Eddie's Blog

All I know is that writer’s block has never happened to me. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow or that it doesn’t happen to other writers regularly. That’s not to say that I haven’t had days that I didn’t feel like working or that I didn’t quite know how to approach a plot dilemma or character problem. But I have always able to deal with these situations by stopping for the day and picking it up the next. I know everyone’s different and my goal is not to sound like I have all the answers (wow, wouldn’t THAT be nice?) or that I’m more dedicated or determined because I never become blocked. I’m just being honest.
I have talked to people who have been legitimately blocked which resulted in them wanting to give up writing all together. I know writers who have a secret drawer full of unfinished writing projects. “I keep starting a short story (or play or novel), but I never know where to take it so I just put it away with the other unfinished pieces” they tell me. If they ask my advice I simply tell them to choose one of the pieces, take it out, dust it off and finish it. No matter how bad they think it is or will turn out to be, just finish it. That does a lot for our confidence as writers. Just get to those two words: The End. Once we have a completed manuscript from beginning to end, we have something to work with. To revise. To shape.
As long as I have been writing, I have never been able to revise a blank sheet of paper, but I HAVE been able to rework a bad or almost good piece of writing into something I felt I could send to a publisher.
You’d be surprised, too, how performing every day activities can help get us unstuck when writing. Go for a short walk, stop and do a load of laundry or organize your files…something active where you’re not consciously thinking about your writing. Notice I said “consciously”. I believe our sub-conscious can figure out problems in our writing while we are performing other unrelated tasks. Our creative brain works in mysterious ways. But getting stuck on a plot point etc, to me, isn’t writer’s block. I think it’s fun to come to a point in a piece and not be quite sure where to go with the story. It’s challenging and when the answer finally comes, that “aha” moment can be the most exciting point in your day or week. “That’s it! That’s the answer I was looking for!” This is what I told myself just the other day when I wasn’t quite sure how to make the sub-plot of my play move the main plot forward. I slept on it, didn’t rush it (our creative brain frowns upon being rushed) and there it was. It came to me while watching an episode of Gilligan’s Island (I’ll tell you about my Gilligan’s Island compulsion another time). I don’t know if it was something a character said or something I saw in that particular episode that woke up the part of my brain that was working on the sub-plot of my play.
I wonder if sometimes we don’t use the term “writer’s block” as an excuse not to write. We talk ourselves into thinking we’re not good enough, who do we think we are to think anyone would care about what we have to say, I’m wasting my time. Maybe that’s where writer’s block comes from for a lot of writers. Sometimes I have to tell myself before starting a new project which I feel intimidated to approach: Okay, I’m going to start this thing. It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be written. It has to be written and it has to be finished. Then, I can go from there.

People ask me how I get ideas for the plays I write. I tell them I step outside my front door. For me sometimes ideas are like houseflies I have to swat at to keep away while I’m eating , talking to friends or trying to enjoy a movie at home. Apparently my mind is always working on ideas for the next script that “just has to be written.” I read once by another writer that being a writer is like always having homework. And I thought “exactly!” In other words no matter what I’m doing – no matter how fun or enriching or frustrating, my mind always, ALWAYS goes to ideas for a piece I’m writing or planning to write.
Ideas are everywhere…in every book I read, every movie I watch, every bathroom I clean (well, maybe not that), every conversation I have. It’s funny, on a regular basis someone will say something funny or witty and a friend will immediately turn to me and say, “There’s a line for your next play.” And most of the time they’re right, so into my journal they go.
Because ideas are everywhere, a writer should always keep a journal or notebook or small pad with him or her. I can’t count the ideas I’ve lost by not writing them down and telling myself, that’s too good to forget. I learned quickly that no matter how “great” an idea may be, it can be forgotten…forever. Several times I have sat straight up in bed at midnight quickly realizing I just dreamed my next play (or scene or page) and how it’s going to be the best thing I have ever penned. I lie back down feeling so good about my extraordinary idea as I slip back into dream land only to wake the next morning pulling out my hair trying to remember what that unforgettable idea was. It’s so agrivating and I know other writers have experienced the same frustration.
Are all ideas good ones? Not hardly. Some are really good, some are okay and some are terrible. Sometimes an idea works perfectly inside my head but doesn’t translate to the page or the stage. I wrote a play once I was very proud of. I got the idea from a short story I taught to a class of 8th graders. After writing my “masterpiece”, I sent it off to a publisher who accepted and published it. The editor even wrote a personal note at the bottom of my acceptance letter, “I really like this piece and we are excited to publish it in our upcoming season.” It seemed inevitable that it would succeed in theaters around the world. It didn’t. It had a few productions and then finally no productions. I was stunned that the universe couldn’t see the greatness of this piece the same as my editor and I did. By the time I realized the piece wasn’t going to sell I had gone on and written and published other scripts that did do well so it all balances out.
I don’t believe in writer’s block. I’ve never had it (knock on this wooden table I sit at). I want to discuss that in my next entry. Remember, ideas are everywhere, just look around and they will be happy to introduce themselves to you. I promise.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to my blog. Here I will be talking about the writing life (I have been a published playwright since 1998) as well as teaching high school theatre and the ups and downs of both. I’m excited to share with you guys my current works-in-progress and what I’m up to in the classroom as I work with my talented (and always opinionated) drama students. Because I write plays and teach drama for a living, each passion feeds the other. Wait until I tell you about the play I’m working on now. It’s a commissioned piece and I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out on stage. Life is great and theatre makes it always exciting, mysterious and, sometimes, perplexing. Thanks for checking in. Much more later.

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