On Writer's Block

Writer's block used to be a thing, say, 15 or 20 years ago. It was the subject of oh-so-many films and novels (seriously, any time you need a conflict for a writer character, just give them writer's block). It's been tackled by a plethora of self-help books promising fast remedies. It's been combated with writing prompts and speed writings and who knows what else.

And then, recently, there was a shift. Most of the advice given to beginning writers aching for a way to get over writer's block is ... there is no writer's block.

It is not the writing that is blocked

And this is pretty good advice, actually. A lot of what people call 'writer's block' is simple inertia, not specific to writing or even art in general. In any line of work, there are days where you just can't get going. A lack of motivation, an abundance of distraction, a tendency toward procrastination. Some people call it a muse, but I don't know that inspiration has much to do with it. A lot of it is just the natural ebb and flow of work ethic, and the fact that once you skip a day or two, it can be hard to get back into the groove. That's why the "no such thing" advice helps so many people; it's easier to move past something when you pretend (or realize!) that it's not actually there.

I think there is something specific to artistic creation that can make progress hard, though, and it's something I've been struggling with in my non-erotic fiction. It's that inner editor niggling. Telling you your writing isn't good enough, it's shit. That I'm at the age that other people have started to finish series and win awards, and how do I ever expect to get to that level with this word-vomit?

So yeah, that's a real problem. Thankfully, I think erotica is a real escape from that. Not that I'm saying I don't strive to write erotic fiction well -- I do. But there's a different set of expectations for erotica. Mainstream fiction rarely exists for any single purpose. You might say "to entertain," but even so, there's plenty of thematic depth expected from all but the most shamelessly banal of stories.

Erotica, on the other hand, exists for one purpose: to get the reader off. And we all have such wildly different tastes that you're not even expected to succeed for *everybody*. Writing erotica, in some sense, is easy. Most of us have fantasies, as a friend of mine once said. Put your fantasy on the page. You have written erotica.

So when will you get to read some of mine? Soon. Promise.