Writer's Block? Take a Nap.
How naps, DJ sets, and procrastination inspired my debut (and next) novel
I am writing this post, ironically enough, to put off writing the next 1,000 words of my new novel.
I just…don’t feel motivated to hop back into the draft right now. I’m sure I could get something going if I “butt in chair,” but I’ll “butt in chair” in an hour. For now, this post is what I want to write. It’s what’s rattling around in my head, keeping me from seeing the world in front of me. Have you ever felt that way? Like you can’t even see what’s in front of you because you’re too busy thinking about something? The words would fly out of your eye sockets if they could, but your eyeballs are blocking their departure?
To reduce the strain on my eyeballs, I am writing this post.
I don’t know if writer’s block exists. I just think, sometimes, we are impatient and unfocused. So as I write my second novel (I’m calling it that, but who knows what will end up being my actual second novel,) I’m going to write what is on my mind, and if nothing is coming to me, I will just be patient and focus on something else until my novel is on my mind.
Because, after all, my novel ideas only come to me when I’m not thinking about writing a novel. I can only overcome writer’s block by doing something else.
The Fourth of July Goat Cheese Memorial of Sweet Potato Grace
The initial idea for The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace came to me when I was getting ready for a goat cheese memorial of my own. (Yes, my kitty’s name was Sweet Potato Grace. And she was a sassy little bitch.) As my mind juggled a list of people to text about the event and the timing of going to the grocery store, the phrase goat cheese memorial for Sweet Potato Grace stopped me in my tracks. I added something: Fourth of July Goat Cheese Memorial for Sweet Potato Grace.
I could see it: the flies buzzing, the grandma bobbing her head in her wheelchair, the scared, small hands shaking as they held the cat’s eulogy. I thought to myself, “That’s a great opening for a novel.”
It ended up as Chapter 3.
Other significant pieces of the novel, including the title, came to me:
At a Capyac DJ set
At a party
In the car
Standing in the middle of my apartment doing nothing
Visiting my nana in Florida
A lot of it came to me as I wrote, but I couldn’t get to the page without the spark that ignited in truly random places.
This might not be surprising. A study from Stanford shows that walking increases creative output by 60%. Issac Newton discovered gravity by sitting under a tree. Procrastination can actually help you.
My first book is the result of experiences I’ve had as a queer person, a queer person finding their version of a “found family,” a queer person living in Texas. We all draw from our own lives and perspectives when we write. So if you’re writing a novel, go out and live that life and build that perspective if you need to. Whether it helps you write your current project or the next one, being a human is always productive when you’re a creative human.
If that doesn’t work, take a nap.
The Dream
I claimed that I had writer’s block starting in mid-2024, when I turned in the first rounds of edits on The Barefoot Followers. I had two ideas that were knocking around my brain, but I couldn’t get my “butt in chair” long enough to actually make something of them. A chapter here, a chapter there…but I didn’t get going on them.
Then, I went to sleep.
I had a dream one night and woke up reaching for my phone. The concept of my dream was fascinating, and I wanted to write it into a short story. (No, I’m not going to tell you quite yet…) I had “write short story from dream” as a task in my calendar for weeks until I finally put “butt in chair” to write it. I submitted 2,500 words of it for critiques from my writing group. 5,000 words in, I realized that I wanted to write more. I wanted to bring in new characters. I wanted to explore the world that I had dreamt.
I started to write a new novel.
I’m 25,000 words in, and while I’m putting off the next 1,000, writing this blog post has emptied my mind to the point where I’m ready to shift my focus to the new novel.
It worked! Procrastinating worked!
Overcoming Writer’s Block on Insight Timer
I did a “Mini 1000” with Jami Attenberg at the beginning of the year. When I didn’t want to work on my novel, I decided to write 1,000 words for a meditation course on writer’s block. Productive, right?
That course turned into a course on Insight Timer, my favorite meditation app. Each day contains a guided meditation and a prompt for your nonfiction or fiction writing. If you are reading this because you are also dealing with writer’s block, congratulations! Your procrastination is productive. But also, go check out the course.
Happy writing!