Dylan Horrocks and the war on writer’s block

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OJI-kXExfI

Stop being so hard on yourself.

New Zealand graphic novelist Dylan Horrocks says this is the most important step in conquering writer’s block.

Speaking in his presentation and workshop at Wintec’s Spark festival, Horrocks reflected on his own struggles with the blank page, and gave advice on how to push through it.

“Start a new story, just for yourself. It doesn’t matter if you publish it or not, but just get yourself going again,” he says.

The war against the blank page is an issue Horrocks covers in his latest book, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen.

The first two chapters of the book document Horrocks’ own struggles with writer’s block while writing for DC Comics, through the shoes of his “lab rat” character, Sam Zabel.

“If there’s something I’m trying to make sense of in my own life I’ll put him in a comparable situation and see what he does. Sometimes he does the same thing as me, so I just keep pushing it further and making the situation more extreme and using what the outcome will be, and sometimes he’ll do something quite different, and that’ll give me a chance to explore different possibilities. He’s kind of my crash test dummy.”

Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen was released in hardcopy in 2014, and has been progressively published as a serial on Horrocks’ website.

Horrocks says because of the internet, the world of comics has been allowed to grow, and just about anyone anywhere in the world can make a living out of it.

“It’s opened it up to all kinds of creators who would never get their work published, but they can now just publish their work online themselves – and they’re finding audiences, audiences publishers might not even imagine exist,” he says.

For Horrocks, reading comments on each post in the Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen online serial helped him to stay motivated – fighting off that barrier of the blank page.

The book has been published in eight languages, receiving mixed reactions from the different locals, particularly in reference to the exploration of the ethics of pornography and sexual fantasy within the pages.

“I’ve had people who talk about it as a very strong piece of feminism, I’ve had people attack it as sexist, I’ve had people say it’s just a fun adventure story, other people say it’s really sad. Weirdly the nicest thing is when people write and say ‘your book made me cry.’ I don’t know what it is, but something about making strangers cry is really satisfying,” he says.

With Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen out for the world to see, Horrocks has his eyes set on his next project – an autobiographical work. Though he did not mention a name, I can tell you it is a North American male.

Part of the reason he is excited about it is that the story is already there – keeping writers block at bay.

“It’s the first time I’ve done a book that’s a true story, and that has different challenges, but there’s also something quite lovely about having the constraints of the facts. When you’re making up a story you can take it anywhere and sometimes you can suffer option paralysis – there’s so many choices that can paralyse you. It’s quite nice having a story that already exists and I’m trying to find interesting pockets in that story,” he says.

Dylan Horrocks’ top tips to push through writer’s block:

1 – Stop being so hard on yourself.

2 – Day dream.

3 – Carry a note pad with you and write about everyday situations to get the juices flowing.

4 – Look at pictures or images that “electrify you.” It’s all about planting a seed – and that seed requires nourishment.