Janice Olson

For writers and artists, creativity is a seesaw. On one side is Empathy. We dig into the well of our real and imagined experiences, reshape them, and offer the bits of truth to our audiences. When we say something honest in words and pictures, readers know we are not just sympathetic (feeling for them) but empathetic (feeling with them). We introduce complex characters and fantastic places but make readers think they’ve known them all along.

The other side of the seesaw, the tricky one, is Objectivity. Our thoughts, dreams, and histories are so powerful they naturally show themselves in our work. This is exciting and deeply personal for writers and artists—until critique. Critique? How can we judge another person’s view of the world? How can we let others judge ours?

The truth is that picture books and young adult novels aren’t like sketchbooks and journals. They aren’t made for one person. To ensure that our paintings and paragraphs are carrying the empathy we intend in an understandable way, we must pull ourselves away from our work when the time comes. Objectivity is craftsmanship. If we refuse to hear or consider criticism, we may produce something worse than a bad book: a forgettable one.

Last week, I read my high school journal for research on a short story. I had tried to read it five years after graduation, but at the time, I was still too empathetic with the author. I had gotten over the tumultuous relationships (drama is a good 75% of high school), sure, but then I was too embarrassed to read about myself as a silly, immature teenager. Now, though, I was ready. I was ready to read about someone else’s life. Someone who was not a silly teenager, but a real, passionate, scared 17-year-old girl. A college-bound girl who had never ridden in a taxi.

She is naïve but equally brave. She exists on paper in this permanent state for me to examine objectively but also to understand empathetically.

Time made the difference. It gave me the distance I needed to evaluate something personal with respect and clarity. You don’t have five years to let your work simmer, but walking away from a piece for several weeks or months may not be a bad idea. You can fast-track this process by allowing trained eyes to evaluate your work. Straightforward, thorough critiques give you snapshots of how others, completely removed from your life experience, see your work. If you find yourself fuming over critiques—especially if similar comments surface again and again—you know Empathy is weighing down one side of your seesaw. Distance yourself, and give Objectivity a chance to balance your work into a smooth, rhythmic flow.

Printed by permission. My special thanks to Liza Maakestad for allowing me to reprint her article on my Website. Look for her interview later this month.

Can't think of anything to write. Can't seem to get motivated? It's writer's block you say?

Something I have found to get me past the ill-fated nemesis -- writer's block -- is to do free-form writing. What I mean by free-form writing is to sit down at my computer and begin writing whatever comes into my mind. It's an easy, painless method of working through the block that has destroyed many good writers and potential stories.

Begin by setting a timer to insure a full ten-minutes of writing. Then write. And don't stop writing until you hear the bell on your timer.

When you begin writing, what you write may not make sense or even be well crafted, coherent sentences. But that isn't important. Continue to do free-form writing regardless if your thoughts make sense or not.

The only rules are: Don't erase. Don't spell check. Don't backup to correct a word. Don't stop to think or analyze what you have written. Just write full-bore until the ten minutes is up. By the end of the 10-minute period, you just may find your are motivated to keep writing. A new spark of an idea has finally hit home or a new concept will pop into your mind. Writer's block is gone.

So the next time you're mind seems to be a blank slate, try free-form writing. It could be the means to end your writer's block.

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