforward and fascinating. 

No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism by Chris Niebauer

Full disclosure: I have listened to this book about 4 times. There was such relief and joy in the support of right-brain thinking and a call for creativity that I felt bolstered and lifted as a creative when I read this book. 

Western society puts so much pressure on creatives needing to make money to be taken seriously, as if the art itself wasn’t the entire point. These judgments are left-brain perceptions. 

The premise of this book, that the “self” is in fact a myth created by our judging, pattern-seeking left brain, seems radical, nonsensical even. And so, I love this book. 

In the end, it isn’t whether the author’s premise is something I agree with or, frankly, even really understand. It’s the idea of my “self” as a concept I made up to explain the world has opened my mind.

Thomas Dewar said it best: “Minds are like parachutes – they only function when open.”

Open Minds, Defeat Writer’s Block

I encourage you to open your mind, open your heart, and see what happens to your creativity. 

This is a trigger warning for many people: you may have been told that opening your mind is dangerous. I can assure you from experience that this is not the case. 

You will not be lost if you are brave. You might be alone for a little while, but you won’t lose anything except that writer’s block. Keep learning, keep questioning, and stay curious. 

Be curious about your blocks, and come at them sideways with a book like the two above.

Is there a book that has pushed the boundaries of reality for you? A book that made you question yourself and your role in the world? If so, how did that affect your writing? Please tell me all about it and I will add them to my TBR list!

Tell us in the comments: What books have helped you break out of your writer’s block?

Angela Yeh is an East Coast Canadian native that lives and works in the great state of Texas. Angela is a black belt wanna-be who loves to garden, write about magic, and eat cake. She is the proud author of her debut YA fantasy novel, A Phoenix Rises, a finalist in the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for YA for 2021. She lives with her husband, two lovely human children, and three cranky fur babies. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram or on her website.

The post Unlocking Writer’s Block Sideways appeared first on DIY MFA.

I have a silent partner-in-crime: the Vagus nerve. We actually all have this silent partner. This nerve is the longest nerve in our body. Its signals of fear or ease narrate a story to our facial muscles, heart, lungs, and stomach. 

Sometimes I think of it as my accountability buddy. With shallow breathing or anxious thoughts, it tells me that I’m in fight-or-flight mode. I see only a threat in front of me and feel as though I cannot work. With relaxed muscles and even breaths, it tells me that I’m in a calm mode. I don’t see any threats and I can do what I need to do.

We can’t always be stressed, leaving our sympathetic nervous system light on. At the same time, we can’t always be in a resting state, leaving our parasympathetic nervous system light on. Our Vagus nerve needs to be balanced in order for these systems to be grounded. When we are not grounded, we can get in our own way of creating, networking, and essentially building our writing career. 

As we writers work alone, yet constantly with fear, we can keep in mind five ways the Vagus nerve helps us to regain focus: 

1. The Vagus Nerve Strengthens Our Communication Skills 

As a narrator, our job is to be present by communicating to an audience. But if we’re stressed, we can’t pass stories along clearly and concisely. We certainly can’t ask our Ordinary Joe protagonist to convey emotions if we can’t convey and work with them ourselves. 

Before anything, we need to understand what we’re thinking, showing, and telling before someone else can pick up what we create. I think of this as needing to nourish our seed of self-communication.  

My “seed” is actually a small moon snail shell at my workstation that reminds me to use my vocal cords during Writer’s Block. Recording and listening to my voice grounds my mind and body. Sometimes I read a poem or excerpt of a book out loud. Playing with tone and vibrations through different narratives helps strengthen the parts of our brain that maintain attention, empathy and language. 

2. It Taps into Safety as We Approach a Blank Space

As with a tiger in the wild, our nervous system is wired to evaluate the level of potential threats. Showing up in our creative area day after day is a great way to teach ourselves through repetition that as stressed and fearful as we may be about facing our WIP, there is no primal danger. 

We create a predictable routine and we know what we need to work on. It echoes the concept of homework after school.

In school, we were taught to remove our emotional brain and use our logical brain in order to complete tasks. As simple as it is, it’s not always easy to do. After all, if we bring our own truths into our WIP, how do we deal with the emotions that may inevitably call on us?

When emotions trigger us, we can come back into a safe space using our body: sit in a chair and inhale through the nose. On the exhale, create a low sound of “vooo” through the lips. Not only does this vibration reset our safety button but it also balances our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. When we have the oxygen needed, we can think and create at our best.  

3. The Vagus Allows us to Laugh into Confidence 

Let’s face it, not only do we writers struggle with the ruminating thought “I can’t do it,” but the majority of people struggle with that toward any facet of their lives. 

The antidote to self-doubt is, once again, that partner-in-crime, the Vagus nerve. How does it support our wobbly self-confidence? It can make us laugh and lean right into our strength. We can seek out laughter in comedy shows or we can create our own.

Try these exercises:

• Be your own Santa Claus: Pump the naval while shouting “ho ho ha ha ha.” Do this several times and compare how you felt before versus after. 
• Mimic a Happy-Go- Lucky Character:  Stare at yourself in the mirror with a smile, lift an eyebrow or two, and march the arms back and forth. Then simply give yourself permission to laugh at yourself. And then, with yourself. Don’t forget, you’re your own partner-in-crime during the “Writer’s Block.” 

Our body doesn’t know if we force our way into laughing or stream our favorite comedy show.  The important thing is that with laughing sounds, oxygen gets moving, as does our motivation and positive thinking. 

4. The Vagus Nerve Moves Us through Levels of Engagement

As we focus on Vagus nerve exercises, we’re reminded of how to be engaged. When we attach ourselves to the word “engage” we do just that, attach. Promise. Commit. When engaged with something or someone, we should hold positive energy, empathy, and safety in our body and mind. 

“Vooing,” the practice of self-engagement, extends outward toward project engagement. We commit and promise to care for our blank or marked-up sheet of paper. We move into the flow of our WIP. 

As long as we treat our craft with respect and keep showing up, we have the ability to pass our gift of the “present” along to the literary community. For example, we can trust our work ethic when we commit to playing catch with a fellow writer. We are better equipped to give and receive. 

5. It also Empowers the Writer within Us

Working with the Vagus nerve gives us permission to focus on being our own leader, creator, and educator. 

As with the levels of engagement, our partner-in-crime helps us build the strength to become a mentor or example for others. No one can approach his/her/their writing with fear and ease. It’s important to explore what both feel like and how we can coexist with our reactions. To explore and learn is to constantly use the practice of focus.

Tell us in the comments: What was your biggest takeaway about the Vagus nerve and how it helps writers regain focus?

Brittany Capozzi grew up outside of Boston and holds a BA in English from Curry College with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Professional Writing. She draws inspiration from teaching and studying yoga and belly dancing. Feel free to say hi and check out her work at her website, or follow her on Twitter.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways the Vagus Nerve Helps Writers Focus appeared first on DIY MFA.

While the weight of this accomplishment is still sinking in, it’s been an incredible learning experience, from the big spark of the idea that started it all, to holding the bound book in my hands. It’s amazing to finally see those five years of work manifest in those 344 pages.

But my road to publication as not all roses (whose is?). In fact, there were many times when that little voice at the back of my head wanted me to quit.

And that’s the thing, isn’t it? There are always a million reasons to quit, and only one reason to keep writing—because you believe in your work. In the face of early mornings, late nights, stinging criticisms, and creative doubt, sometimes that doesn’t feel like enough.

But don’t give up. I share these top five excuses to quit writing to tell you that you’re not alone in feeling these moments of discouragement—and you shouldn’t listen to them for a second.

Writing Excuse #1: This New Idea is Better

It’s hard to commit to a single idea and see it through to a full manuscript. While it took five years to write my first novel, I could easily come up with five new ideas a day.

And new ideas—they have that seductive, shiny new idea allure, like the packaging of a new iPhone. But don’t give in to the call of the new idea. It may seem more fun to chase the new idea than finish the one you’ve already got, but if you keep it up, you’ll never complete one.

Writing Excuse #2: I’ll Never Finish

As mentioned, novels require a very long, focused effort. There were many times as I wrote that it felt like I would simply never find the end, no matter how long I worked.

Later, of course, when I was thinking straight again, I knew this was irrational emotion speaking. If you keep writing every day, it’s practically impossible not to finish.

Writing Excuse #3: There’s Too Much to Fix

This one came to me sometimes after meeting with my critique group and looking at their notes of feedback. Other times I simply overwhelmed by my own edits. But it was never true.

First off, any critique partner worth their salt will have encouragement in those notes along with the rest, so hold onto that positivity (or, ahem, get new critique partners).

But more importantly, remind yourself that every novel is a total mess at some point. They don’t come out perfectly the first time. Good writing is rewriting.

Writing Excuse #4: I’m Ruining a Great Idea With My Writing

You know you somehow snagged a great idea. But something about the manuscript doesn’t have that punch you felt when you started. You’ve ruined this awesome idea, and the best thing you can do is just stop before you make it worse.

This is a truly awful creative demon. But don’t listen to it. Just take a deep breath and think through what you can do to make the scene better. See? You’ve already got a plan in place for your rewrite. NBD.

Writing Excuse #5: This is Hard

Well, you’ve got me there. It is. It’s hard to write an entire book. But it’s so, so worth it.

The best way to fight the struggle of writing is to fall in love with the process. Make your writing time relaxing and enjoyable. Make writing friends to share the process with. Celebrate the small victories.

When you’re writing a book, there is plenty of time for self-doubt to creep in. That inner critic is going to try to stop you every way it can. Don’t listen. Keep writing. Just think about how you’ll feel when you finally reach the finish line.

You never know what might happen once you do—this could be the one that launches your whole career. But to find out, you’ve got to finish.

By day, Emily Wenstrom, is the editor of short story website wordhaus, author social media coach, and freelance content marketing specialist. By early-early morning, she is E. J. Wenstrom, an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author whose debut novel Mud was named 2016 Book of the Year by the Florida Writers Association.

The post #5onFri: 5 Writing Excuses For Not Finishing Your WIP appeared first on DIY MFA.