Writer’s Block

As I start to write this piece, on February 4 2023, appears I am experiencing a clear battle with writer’s block. I have been struggling to focus on writing books in recent months. The problem is not a lack of ideas. It may be a surfeit of ideas, combined with indecision about which of them to concentrate on. Running (or dawdling) alongside this there is a lack of confidence in my writing, driven by the reality that relatively few of my ideas for books have been completed, and published. Once one of my books is published, anxiety leads to an inability to successfully promote it, which in turn leaves me with few reviews, and limited sales. I also struggle with depression, and wonder whether this might be part of the cause of writer’s block, for myself and other people?  

I suppose attempting to write about writer’s block is illogical, but here is an attempt to convey the feeling. Day after day, I feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing anything that flows, or makes sense to anybody else – or even makes sense to myself as something I can potentially complete, and successfully publish. On most days, I do not even attempt to write anything until late evening, by which time I lack the time and energy to get much done. Enjoyment at visiting bookshops is offset by a feeling of inadequacy. How did thousands of authors, whose books fill the shelves surrounding me, complete the writing of works that publishers and readers agree are worth buying? How did they arrive at ideas far more obviously interesting, and worthwhile, than mine?

Sometimes I wonder whether it is time to give up writing, or at least abandon the writing of full-length books, aimed at commercial success. Should I just settle for putting together short Blog posts, or just put book and record reviews on Amazon? Does my daily sharing of thoughts on Twitter, to an audience of nearly 32,000 followers, count as a form of writing? Perhaps I can take a step back, and just think of writing as a hobby, rather than a potential career alongside my day job. Will this reduce the pressure, and bring relaxation? On the other hand, after 37 years as a writer, should I just plough on, seeking to rekindle the occasional success of the past? Is this a positive approach, rather than just feeling I am accepting the effort has ended on a note of failure? Well, after a bit of work on three successive days, think I should conclude this piece has gone as far as it is worth taking it.  

Darkness on the Edge of Town

An attempt to convey the brilliance of a masterpiece in just 500 words!

The start of a planned series of #Miniatures.

Inspiration arrives from a variety of sources. One of my heroes is Bruce Springsteen, many of whose lyrics take the form of extended narrative. Darkness on the Edge of Town was the first of Bruce’s LPs I bought, a couple of years after its 1978 release. More than forty years later, this remains my favourite album. The evocative lyrics bring a direct sense of the characters Bruce writes about, portraying lives in which struggle is combined with optimism. Extensive cross-referencing of key words across the 10 songs gives the album a great unity. This is reinforced by the instrumental backing, which sounds similar throughout the record.

The LP opens with “Badlands”, a song destined to become one of Bruce’s concert anthems, with the enigmatic suggestion that “it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive”.  The first side closes with “Racing in the Street”, as Bruce hops into a 69 Chevy with a 396, to ride with his partner Sonny, and then an un-named girl. The instrumental passage at the end of the song is a moment of warmth – which has been powerfully extended in live performances. The second half opens with “The Promised Land”, a stirring tale of optimism and dignity, which echoes “Badlands”. The record closes with “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, the title track and defining moment, the tale of a man who seems to be fighting a losing battle in his life, but resolves to keep searching for something.

The album was re-packaged in 2010, as The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, a stunning set, in which three CDs plus three DVDs are housed within an extensive book – itself placed within a box. Bruce’s 43 minute masterpiece has been expanded into discs that stretch to eight and a half hours of music and film. Bruce delved into the archives, to unveil a mass of material, providing fascinating insights into his creative process. Preparation included Bruce re-recording parts of the material, where he was not satisfied with original takes from the 1970s. The Promise set featured the first release of a studio recording by Bruce of “Because the Night”, a song passed to Patti Smith, who re-wrote the lyrics, and had a hit single in 1978.

Bruce omitted “The Promise”, an amazing track, from the original Darkness record, as he thought it was too personal. There were suggestions the song echoed Bruce’s legal struggle with Mike Appel, his former manager. “The Promise” can be seen as a wider rumination upon the way in which Bruce’s innocent pursuit of rock’n’roll stardom was betrayed, with the hype surrounding his 1975 Born to Run album, and the painful break from Appel. Sometimes an artist’s motivations are sub-conscious, and the words “all my life, I fought this fight, the fight that no man can ever win” may reflect Bruce battling with his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.