Writer’s block or creatively stuck? Wil Wheaton’s advice
What do you do when you get writer’s block?
I was listening to Wil Wheaton on a podcast, and the interviewer asked him this question (timestamp: 1:07:40).
Wil’s response was so on point I knew I had to share it with you. Here it is verbatim:
“There’s a moment in my writing process where [I think]: ‘this is terrible. Why am I doing this? What is wrong with me? I’m the worst. I should never try to do this again. I should throw this away. I should print it out and burn it.’
When that happens, I know it’s the creative part of me saying, ‘You’re so close to being done.’
[It means] you’re almost there. You’re almost through the draft.
And when that happens, I go for a walk. I get out, I talk it out, I move around, and sometimes that breaks it and sometimes it doesn’t.
My ability to be creative is predicated on me being able to swim in an ocean of ideas and inspiration. And that ocean has a tide and I stand at the shore. And when the tide is in, I can get in that water so easily. And I can take a little dive in and get all the stuff I need.
But when the tide goes out, I can’t force it to come back in. I can try to walk down to it, I can try to get close to it, but then I’m only in a few inches of water and whatever comes out of that is muddy and gross and not what I want.
I’ve learned that it’s best to wait for that tide to come back in. And it’s going to come back in on its own. I can not force it.”
^^ I love all of this.
A few things in particular I’d like to draw your attention to:
✏️If you don’t already take walks (or rolls, or whatever form of movement helps you clear your head), try it. In particular, the combination of movement and being outdoors can give you a fresh perspective on things. Next time you’re staring at the blank page, get up, and get outside for just 5 minutes and see how it feels. For more on walking, read: Take a Walk.
✏️If you relate to Wil’s inner trash talk… so do I! And, as Wil suggested, it’s not necessarily a sign you’re headed in the wrong direction—it might be just the opposite. Writing confidence is not a static point, it’s a rollercoaster. The trick is learning to ride it. For more (and a little comic) on this, check out: What Writing Confidence Really Looks Like.
✏️ If you wish you could make the writing tide come in, I think it’s important to remember that while we can’t control creative inspiration, we can influence it. Inspiration is like motivation; it’s a fickle thing. So if we sit around waiting for it to arrive, well, we might just be waiting for a long time.
That said, there is an ebb and flow to creative work. The more experienced you get, the more you intuitively understand when it’s worth slogging away, and when it’s better to step back for a while. But this intuition can take time, and practice.
If you feel significantly creatively blocked, here’s something I wrote at the end of 2016, when I had recently recovered from significant burnout and was still regaining my creative mojo: I Was a Creative Person, Once.
A final thought: Creativity is your birthright. Don’t let productivity culture convince you that your work needs to look a certain way to be worthy, that you aren’t creative, that you don’t have what it takes to express yourself, or that you need AI to write for you.
Your particular voice and unique way of expressing yourself matters. Even if you’re struggling to find the words right now, trust me: they’re in there. They’ll come.
The tide may be out right now, but it’s on its way back in.
P.S. If you’re struggling with writer’s block or any other creative challenges, let me know. I’ve written a lot about this stuff over the years, and I'm happy to share resources—or just keep your questions/issues in mind for future posts. And, I do offer 1:1 workshopping sessions if you ever want to bust through that plateau together.