The opposite of writer's block?
By liquorice
@liquorice (3887)
November 11, 2008 7:20pm CST
Writer's block is very frustrating; you really want (or need) to write something, but you don't get that rush of ideas, that flow, that inspiration that you need to do it. Instead you feel like there's a brick wall in between your brain and your fingers 
.
But have you ever had the opposite? I think of it as the opposite anyway - when you have so many ideas flooding your brain, all competing for your attention, and there are so many that it's hard to write any of them down coherently. And this often happens at the most inconvenient time, like when you don't have a computer or even a pen, or when you're in bed trying to get to sleep. Frustratingly, I find that any late-night inspirational thoughts have usually gone by the next morning.
Does this happen to you? Do you sometimes get too many ideas at once or get ideas at inconvenient times? What do you do about it?
.
But have you ever had the opposite? I think of it as the opposite anyway - when you have so many ideas flooding your brain, all competing for your attention, and there are so many that it's hard to write any of them down coherently. And this often happens at the most inconvenient time, like when you don't have a computer or even a pen, or when you're in bed trying to get to sleep. Frustratingly, I find that any late-night inspirational thoughts have usually gone by the next morning.
Does this happen to you? Do you sometimes get too many ideas at once or get ideas at inconvenient times? What do you do about it?2 people like this
3 responses
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
12 Nov 08
That is part of how I discovered how good it felt to sleep for a few hours and get up for a few hours, and sleep for a few hours and get up for a few hours, hehehe... those late nights when the idea floodgate has opened and I am compelled to write, since I have also discovered that they NEVER make it to the daylight hours otherwise!
2 people like this
@liquorice (3887)
•
13 Nov 08
Aha, you have got it all worked out! I can definitely see the sense in doing that 
. You're right, a lot of my inspirational thoughts (well, they seem inspirational at the time!) just go 'pop' and disappear into thin air, when I don't capture them immediately. Still, when it's a trade-off between capturing ideas and going to sleep, sadly sleep usually wins these days!
. You're right, a lot of my inspirational thoughts (well, they seem inspirational at the time!) just go 'pop' and disappear into thin air, when I don't capture them immediately. Still, when it's a trade-off between capturing ideas and going to sleep, sadly sleep usually wins these days!
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
12 Nov 08
This has happened to me before. My brain is just overflowing with ideas and information; thoughts and feelings and emotions. There is no way to write it all down. And even if there were, I, like you, am in bed trying to sleep, or nowhere near a computer or even a pen and paper. By the time I am ready and able to write it all down, it's not as fresh. I don't remember it all exactly the way I did then. It has all become stale or even forgotten. So, the rush of energy to write has come and gone. 
Luckily, this does not happen very often. But, it DOES happen!
Luckily, this does not happen very often. But, it DOES happen!
2 people like this
@liquorice (3887)
•
13 Nov 08
Yes, when the ideas are in your brain they feel so fresh and sound so good, but then next day, (or whenever you have the means to record them) they have gone a bit stale and stilted, and the words don't flow nearly so well! Very annoying. I'm glad it doesn't happen very often.
@paid2write (5201)
•
12 Nov 08
I keep pen and paper next to my bed and I have been known to switch on the light to make a notes about something I need to put down in writing.
I do try not to think about writing when I go to bed. I always read or listen to the radio before I sleep. I can wake in the morning and think about what I must write that day.
Usually I get the streaming flow of ideas when I'm out. I find that walking stimulates the brain. I always have a pen and paper in my bag to note down ideas and things I think of. When I go out for a walk, I often find myself feeling impatient and wanting to rush back home to start typing on my computer keyboard.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
•
13 Nov 08
That is a good idea, and I'm tempted, although when I'm in bed I'm usually just desperate to go to sleep, knowing that my daughter will wake me up early. I suppose it might work on some occasions, when the flows of ideas are actually stopping me from going to sleep.
It's a good discipline to not think about your writing when you're in bed, and relax your mind so that it's refreshed the next day. Also, a good tip to take your pen and paper out with you when you go for a walk! Thanks for your reply.
