It doesn't matter whether you're writing an essay, a screenplay or a memoir, when a phrase (argument/ chapter/scene) is not working, no matter what you do or how hard you try, and you find it’s all but impossible to move ahead… stop trying! Pull over to the side of the road, and take a look over your shoulder.

In all likelihood you’ve inadvertently turned down a wrong (linguistic, character, or plot) road and that is why you now find yourself facing a dead end (or cul de sac, if you live in the suburbs).  No matter how much you struggle, you can’t clever your way out this one.  You have to go back and see where you made the wrong turn. That’s the moment that needs fixing; the moment where you accidentally sabotaged yourself.

Write what you’re trying to say.
If you’re satisfied that your setup is sound and you still can’t find the words to express what you’re trying to say, pull back, hit return, and write: “What I’m trying to say is… “  Then just spew.  Write down everything that you’ve been attempting to get out, without worrying about making it fit into the sentence or structure or story.  Now look back at your troubling sentence. I’ll bet the answer is in your spew.   

When you don’t know what to say…
If you found yourself unable to finish the sentence “What I’m trying to say is…”, then you probably don’t know what you want to say!  The reason you couldn’t find the “right words” is that you haven’t yet settled on what it is you’re trying to express.  In this case take TWO steps back, hit return and write, “The thing that confuses me about this situation (scene, chapter, moment,) is…” and spew on about that.  An alternative prompt might be, “I can’t decide if… or…”.  

If the wall is still there…
If none of this works, take THREE steps back from your computer, put on a jacket and head outside for a walk (or jog or bike ride) and muse on the topic, “What do I really think about this story (essay, book, script)?  Do I honestly believe in what I’m struggling to say, or am I only saying it to move the plot/argument/theme/character development along?  Is the direction I’m taking somewhere I even want to go?  Is this moment true?”  

These are hard, scary questions, and you can really only face them when you are away from the keyboard, preferably doing something physical. Physical activity allows your brain to relax, gives it room to think.  You’d be amazed at how much you can get done on a simple walk (don’t forget to bring a pen and paper, or a phone with “memo” capability to take down all of your brilliant ideas).  

And if nothing comes, or worse, the realization that you have to throw everything out and start over, well, at least you’re aerobically fit!  

Happy writing everyone, and let me know your strategies for surmounting those brick walls!

Okay, here it is: the coach’s secret weapon.  The one tip that works for all of his clients, whether they’re grinding out a college application essay,  slogging their way through the dystopian wasteland of their Y.A. novel, stuck in the third act of their screenplay, or trying to encapsulate their entire lives into a readable and engaging memoir.  What is this CIA/KGB/Mossad-worthy weapon?  It's called freewriting.  
(I know: some of you have already heard of this.  But unless you instantly fell in love with it and use it all the time, I’m wiling to bet you didn’t do it right.)

So what is freewriting?   Simply put, it's the best technique to get you writing freely, without worry, thought, or censorship.  And best of all, without delay. 

It starts with a writing prompt.  I usually provide my clients with one after interviewing them about their project (or their lives, if they’re working on a college app or memoir), but you can easily come up with one yourself. Just follow these simple rules.

The prompt should be in the first person:  “I first became interested in orthodontia when I looked into my little brother’s mouth and felt…”  If you’re writing fiction, write from the point of view of one of your characters: “Every night when I put on the bat costume and leave Alfred behind in the cave, it makes me feel…”  Whatever you’re working on, your prompt should feature the word “I”.

Focus the prompt on emotions rather than intellect.  We all hide behind words and “art,” to distance ourselves from emotion.  Sometimes it can lead to interesting work.  But right now you’ve got writer’s block and you need to bust through all that thinking to find the emotional core.  So you want prompts that come from the heart.  “What I love about orthodontia is…” “The thing that excites me most when I see the bat signal is…”  “When I faced the Joker I  felt…”   A particularly potent prompt is “I want…”   Whether it’s our characters or ourselves, our wants define us.  

The prompt should be an incomplete sentence.  The prompt’s job is to nudge you down a path.  To get you going.  A complete sentence gives you an excuse to stop.  

If all else fails, write about your fears of writing.  Sometimes the thing that’s keeping you from writing is the very thing that you want to write about.  So go ahead and explore it.  “The thing that scares me most about this project/essay/script is…”  

Okay, so now that you’ve got your prompt, what do you do?  

Write!  
Finish the prompt sentence and CONTINUE WRITING WITHOUT STOPPING FOR FIVE MINUTES.   Don’t consider, don’t correct, don’t judge and DON’T STOP.  Not even for a second.  Let your mind wander where it will,  but keep circling back to your prompt.  If you draw a blank, write that you have nothing to say.  If you’re distracted, write how annoying that barking dog outside is.  Write what an !@#!&!! Charlie, The Writing Coach is for making you do this, but DO NOT STOP WRITING UNTIL YOUR TIME IS UP.   

Now, take a breath.  And read what you’ve written.  

Look for the seeds of a revealing story, phrases and insights that truly reflect you, or, if you’re working on fiction, for windows into your character’s soul, new insights into her quest.  I’m willing to bet that you'll discover things that you would never have found any other way.  Certainly not in five minutes.

One interesting addendum:  The coach showed this blog to his father, a psychiatrist (insert crack about psychiatrists’ kids here), who instantly recognized the technique.  “But that’s Freud’s free association!” he exclaimed, delighted.  “Freud’s idea was that if you let the brain go where it wants, without thought or censorship, it will find the truth.”  

So there you have it. 
Freewriting.  
Endorsed by American Psychiatric Association.  

HAPPY FREEWRITING EVERYONE!!! 

Let me know how freewriting works for you!  Click on the comment button and share your brilliant prompts!

Ok, here goes: My first blog post on the new website.  It has to be great.  And since this is a writing website, it has to be perfect, too.  And inspired; it needs to feel real and exciting—the kind of instantly involving post that will not only rope the reader in, but leave them with something of true value.  That's why I’m writing this last: I wanted to give my ideas time to germinate, to coalesce into that great, perfect, inspired, real, exciting, and involving post of true value that I know I need. 

Only they didn't. 
My ideas.  They just laid there.  Dead.  

It was actually fairly predictable.  You see, I had forgotten my own first rule of writing: Write Badly.  It doesn't matter if you're working on a book report, a college application essay, a screenplay, or a blog: If you want to write truly well, write as abominably as you can. 
 
I don’t mean write a rough draft.  I mean, really write badly.  Write before you're prepared to write.  Write something you wouldn't show to anyone.  Something so bad even you don’t want to look at. 

For most of my clients this doesn't come naturally.  We've been taught all our lives to write as well as we can, to put in our best effort, to live up to our potential.  The idea of writing badly just seems… wrong.  But it is the first and most essential step to writing well.  And it’s sooooo much easier.

It only takes a minute or two to spew out a bad paragraph.  And usually that leads you to another.  And another.  Along the way you may stumble upon some new idea or a scene that you'd never thought of before.  Since you're writing badly, it's no big deal to just toss this in without worrying about making it fit.  Before you know it, you have a finished first draft. 

A truly terrible finished first draft. 

But the funny thing is, it's not really that bad.  Everything you wanted to say has somehow found its way into the thing.  Sure, it’s all out of order and unfocused, and surrounded by a lot of irrelevant stuff, but at least it's there. It's on the page.  Now you have something to work on.  Now it's only a matter of editing-- 

...but that's a subject for another post. 

In the meantime, go off and write badly!  Have fun with it, and don't forget to let me know how it works out.