The writing process consists of three stages: creating, editing, and selling. As a writer, you already know these stages. And I’m betting you’re also familiar with the dreaded phenomenon known as Writer’s Block. You’ve most likely had it once or twice. I have. Every writer, no matter how much they brag about high word counts, has suffered through Writer’s Block at some point or another.
But what if the ability to defeat Writer’s Block comes from nothing more than a better awareness of the stages themselves? Let’s take a look at them and see.
Creating
The creating phase is pure inspiration and spans from the moment an idea begins to form to when the first draft is done. This is where the writer is operating completely internally, trying to please no one but herself. In Sigmund Freud’s map of the human mind, this phase is the Id, full of subconscious desires and patterns that don’t entirely make sense. Using Carl Jung’s school of thought, the creating phase is the Shadow, where the mind’s deepest and darkest parts bring archetypes to life.
Editing
In the editing phase, the writer comes out of that instinctual place and looks at what she has produced through objective eyes, based on what she consciously wants to piece to be. The editing phase runs from rewrites, to line edits, to having someone the writer trusts take a look at it. Going to Freud once more, the editing phase is the Ego, where the writer tries to impose order and reality on what the Id produced. Jung would call the editing phase the Self, where the writer merges the chaos of the Shadow with rationality.
Selling
During the selling phase, the work enters the world at large and the writer looks at it through the eyes of others. For example: Which agent reps this genre? How does it need to be formatted for each distributor? Is the blurb intriguing enough to catch the attention of readers? In Freudian philosophy, the selling phase is the Superego, during which the writer works hard to please others with an acceptable and desirable product. According to Jung, the selling phase is the Persona, in which the writer presents her work in certain ways to certain people and tries to find a place for it socially.
Writer’s Block
Looking at these phases in psychological terms, it’s not hard to see how different they are. They use different parts of the brain and require different skills. Done one at a time, with knowledge and patience, they lead a writer to publication and success. However, if done out of order, they can lead a writer directly into Writer’s Block.
If a writer approaches the creating phase while using the parts of the mind for editing or selling, the writing will stall before it even starts, because the writer will be overwhelmed by doubts. Does my story fit in a genre? Am I punctuating the dialogue correctly? These thoughts don’t belong in the creating phase. They are most useful when the writer is editing or selling and can address them. The creating phase is for just that: creating, with no filters. It needs free reign to be crazy and bring something new to life with no restraints.
Or let’s say the writer approaches the editing phase while in the mindset of selling. Inappropriate questions arise once more, this time about how the piece relates to the world when it’s not even polished yet. Can this work make money for me? Will an agent like it? In the editing phase, the answer to these questions is invariably no, because the work isn’t even presentable yet. Doubt rises and the writer falls. And if she is still in the creation phase when trying to edit, her emotional response will derail any possible improvements brought up to her. The creation phase is about protecting the work, whereas the editing phase is about expanding and changing it, and she won’t see suggestions as anything but attacks when in the wrong phase. So the process stops and doubt wins again.
Likewise, if a writer is stuck in the creating phase when it comes time to sell, she will be hurt and frustrated by the rejection all writers encounter when they begin the publishing process. In a mindset of subconscious creation, the reality of marketing her baby will crush the writer and cause her to shut down. But being in the editing phase when selling is just as dangerous. Taking every little suggestion from editors, agents and reviewers to heart is a sure way to wreck a work. The writer needs to have moved on from the editing phase in order to judge what advice to follow and avoid frantically changing the story over and over again in the pursuit of a sale.
To avoid Writer’s Block, a writer must be in the right stage of writing at the right time. Getting ahead or behind can be fatal to a budding career. But when you have to build a platform while you edit and write sequels while you research agents for the first book, it can be hard to stay in the best mindset.
How do you keep these tasks separate in your working day and in your head? Let me know in the comments!
This article originally appeared on the Mind Candy Editing blog.