One Tweet Ended My Writer’s Block Forever
My favorite author’s thread was all I needed
Ally Carter is one of my favorite authors.
I started reading her Gallagher Girls YA series in 2007 when only the first two books were published — who wouldn’t love an all-girls boarding school for spies?! Soon after, I followed her on Twitter — as you do when you’re doing high school online and most of your friends are on the internet.
I learned a LOT from her Twitter rants.
My expectations for her Twitter feed mainly included entertainment and behind-the-scenes updates about her newest manuscripts. But her Q&A posts unexpectedly revolved around general writing advice — I eagerly read those tips just as fast as her novels.
As of writing this, she’s traditionally published 22 novels and novellas… And wrote a Netflix Christmas movie screenplay. Clearly, Ms. Ally Carter knows what she’s talking about.
Reframing “Writer’s Block”: It Doesn’t Exist
The Twitter thread that changed my life was Carter’s description of her editing process after a difficult writing session — one where every word feels like pulling teeth.
While editing manuscripts, she cannot tell a difference in the quality of her writing based on how difficult it was to get words on the page! The sections that felt inspired needed the exact same level of editing.
“Feeling inspired” is a hoax
Fictional authors in entertainment media need “inspiration” to seem interesting because writing is boring.
When you write consistently, you have more ideas and stronger writing muscles. Sometimes our brains have had the “magic” combination of rest, other input, and idea-percolation time to make writing feel effortless. That’s what movie writers call inspiration.
Fixing “Writer’s Block”
Her advice for staying productive as a writer is simple:
- Have a system and push through feelings of “I’d rather watch TV than write”. A system can be a schedule, a place, sensory input, or a reward after a successful writing session.
