Robert Boice (1990) has spent much of his
academic career thinking, researching, writing, and mentoring others
about writing. His book Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to
Productive Writing is a compilation of his work with stuck or blocked
writer and it provides a lot a solid advise for both the blocked
writer and the novice writer.
His initial program to get writers
writing includes four stages:
Establish momentum and ideas with
unself-conscious techniques
Arrange external situations to
ensure regular, productive writing
Manage self-control of cognition
and emotions
Create social support, develop
writing skills, and understand your audience
His first chapter reveals the nature of
writing problems including; censoring self, fear of failure,
perfectionism, procrastination, poor early experiences with writing,
mental health issues, personality issues, attitude toward writing and
busyness. An important part of revealing these issues is recognizing
that all writers experience this – it is not just you.
The next chapter explores what writers
say about their own work, and encourages the reader to take the
assessment in the appendix to understand their own writing problems.
Boice believes most writing problems can be categorized into a
distaste for writing, lack of time, lack of confidence, anxiety,
problems with starting, or problems with finishing. In addition,
there may be psychological issues such as depression, phobias, and
physical limitations to writing that might interfere with writing.
Problems with writing are not unusual. By studying yourself, you can
discover what blocks you and arm yourself with strategies to unblock.
For the blocked writer, quick success
in writing is necessary and he recommends a technique called
“Spontaneous Writing” or “Free Writing” which he credits to
Dorothea Brande and Peter Elbow (1973). The basic idea is to set a
timer for 10 minutes and just write – about anything – without
stopping. If you can't think of anything, write gibberish or “I
can't think of anything.” The goal is to get words on paper. This
fast track to writing should be done each day for a week or two. The
next step would be to have more focused writing – pick a specific
topic that you wish to develop and set the timer. Then, re-read and
develop outlines from these writings. The goal of the timed, free
writing is to quiet the inner critic and not worry about flawless
prose. Instead, the focus is ideas, which can be revised later.
Boice then spends some time on creating
a supportive environment for writing:
Pick a regular place
Non-writing resources should be
put away
Clean/straighten at the end of
writing sessions, not at the beginning
Attend to the audio environment –
eliminate distractions, use music if needed
Limit social distractions
(especially digital ones)
Get peer support/pressure
(schedule writing times with others, try #amwriting on Twitter)
Be physically comfortable
Beyond the environment, productive
writers develop productive habits such as:
Write daily
Be aware of how you spend your
time and schedule your writing time
Write when you are fresh/best
(whenever that is)
Don't binge write
Write in small, regular amounts
Set writing goals for each writing
sessions
Keep track of time, amount, and %
of task completed
Break large goals into smaller
parts – backwards plan for deadlines
Share with supportive peers
Work on multiple projects to stay
interested, and at different stages.
Boice states, and it is back up by tons
of other studies:
Regular, daily writing increases
productivity and creativity!
