A JavaScript, CSS, XHTML web log focusing on usability and accessibility by Dustin Diaz
It’s nearing 1pm on a nice day in Sunnyvale and I have all the time in the world to write. One problem though… I have writers block. I’m listening to techno, I’m home alone, the heaters on, and I’ve already downed a corona. Is my situation too good? Nothing is working. Can anyone help a brutha out?
"As a web developer, you'll already know that JavaScript™ is a powerful language, allowing you to add an impressive array of dynamic functionality to otherwise static web sites. But there is more power waiting to be unlocked--JavaScript is capable of full object-oriented capabilities, and by applying OOP principles, best practices, and design patterns to your code, you can make it more powerful, more efficient, and easier to work with alone or as part of a team."
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January 16th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Oh for the days of freedom before children. I love my kids, no doubt. I’m even adopting another.
But there are times when you think, “man, back in the day when I was a single and childless, life was simple!
January 16th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I have the same problem. I have been working on a webapp for a while now, and I’ve been insanely obsessed with getting it done, and finally my wife says for the next month and a half I can devote all of my spare time to it, and she’ll pick up the slack.
Wouldnt you know it, that’s the moment I start brain-farting on where to go next with it.
Perhaps you’re trying too hard to write, rather than it being something that comes from deep down.
Maybe take a break and dont try to write, try to do something else you havent done in a while. Could start generating some ideas :)
January 16th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Blast you Jim A! Your feed reader must be updating faster than mine. You’re always posting ahead of me!
:)
January 16th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Hah! I am my own feed reader. Dustin is on my Fx bookmarks toolbar where the sites I really want to stay up to date with are located. I make it a habbit to click through those once every 30 minutes to an hour if possible. When at work, it’s easy because I have a mostly desk job. At home I do it as I walk past the desk enroute from one (child rearing related) task to another.
January 16th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Tips guys, tips. I’m looking for practical stuff here. I’m farting my brain out! lol.
January 16th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
This always sounded interesting to me
January 16th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
I think you have 2 options:
1) Sit down and write, write about anything, write about writers block, write about the weather, re-write an old article that you think you can improve, find the little note with the idea you had last week that you’ve wrote down, get over the block with brute force.
2) Go out, today is not your day, visit a friend, go hiking. This can be a slippery slope, so beware.
Just my 2¢.
January 16th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Not sure if this would work for writing… but whenever I would get stuck with a tech problem when I used to work from home, I would go take a shower. (which usually hadn’t yet happened that day) 9 times out of 10 I would solve the problem in my head or have some new idea halfway thru!
The main idea is to step away and see if your brain comes up with something on its own.
January 16th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I’d hate to admit this, but I’d already taken two showers today. So needless to say, I’ve already taken my own advice on this - twice.
I’ve done everything I know about writers block, and it still haunts me. Why oh why won’t this escape me. Not even del.icio.us/producitivy can help me out.
January 16th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
You can never go wrong with another beat-box podcast! :)
January 16th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
When everything is going on too smoothly your creativity dies. You need to move yourself out of the “comfort zone”! :)
January 16th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
I’d offer more help, but what is it you’re writing?
January 17th, 2006 at 7:11 am
It’s times like those when I end up writing about something bizarre like grocery store sushi. Wouldn’t you know that’s one of my highest searched posts. This is the main reason why I don’t have a “Popular Around Here” linkbar, but maybe you should pick something random and just go with it…or to second Nathan Smith’s suggestion, another beat-box podcast would be great! Aren’t we so helpful?
January 17th, 2006 at 10:14 am
Uh…your heater’s on…
…in California?
January 17th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Yeah, what the heck Dustin, I thought the entire state of California was on the beach and in the sun!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:18 am
Justin, you know as well as I do, California is not a beach ;)
So how’s texas eh? You own a gun yet?
January 18th, 2006 at 9:01 am
I think Zeldman stole your writing mojo on Monday. If you haven’t read it yet, Web 3.0 is one hell of an inspiration piece.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:43 am
aaahhhhh…Corona w/ lime…..yum. :)
just stopping in to say “hello, I’m still alive!” your site is seriously rockin’ here Diaz dude. *thumbs up* And btw, when is Yahoo going to get working on Yahoo IM w/ Voice for Mac? huh? huh?
January 18th, 2006 at 10:28 am
shawna, you know they have messenger for mac… i just don’t know if it has it with voice yet.
jason, did you see comment #5 on the discussion for that article?
January 18th, 2006 at 10:52 am
Dustin, of course I got a gun rack. If you don’t have one when you cross the border into the nation of Texas, you get one for free. I had a tough time installing it in my Golf though (nothing a little duct tape can’t fix).
January 18th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Comment #5?!? When it comes to keeping up with news, I’m like Eeyore. I check my RSS reader once or twice a day and if I do ever comment on something it’s usually at least a day late…if not a dollar short. :)
January 18th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
If you still suffer from writer’s block, you could do what my 9 year old, Gabriel, did in school. He was told to write a short story and he accomplished this by combining bits of LOTR, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and a comic called Bone. I then had to explain to him what plagerism is.
But my 5 year old, Christian, one upped him when he came up with a title for Gabe’s story. He said, “What are you gonna call it, Gabe, Harry Rings!?”
For some reason, I found that terribly funny.
January 18th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
I have Messenger for Mac, but no Voice… :(
I missed all the U2 live bootleg concert broadcasts this tour. *sobs*
I should stop by here more, and read up. I do miss my dev buds! I posted in my birthday thread @ CWM though.
Pearl Jam goes on tour next, so you may not see my text again until…. oh…December! :P
January 19th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Wow, you really do have writer’s block, don’t you? Your posting frequency is *almost* as bad as mine. ;)
January 19th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Working on a few big one’s… just wanna make sure I get them right :)
January 21st, 2006 at 11:03 am
Find inspiration
April 6th, 2006 at 6:19 am
It’s been two months since you said you have writers-block. Has your mind opened up to new ideas yet?
(I was going to make a lame joke about the constipated mathemitician who worked out with a pencil - but thought better of it. )
So here is food for thought:
Take a ride on public transport. With pencil and paper (my preferred method!) take note of all the interesting conversations. Relate that conversation, that moment in time, to some part of your life. Or just write their story with plenty of exaggeration!
April 6th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Indeed Stephanie. Since then, my mind has been freed. I’ve written quite a few articles since them, not to mention coming up with the idea of Naked Day. That was a great day :D
April 12th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Stephanie?
Egad - do I sound like a girl?
[Author adopts deep baritone voice]
Maybe my pseudonym confused you.
It is Stephen (…Lives here).