The Isaac Asimov Method Of Defeating Writer's Block
Practicing The Write Stuff Issue #22
In Issues #20 and 21 I talked about setting up A+ content for a book’s listing pages on Amazon. In Issue #21 I covered the upload process and used it to upload my first piece of A+ Content.
This issue will start with a quick summary of the approval process.
#1 A+ Content Approval
My A+ Content got approved on Thursday or Friday….here’s a long screenshot showing multiple details of the page layout, including the A+ Content:
I included the ‘VIDEOS’ at the bottom of the screenshot because while doing some A+ Content research I found what could be an interesting hack with using videos. That’s for a future issue though.
Weirdly the A+ Content was approved and I didn’t get a notification from Amazon. They are usually pretty good about notifications, so I’m not sure what happened with that.
Things to note:
It’s too early to tell if this will lead to increased sales.
It’s only on Amazon.com. If I want the A+ Content to appear on other stores I’ve got to go through the upload process again…although I’ve already created the content so it will be pretty simple.
Further to that, you can go your KDP Reports Dashboard, select ORDERS to see books shipped, then select LIFETIME for the time period covered, then select only the book being examined…and then deselect all marketplaces and look at them 1 by 1 to see where you have decent sales and where i might be worth doing that.
For me, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are responsible for 87% of this book’s lifetime sales. Amazon.com is responsible for 77% of the lifetime sales.
So the 80-20 Principle suggests that I could get away with just leaving it to Amazon.com.
What I intend to do is leave it for 2 weeks and see if there’s any increase in sales on the US store…if so, I might extend to UK. If not….then not.
Onwards with Issue #22 and Isaac Asimov’s simple - but brutal - method of avoiding writers block.
#2 A Quick Overview Of Isaac Asimov’s Writing Output
Asimov was a science fiction and non-fiction writer. Wikipedia says that he wrote or edited over 500 books in his lifetime plus numerous short stories, letters, postcards, papers and more.
So it’s safe to say Asimov was a prolific writer.
There’s a famous quote from fellow science fiction writer Harlan Ellison about Asimov:
“He had writer’s block once…it was the worst ten minutes of his life.”
The point is: Asimov wrote a lot of words. And wrote a number of autobiographical essays and the like where he gave his productivity secrets away.
#3 The Simple Secret Behind Asimov’s Productivity
This quote from Asimov gives away his productivity secret:
“Frequently, when I am at work on a science-fiction novel ( the hardest to do of all the different things I write), I find myself heartily sick of it and unable to write another word. But I don’t let that drive me crazy. I don’t stare at blank sheets of paper... Instead, I simply leave the novel and go on to any of the dozen other projects that are on tap. I write an editorial, or an essay, or a short story, or work on one of my nonfiction books."
The majority of Asimov’s work was done in the days before word processors were common. And Asimov had a couple of ways of working on different projects at the same time:
He owned multiple typewriters that sat at different workspaces. Each had a different, on-the-go project with paper loaded so that he simply had to switch workspace and begin typing.
Different drawers filled with notes and writings on a project.
It’s also worth mentioning that Asimov had an insane writing ethic, often writing more than 12 hours a day. And taking typewriters on vacations.
#4 Why This Works To Avoid “Writer’s Block”
Here’s why I think this approach works:
First I think Writer’s Block is a terrible description of what’s going on. I think Steven Pressfield’s definition of it as resistance is more psychologically true. (See The War Of Art for more on this.)
The Ego is responsible for most of the resistance you encounter. And it’s driven by the Ego trying to save you from change.
By swapping projects you actively recruit resistance to your side by outwitting it. It thinks: Yes, if we switch projects….this one won’t get finished. (That is a danger to watch out for using this method.)
Switching projects mid writing session tends to blindside the conscious part of the brain and because you pick up another project - sometimes in mid sentence! - the unconscious part of the brain takes up the slack.
#5 How YOU Can Take The Same Approach
If you write by hand, this is pretty easy. You can have different folders containing different projects and pick between them as needed.
If you write on a computer - which I expect most people do - then it’s pretty straightforward. You can have separate folders for different projects. I have separate Scrivener projects for different pieces of non-fiction writing.
You can also send signals to your brain in other ways too; I used to share a flat with a guy called Nick who had different hats for different projects. I could always tell when he was writing fantasy because he had a bright yellow baseball cap for that.
Note that different writing projects on the go can be different lengths and different kinds of writing.
As an example, here are the projects I have on the go at the moment:
A music instruction book where some of the content is also included in a course I’m developing. (Note: due to the amount of music graphics used, all my music books are written straight into Indesign.)
A 40 to 45K non fiction book. (Note I’m vague about topic and titles…it’s a superstition. If I tell someone what I’m writing and they’re interested, and THEN i tell them more….I’ve used up some of the creative energy needed to bring this project to fruition.)
A 10 to 12K eBook.
Outlining a different 4o to 45K non fiction book. Actual writing won’t start until the 10 to 12K eBook is finished.
This weekly newsletter. I have four drafts of future issues in various states of completion. If I get 20 minutes free…I’ll often pick one of these up and write a section or sub-scection.
Letters. Each week I write one letter that goes out in the physical mail. Long story…but that’s all I got to say about that.
Hero’s Journey analysis of multiple films. I try and complete one of these every two weeks (which includes watching the movie and taking notes as I watch it).
Plus I have fiction ideas I want to work on. And an Equity Ghostwriting Project (more books) could start soon.
So if my brain tells me it doesn’t want to work on a particular project, I’ve got plenty of other writing projects stacked up to work on.
One other thing to note: you can also take this process to writing a single project. My book projects are outlined into multiple sections (the 40 to 45K book currently has around 80). And sometimes I’ll write 150 words to complete one section, start another section with a several hundred words and block out a further section with a ‘five line outline.’
#6 How To Use This Process
My advice on how to work and manage multiple pieces of writing at the same time:
Start out with two or three different pieces of writing.
Make your two or three different pieces be important to you and tied into your goals and targets (and know the difference between goals and targets).
If you’re working on your most important project and finding it a chore…break off and move to the second on the list. When that becomes a chord…move to the third on the list. Then go back to the first.
Obviously if you’ve got a hard deadline - you will need to priorities the pieces that you need to complete to meet that deadline.
I’ve found this method to be a useful tool to stall resistance/writer’ block (whatever you want to call it) and maintain productivity.
Try it for yourself and see how you get on.
The Ride Out
I’ve not posted a red line for a few weeks - see PTWS Issue #17 . That’s because over the last three weeks or so my writing has been split over multiple projects and tallying precise numbers hasn’t been straightforward….this week I’ll try and do better and tally precise numbers of words.
Issue 23
As noted in the body of this Issue, I have three or four Issues in various stages of completeness. I haven’t selected one yet for next week….so no doubt I’ll finish one of these during the week and that will be Issue 23!