Oof. Thank you. I think I've worked my way through all of these perfect conditions since breakfast. The only thing that saves me is knowing that it's better to write something and fix it later. Or the only thing that saves me is knowing I need to work through the block, write anything, sit in boredom. Or the only thing that saves me is going for a walk, or knowing I need to write more, or knowing I need to sell something. Annoying how just like the process for getting every story done is different, each block needs a different strategy.
So much of this resonated with me! Ironically, when I’ve felt blocked, I’ve turned to your books. I randomly pick a profile and feel motivated by the person’s struggles and productivity. Sadly, this probably isn’t a strategy you can use, Mason.
What resonated most with me is accepting that blockage is part of the process. I recognized this 2 years ago and since then, have been able to come to my work as a more receptive than resistant writer. Once we accept that being blocked is part of the process, we stop viewing it as something external, something that lies outside the act of writing, something to be feared. Internalizing it as part of the process makes it less stressful. We begin to understand that it is inherent in the process, another stage that we have reached and must go through and manage in order to come out the other side to untrammelled writing.
Wow, it's wild to read the newsletter this week and read the descriptions of each type of personal block you've experienced or have noted. It's like you read my mind in a much more eloquent way.
Specifically, the Fear of Scrutiny and Running Away from What You're Good At really resonated with me. Fear of scrutiny is often the hardest block for me to really face down, even when I know a project is looking good on the outset or a part of an overarching theme that is really important for the average person to spend some time considering. Cue Nina Simone, but I have a deep fear of being misunderstood in the most ungenerous ways. On the opposite end of that is what Lorraine Hansberry likely went through knowing in her bones that everyone would judge all of her future work against the success of Raisin.
Tennessee Williams went through a similar phenomena throughout his career, i.e. even for being ultimately productive, his later works (some that I truly adore and are not that popular) received lukewarm reviews when compared with earlier works like the Glass Menagerie, etc.
It's a Catch-22 when success is achieved, it seems. You're damned if you keep creating more work that won't live up to the breakthrough and you're damned if you don't, and knowing that from the outset can create a block immediately. As in, why bother trying to create anything and contribute to the world when this is the ultimate reaction?
Also re: running away from what you're good at - yes. Happens all the time. I always think this just happens to me, i.e. that I'm the only person that downgrades their own accomplishments and thinks to themselves, "Oh, no one must have applied for that contest, that's why I won. Oh, this. Oh, that. The process couldn't have been that rigorous and that's why this happened for me. No matter." I wonder if it's common for creatives to discount their own achievements.
I procrastinate when I know I’ve got a question I need to resolve. It only ever gets resolved through writing, never only in my head. It’s the thought of dealing with the chewy problem that prevents me from starting though. 😆
Sorry if this has been proposed before but have you considered writing a book about writers block?
Reading this great post made me realize the reason I don’t struggle with writers block myself is probably bc I’ve seriously never tried writing anything that ambitious. Which is probably both a good thing and a bad thing.
A couple of perfect conditions I'd add to your list are messages we received from family growing up, and faulty beliefs about "deserving" the creative life. And that's just off the top of my head! I've had them all!
I feel like I am deliberately blocking myself by starting yet another book before I finish one. I am making progress on each though but it's pretty slow. It feels like I will publish book one when I am in he middle of book seven.... It's just hard for me to stick to one thing and one thing .Maybe working on multiple projects IS my process. I do have a big problem with perfectionism though
Mason, thank you for this honest and vulnerable post! It makes me feel seen and affirmed when I read about you setting the goal of writing a new book and then not writing for three years. And having it happen twice! What is up with three years? Is that your magic number? All kidding aside, I want you to know that I can relate very much to what you wrote, and I deeply appreciate your willingness to share these challenging times with us.
My story is I closed my successful prelaw consulting business in order to write full time, but for months and months, I could not write. I felt ashamed of myself almost every single day. Those were some dark days, weeks, and months. After getting quite a bit of therapy on it (part of my ongoing therapy), I was finally able to figure out a small writing goal of writing for 10-20 minutes a day and then at the end of the week, emailing my therapist how many minutes I'd written every day that week. Being accountable to someone else helped me confront the fear that was causing my paralysis. But it took something like 18 months. Then it took nearly three years to write the novel I wanted to write. Which I then queried to a slew agents and nobody wanted to read it. But that's another story for another time.
What I've realized is there's much to be learned from our "blocked times" if we're willing to dig deeper and go to the root.
I have a lot of admiration and respect for you, Mason, and how you keep trying even with many setbacks. Keep the faith. You WILL find a way to write the book you want to write. And when you finish, I can't wait to read it.
Omg that playlist! Been a while since I heard 3 straight bangers in a row. PS Big fan of your books, keep coming back to them to ride out the lows of the creative life. Keep up the special work
Yes to all these blocks (or no?)! I definitely have a strong tendency to tackle enormous projects and then wonder half way through why I want to give up... the positive is when I do push through then the result can become as epic as the process (not always!). I just picked back up an illustrated book project I’ve been working on for 2 years ! Also setting my own deadlines helps. In this case I told myself I’d finish it by the end of the year 🤞
“The block is part of the process.” I’m going to ponder that for a long time, I think. I finally was able to move past the paralysis I was feeling and at least getting work done. It’s a relief.
Oof. Thank you. I think I've worked my way through all of these perfect conditions since breakfast. The only thing that saves me is knowing that it's better to write something and fix it later. Or the only thing that saves me is knowing I need to work through the block, write anything, sit in boredom. Or the only thing that saves me is going for a walk, or knowing I need to write more, or knowing I need to sell something. Annoying how just like the process for getting every story done is different, each block needs a different strategy.
So much of this resonated with me! Ironically, when I’ve felt blocked, I’ve turned to your books. I randomly pick a profile and feel motivated by the person’s struggles and productivity. Sadly, this probably isn’t a strategy you can use, Mason.
What resonated most with me is accepting that blockage is part of the process. I recognized this 2 years ago and since then, have been able to come to my work as a more receptive than resistant writer. Once we accept that being blocked is part of the process, we stop viewing it as something external, something that lies outside the act of writing, something to be feared. Internalizing it as part of the process makes it less stressful. We begin to understand that it is inherent in the process, another stage that we have reached and must go through and manage in order to come out the other side to untrammelled writing.
Wow, it's wild to read the newsletter this week and read the descriptions of each type of personal block you've experienced or have noted. It's like you read my mind in a much more eloquent way.
Specifically, the Fear of Scrutiny and Running Away from What You're Good At really resonated with me. Fear of scrutiny is often the hardest block for me to really face down, even when I know a project is looking good on the outset or a part of an overarching theme that is really important for the average person to spend some time considering. Cue Nina Simone, but I have a deep fear of being misunderstood in the most ungenerous ways. On the opposite end of that is what Lorraine Hansberry likely went through knowing in her bones that everyone would judge all of her future work against the success of Raisin.
Tennessee Williams went through a similar phenomena throughout his career, i.e. even for being ultimately productive, his later works (some that I truly adore and are not that popular) received lukewarm reviews when compared with earlier works like the Glass Menagerie, etc.
It's a Catch-22 when success is achieved, it seems. You're damned if you keep creating more work that won't live up to the breakthrough and you're damned if you don't, and knowing that from the outset can create a block immediately. As in, why bother trying to create anything and contribute to the world when this is the ultimate reaction?
Also re: running away from what you're good at - yes. Happens all the time. I always think this just happens to me, i.e. that I'm the only person that downgrades their own accomplishments and thinks to themselves, "Oh, no one must have applied for that contest, that's why I won. Oh, this. Oh, that. The process couldn't have been that rigorous and that's why this happened for me. No matter." I wonder if it's common for creatives to discount their own achievements.
Thank you for the thoughtful writings this week!
I procrastinate when I know I’ve got a question I need to resolve. It only ever gets resolved through writing, never only in my head. It’s the thought of dealing with the chewy problem that prevents me from starting though. 😆
Thank you! This is so helpful. I’ve been going through the first 2 reasons this whole year, glad to see there’s some learning I can get from it!
BTW loved your book Daily Rituals. Kept me going through the early pandemic days.
Sorry if this has been proposed before but have you considered writing a book about writers block?
Reading this great post made me realize the reason I don’t struggle with writers block myself is probably bc I’ve seriously never tried writing anything that ambitious. Which is probably both a good thing and a bad thing.
Thanks a lot Mason for all the writing you share.
It very relaxing when we know that all Artists suffer the same stuff ... that it's natural.
A couple of perfect conditions I'd add to your list are messages we received from family growing up, and faulty beliefs about "deserving" the creative life. And that's just off the top of my head! I've had them all!
I feel like I am deliberately blocking myself by starting yet another book before I finish one. I am making progress on each though but it's pretty slow. It feels like I will publish book one when I am in he middle of book seven.... It's just hard for me to stick to one thing and one thing .Maybe working on multiple projects IS my process. I do have a big problem with perfectionism though
Thank you so much for this post!
Mason, thank you for this honest and vulnerable post! It makes me feel seen and affirmed when I read about you setting the goal of writing a new book and then not writing for three years. And having it happen twice! What is up with three years? Is that your magic number? All kidding aside, I want you to know that I can relate very much to what you wrote, and I deeply appreciate your willingness to share these challenging times with us.
My story is I closed my successful prelaw consulting business in order to write full time, but for months and months, I could not write. I felt ashamed of myself almost every single day. Those were some dark days, weeks, and months. After getting quite a bit of therapy on it (part of my ongoing therapy), I was finally able to figure out a small writing goal of writing for 10-20 minutes a day and then at the end of the week, emailing my therapist how many minutes I'd written every day that week. Being accountable to someone else helped me confront the fear that was causing my paralysis. But it took something like 18 months. Then it took nearly three years to write the novel I wanted to write. Which I then queried to a slew agents and nobody wanted to read it. But that's another story for another time.
What I've realized is there's much to be learned from our "blocked times" if we're willing to dig deeper and go to the root.
I have a lot of admiration and respect for you, Mason, and how you keep trying even with many setbacks. Keep the faith. You WILL find a way to write the book you want to write. And when you finish, I can't wait to read it.
Omg that playlist! Been a while since I heard 3 straight bangers in a row. PS Big fan of your books, keep coming back to them to ride out the lows of the creative life. Keep up the special work
Yes to all these blocks (or no?)! I definitely have a strong tendency to tackle enormous projects and then wonder half way through why I want to give up... the positive is when I do push through then the result can become as epic as the process (not always!). I just picked back up an illustrated book project I’ve been working on for 2 years ! Also setting my own deadlines helps. In this case I told myself I’d finish it by the end of the year 🤞
“The block is part of the process.” I’m going to ponder that for a long time, I think. I finally was able to move past the paralysis I was feeling and at least getting work done. It’s a relief.
Hi Mason. Writing from Brazil and really excited about your tips and knowledge. Also bought your first book. Best regards.