It was a beautiful day on 11th street in North Wildwood. I sat on my front porch with my computer and coffee in hand, trying to shake my writers block. I had 4 weeks to write a paper that was due tomorrow. I couldn’t concentrate, find a good topic, or immerse myself in my writing. Thank God I wasn’t majoring in Journalism. Luckily I had some friends that I knew were in the area who were Literature and Journalism majors. They had recommended three articles to me: The daily routines of great writers by Maria Popov, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and Zen in the art of writing by Ray Bradbury. They were of no help to me at all! I threw on my bathing suit grabbed my chair and headed down to the beach to meet them. Hopefully they had some good advice for me. As I sat down in the circle of chairs with them I explained to them my writers block, and lack of being able to concentrate.
Kayleigh: I just can’t seem to shake it. I can’t get into “writing mode”. I feel like every time I have something else distracting me or no motivation at all. How do you guys do it?
Maria: Personally, I need an hour alone before dinner, with a drink, to go over what I’ve done that day.
Ray: Really you can write late in the day? And writing with a drink? Your work always somewhat free spirited. When I’m writing a book I get up at seven. I check my e-mail and do Internet ablutions. I get my coffee, I do Pilates. Then I come home and I write.
Anne: I’m in the same boat as Ray I am such a morning person when it comes to writing. I write in the morning and then go home about midday and take a shower, because writing, as you know, is very hard work, so you have to do a double ablution.
Kayleigh: Thanks for the input. But I feel like distractions are the least of my worries it’s the writer’s block that’s killing me.
Ray: Often when you sit down to write, what you have in mind is an autobiographical novel about your childhood, or a play about immigrants, or a history of women. Do you guys agree?
Anne: I mean no not really. I’ve been writing since I was a child, and about many topics. I wrote at least a thousand words every day from the age of twelve on.
Ray: Well excuse me! Not all of us were Einstein children. Maria? How do you commence to start to begin an almost new kind of writing to terrify and scare?
Maria: I find that I just fall into it, it comes kind of natural. I think the problem for any writer in any field is being circumscribed by what has gone before or what is being printed that very day in books and magazines.
Anne: I was not a child Einstein I was just very creative. Listen Kayleigh, don’t be discouraged almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. It happens to me all the time. I constantly have these guys criticize my work.
Ray: True sometimes her work really sucks.
Maria: You are so rude. One of the best writers I know has a wife who reads everything he writes and tells him when she loves it and when she doesn’t, why it does or doesn’t work for her. Make a rough draft and have us look at it we’ll help you out. And should you choose to take our criticism do a little editing.
Ray: When did you get the assignment?
Kayleigh: Uhhh four weeks ago. Any advice on procrastination?