A quick note on writing block

How to conquer it

Lately, I have received a bunch of questions about writer’s block, so I thought, instead of doing the intended write-up, we could conquer this mountain together. Whether you call it writer’s block, simply exhaustion, or overthinking, this exercise is designed to get your creativity moving. Usually, I lean on poetry exercises to help get the wheels turning, but this time we are going to write stories.

Even if you are a strict poet, give this a go and shake off those thoughts of ‘I can’t do this’, ‘this is too hard’, or ‘this sucks’. In the words of Ollie Schminkey, don’t be afraid to be bad. Get the words on the page and get flowing then fix and edit and improve.

Start with three words.

Nothing more than that. Just craft a bunch of tiny three-word sentences on a page. A minimum of five. For example:

The postman delivered.

The noise stopped.

The mirror reflected.

The wonder began.

She danced slowly.

The man ran.

Think about uniqueness and plot twists

We are all expecting the postman to deliver mail, but what if they were delivering something else entirely. What if the postman was a disguise for a hitman or a private investigator trying to get intel?

What reflects in the mirror that people would not expect? A still version of you reflected while you move, ghosts or demons are pretty expected things. Staring back could be some alternative version and each mirror is a different you. You can only watch your life through that singular room. The story takes on the life of the main character chasing mirrors to explore different versions of herself in different places. Entirely random and never repeated.

Take your three-word stories and give them something special that a reader wouldn’t expect.

Answer the what, where, how, or why

Where did the postman deliver? How did he deliver? What was spectacular about his delivery?

What noise stopped, and why did it stop? Were you grateful for its stopping?

Why did the man run? What was he running from? Where was he running towards?

Use this as your opening sentence.

When dealing with flash fiction, you typically start already in motion. Short stories tend to be quick to the point. Let’s take the postman for example, how can we use ‘the postman delivered’ to start a story? We can look back on our questions if we are stuck or that can be the intro to something entirely different.

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It all started when the postman delivered a parcel. It was addressed to a ‘Mr Hubbell’ who I am pretty certain doesn’t live here. The parcel didn’t have a return address and after some agonising hold times, the post office stated there was nothing that could be done. I sent some emails and forgot about it for a few days until all of my cries for help muffled into the mundane. My last option was to open the parcel, so I did, but instead of answers I only found more questions.

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For this story, I am building up the suspense of this parcel and from that simple three-word sentence, crafting something that involves intrigue. Let’s do the same for ‘The man ran.’

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The man woke up running. It was still dark. There was something wet below his bare feet. It protruded through the gaps in his toes and stretched upwards. The man tried to stop his legs but couldn’t. It took a while for him to realise that it was only grass. Nothing else around him came into focus. He kept running and running in the pitch black. He tried screaming, but no sound left him no matter how wide he opened his mouth.

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This one is kind of terrifying, and as we are only writing short things then this concept won’t overstay and get stale.

Finally

I know many of you are poets and the idea of writing stories could be new to you but give this a try. Let yourself be weird and write stuff that doesn’t necessarily make sense and then try to wrangle it into logical. The joy of this is that there are no stakes. If a story doesn’t work out, then try a new one. If you are writing and it steers you in a completely unexpected direction, then just follow it. Don’t fight and don’t judge your work. Let yourself write. This could inspire a poem or be the entryway back to poetry. Going away from your comforts and trying something new is how we improve and escape ruts. I used this exercise recently on the three words ‘it was quiet.’ The coffee shop was quiet, and I realised that my favourite coffee shop performs miracles: no matter how busy it gets, it remains peaceful and calm. I’m often thankful for the 15-minute wait for my coffee because I get to be in that atmosphere.

The Barista

The best coffee shops are quiet even when they’re loud, and amidst that gentle bustle, there’s always someone who makes the place feel like an old friend. The barista remembers your order as if it were a secret passed down through generations. You exchange pleasantries; they say “the usual,” you say “thank you,” and you’re overtaken by a feeling of home. To feel understood is a small miracle. The tiny acts of kindness plotted throughout the day steady our waters; some steer us away from icebergs and keep us afloat. To a certain degree, a barista is a captain and the coffee shop is their ship. It is a place we long to return to collapse into the familiar arms of our comforts, but also for the quiet choreography of being seen. The barista always has a heading but never a schedule. Everything we need arrives exactly when it’s supposed to, and the barista understands this science better than most. Navigates as the waves dictate. He understands that a simple smile can shift the wind of these days. They will pass you your coffee as a kept promise, and you will leave holding a cup, yet feeling equally held. You will feel noticed enough that the world leans in a little closer, and you will feel lighter for something other than your ghosts has finally been remembered

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Please share what you write because as always, I love reading it!

Keep kind and stay true, Woofenberrys x

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A writing album from me to you x