Writer's block? What writer's block?

Communication World, April-May, 1998 by Ann Reeves

Can't come up with a lead for that employee annual report? Groping after a catchy angle for that press release? Stuck in the middle of that novel you're working on at home?

As Anne Lamott wryly observes in her volume of advice to wordsmiths, "Bird by Bird," writers generally don't "find themselves bounding along like huskies across the snow." But what about those times when you just can't get moving no matter how many times you crack the whip and shout "Mush"?

Take heart. Here are some unusual - and unusually effective - strategies for just such emergencies.

1. Ask inner advisors.

Make a list of people you admire - real or fictional, living or dead. Draw from books, movies, history, current events, your family, friends and colleagues. Then imagine what each would say to you if she or he were giving you advice.

Ask a specific question to elicit the help you want. For example, "What do you think is the best approach for this media campaign?" or "How can I motivate myself to finish this project faster?" Switch into each character - values, philosophy, style of speech - to write the response.

Prepare to be delighted at the top-quality advice you get.

2. Play a part.

Here's another role-playing tip that can save scads of rewriting time: Pretend you're editing someone else's work.

Imagine you're a teacher of business communication, the editor of a major magazine or your own division director. Get into your part: You've never seen these pages before, you know nothing of the effort that went into them. Now, what would you cut, change, move?

Our emotional involvement with our material prevents us from editing it as easily as we would someone else's work. If you can act out the role of an objective observer, you're more likely to see just what's needed to move forward.

3. Boost your brain power.

You know that the two sides of our brains have very different personalities and talents - true? Our left brains are logical, linear, serious, critical, task-oriented and verbal. Our right brains are creative, intuitive, holistic, playful, emotional and visual-spatial.

Okay. But did you know this? Research has shown that when both sides of our brains work together, we get gains in creativity up to 10 times what we get when one side dominates.

Kinesthesiologists have developed a series of exercises to stimulate and integrate both sides of the brain. A few minutes of such exercises will do as much for your brain as an aerobics workout does for your body. Two of these brain boosters follow. For more, consult "Brain Gym for Business" by Gall and Paul Dennison and Jerry Teplitz (by calling 888/388-9898).

Mirror Doodling: Hold a writing implement in each hand -different colored markers are fun. On a large sheet of paper, draw mirror-image shapes using both hands simultaneously. Start with big, simple shapes like triangles, circles and squares, then get more playful. Keep it up for just a few minutes or as long as you want.

Unrolling Your Ears: Starting at the top of your ears, use the thumb and forefinger of each hand to gently "unroll" the curved part of the outer edge of each ear at the same time. Work your way down to your ear lobes, then up again. Repeat at least three times.

4. Create to music.

Music's legendary charms to soothe the savage breast haven't diminished one whit since William Congreve penned his now-famous line in 1697. And whose breast can be more savage than a writer's?

What's more, clinical psychologists now tell us that certain kinds of music are more soothing than others: Baroque music in largo tempo, such as Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, is a good example. (All-largo CD collections are available in music stores.) In some studies, Baroque music improved the test subjects' ability to learn and perform certain tasks.

For many of us, background music greatly eases our creative anxieties. It also encourages our intuitive child-self (right brain) to join the party, bringing along goodies stored in the treasure-chest of our unconscious. That's because our writing session now sounds like a party and not stuffy, adults-only drudgery.

So the next time you hit the keyboard, why not hit the stereo button as well? If your music might bother others, try a Walkman with headphones. Even just five or 10 minutes of music may be enough to turn a sour creative mood sweet again.

5. Listen for the hidden message.

When you find yourself balking repeatedly on a task, ask yourself, "Is there a message in my urge to procrastinate?"

Often we feel so bad about putting something off that we fail to "hear" some very valid intuitive message. Examples: "This tone really isn't right for this piece," "I need to start delegating this" or "It's time we broke with tradition here and tried a fresh approach."

6. Find a teaching image.

Not for nothing are the words "image" and "imagination" such close relatives. Images have Merlin-like powers in the magical realm of our imaginations. That's why finding a personal teaching image may just be your magic wand.

How? Take your choice: Peruse magazines; pick a Tarot card; browse through an art book. Close your eyes and ask your inner self to send you an image to help you. Or, as you're falling asleep, ask for this image to appear in your dreams. Perhaps take a nature walk; you might recognize your image in a bird building its nest twig by twig.