Wonder Boys – directed by Curtis Hanson, based on Michael Chabon’s novel – is a beautiful film about being a writer.
In one scene, the prodigy James Leer looks over Grady Tripp’s writing studio and sees Tripp’s work in progress – a massive tome at page 2611, and no end in sight.
Whether you believe in writer’s block or not, there are times when things just don’t seem to go forward.
When I’ve come to a block, or had trouble moving through some sort of creative obstacle, I’ve found it usually comes down to not knowing enough.
In fiction, that means it’s not knowing enough about the characters. It’s usually something in their motivation or the scene’s subtext. In non-fiction, it’s either that I don’t know enough about the topic, or the structure is lacking dynamic so I can’t see how the ideas flow in the chapter. That makes it another issue with subtext.
Knowing that this is usually why I’m stuck help save time getting past it. I can look there first.
But sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes there are other reasons.
The creative process is so fascinating. Over the last twenty years or so, I’ve collected a lot of different strategies and techniques to tap into the creative process. These come from reading books and interviews, talking with other writers and artists, watching documentaries, and searching out strategies that worked for my favourite writers and artist.
These strategies and ideas have helped me in my own writing, my coaching, and ghostwriting. They’ve made up a tool chest to use when I’ve been working with bands and other musicians. I’ll be dropping a short post on each Friday – here and on LinkedIn – over the next months to share one of these strategies.
If you want to discuss how I can help you with your creative process, then drop me a message.