by Richard Max Detrano

Created on: June 29, 2009

The inner critic, the voice that says you can't do it, or I'll bet you can't do it again, sends more writers out to buy grapefruit or clean toilets, or take out the trash, or do ANYTHING but write.

Writer's block is a symptom of perfectionism. Here are a few tricks for getting over writer's block.

1 Lower your expectations

The poet, William Stafford, when asked if it was true that he wrote a poem every day before breakfast, said that it was so. How can that be possible, the student asked? Simple, replied Stafford. Lower your standards. Stafford never expected every poem to be perfect. But, he published over three thousand poems before he died at age 79, and left boxes full of others.

2. Write a letter to yourself

David Morrell, in "Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing," recommends writing a letter to yourself before starting to write each day. I have read that John Steinbeck wrote a letter to his editor describing what he was going to work on that day. What is nice about this is that it involves writing. Once you get going, put the letter aside and write.

3. Clustering

Clustering is articulated in Gabriele Rico's "Writing the Natural Way." One idea is written in the center of the page (a nucleus), and then other words and phrases are written and circled quickly in clusters connected by lines to form idea chains until something clicks and away you go. It is a handy way to vanquish the inner critic by using visuals and patterns.

4. Timed Writing

Natalie Goldberg in "Writing Down the Bones" recommends writing with a timer, in a public place, in small groups if possible. The timer, set to ten, 15, or 30 minute intervals, magically pries open the door to your creative mind. The results will surprise you. You will be asking yourself, where did that come from?

5. Journal

A writer's journal or notebook is not so much a diary as it is an idea book and a resource of captured fragments, anecdotes, bits of conversations, and things that interest you. Ian McEwan revealed in a recent interview in the New Yorker that he keeps a "plot book" filled with two and three sentence memorandums that synopsize ideas for stories. He is never without something to write.

6. Listing

It is fun and liberating to play with simple forms like lists, recipes, questionnaires, resumes, etc. Write about things that surround you: food, tools, animals, or plants. The possibilities are endless. Tony Morrison says her writing always begins with a question.

7. Rewrite

The hardest part of the writing is often staying in the chair. Not getting distracted. Sometimes it is best to rewrite something before confronting that blank sheet of paper.

Anne Tyler says, "I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them - without a thought about publication - and only in the last draft to consider how the work will look from the outside."

Remember, says columnist, Suze Orman, "writing is hard work, not magic... It's also about making a serious time commitment and getting the project done."

But, perhaps my favorite quote is from Margaret Atwood. "If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word."

Learn more about this author, Richard Max Detrano.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.