Writer’s block. Talk about the number one time waster when it comes to studying and completing assignments in college. And let’s face it here, it’s not just the WRITER block, it’s really the PROJECT CREATOR block. Whether we’re writing a document, creating a PowerPoint presentation, a short video production, a website, or at any point in an important project in an English course, we eventually hit the brick wall of saying “what? do now?”
Well, if you are participating in some kind of English class, be it literature, critical theory…etc. there’s a good chance you’ll run out of creative juices at some point. The problem is that sometimes it can take ALWAYS to get back to normal, when really you just want to do the project fast. So here’s a quick set of steps you can take to get creative ideas flowing again.
Consider the Big Picture
Just ask yourself the following question about the topic (literary analysis) you plan to write about.
What are the main themes or big ideas that are represented in the texts that interest me?
Simple, right? If you’ve narrowed down the focus of your article well enough, hopefully you won’t have more than three of these. And those three should honestly bridge the gap to an even bigger singular idea. Anyway, he takes those ideas or that idea and takes the next simple step.
Symbol identification
English classes, and especially literature courses, largely represent philosophy and worldviews (culture) through metaphor. This means that you can be very creative in your interpretation of a text. And you really can’t be wrong, as long as you make a convincing argument for it. But here’s the key to overcoming that writer’s block…
Symbols are a KEY metaphorical tool of authors!
So, just choose some symbol, be it a character, a description, an element… etc. – that helps to explain the attitude of the text or texts towards that big idea. Now you can get into crafting a particular symbol and great idea within your writing. At this point, find some quotes around that symbol that help support his position, and you’ve just put another 250+ words into your article. Also, add your own elaborations after each quote to explain how the quotes prove your point.
Not only is this a great way to add more descriptions and elements to your document, but this same process can be used as a way to create your thesis statement:
– Just look for the great ideas,
-Find a symbol (or a few) that make a statement about that big idea,
-Then argue that the symbol represents your author’s point of view about the big idea.
-Or maybe the author is satirizing that point of view. Use your own discretion here.