Overcoming Writer’s Block: Anne Abel

As part of a midlife career shift, I got an MFA in creative nonfiction and began working as a freelance writer. No matter what assignment an editor gave me, I could do it. Whether it required copious research or endless interviews, I did what was needed to send it in, meeting the word count and deadline. If an editor assigned me a 2000-word story about the tree in my backyard, I’d say, “Sure, when do you want it.” Initially, I would not have any idea what I was going to write about the tree.

But, if it was important enough for an editor to want a story about it, I would sit down and think about it. I would think freely and nonjudgmentally about that tree. I might research its history, its age, its environmental impact on the yard’s vegetation and insects and wildlife. I’d come up with ideas that went nowhere and quickly toss them and move on. By the deadline I would have a 2000-word story about my tree. However, if on my own I had an inkling that I might like to write about that tree, a voice in my head would say immediately, “So what? Who cares? It’s just a tree in your backyard.” My mind would blank. End of a story that never had a chance to be.

Then, in 2014, at the age of 60, even though I hate to travel and I hate to be alone, after I quit my teaching job due to violence in the classroom, I went on a solo trip to Australia to follow Bruce Springsteen’s High Hopes Tour. I suffer with depression, and I was terrified that without the structure and focus of teaching I would fall into the abyss, again.

I didn’t go to change. But change I did. I knew this was a story. After all, I hadn’t even known Bruce Springsteen until a year before the trip. After the trip, whenever I sat down at my desk to write, it was only a matter of minutes before my hands slid off the keyboard and I was ready to curl up under my desk.

Two years later I moved to Chicago and discovered storytelling. I came up with a seven-minute story about my Australia trip. It was much easier to write down highlights of a trip to fill seven minutes than to sit down at a desk and begin the overwhelming task of writing a full-fledged story. Furthermore, after telling my story at open mics and curated shows, people came up to me with positive and encouraging feedback. It was the opposite of the negative voices I heard in my head when I sat down to write longer stories.

I contacted a storytelling coach to help me hone my skills. “If I could wave a magic wand and grant you one wish,” she asked me, “what would it be?” I was stunned that the question was not about my storytelling goals. Without thinking I answered, “To write a book.” “Then that’s what you have to do,” she told me.

I knew she was right.  But I fought myself on it and didn’t do it. My anger morphed into self-loathing. After three months I could no longer tolerate my self degradation over not writing. I work out every day. It’s how I manage my depression. I never question working out. I just do it, knowing I will feel better when I am done. And, I always do. I decided to use this approach to writing.

One morning immediately after working out, when my positive energy was at its peak, I sat down at my desk where I was determined to remain for two hours. I didn’t know where to begin. So, I decided to begin at the beginning, the day I quit my job. I also needed to find a way to keep the negative voices out of my head while I wrote. I could never succeed at blocking them. If I could, I would not be depressed! So, I pictured myself writing for two kind muses, people who always like to hear my stories, my husband and a good friend. I pictured them smiling as I began typing. When I next looked up from my computer more than two hours had passed.

I did this for weeks and months. Anything that popped into my head I wrote. I knew that if I stopped to consider whether it belonged, I would veto everything and have blank pages.

I also found that it was helpful to stop a writing session in the middle of an anecdote or idea. That way when I sat down for my next session, I would not be sputtering trying to figure out what to write next. Once I finished the anecdote from the previous day, my writing energy was warmed up and flowing. I was more open to thinking about the next piece of the story.

Creativity is not some subconscious force. By treating it that way we rob ourselves of the mental acuity to solve the creative problem. There is no getting around the fact that writing is work. It’s easy to forget that the books and articles we read are not first drafts. Like a good ballet, what we see looks easy and beautiful. To become a prima ballerina requires countless hours of training and even then, some good luck. The same is true for writing. Publishing a book requires hours of writing, many drafts and then some luck finding an agent or publisher.

My first memoir, “Mattie, Milo and Me,” was published in April, 2024. I wrote this memoir while I was waiting for an editor to send me her edits on the fourth draft of the Australian story. “Mattie, Milo, and Me” seemed like a more straightforward story than Australia. I decided to focus on “Mattie, Milo, and Me” and try to get it into the world, and then go back to the Australia story.

My first draft about my trip to Australia was one thousand pages. The tenth draft is 380 pages. It will be published by She Writes Press in September, 2025 and is titled “A Sunny Day Bruce Springsteen and Me.”

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Anne Abel is the author of “Mattie, Milo, and Me” (She Writes Press, April 23, 2024). Her story about unwittingly rescuing an aggressive dog, Milo, won a Moth StorySLAM in New York City. She has won two additional Moth StorySLAMs in Chicago. Her credentials include an MFA from The New School for Social Research, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BS in chemical engineering from Tufts University. She has freelanced for Lilith; Philadelphia Daily News; The Jewish Exponent; Philadelphia Weekly, Main Line Life and Main Line Today, and formerly wrote a weekly column, “The Homefront,” for Main Line Welcomat. She also taught English and creative writing at the Community College of Philadelphia. Anne lives in New York City with her husband, Andy, and their three rescue dogs, Ryan, Megan, and Chase. She grew up outside Boston, MA. Find out more about her at anneabelauthor.com.

MATTIE, MILO, AND ME

“A warm memoir about a woman’s connection to—and transformation because of—her dog.”
—Foreword Reviews

Anne grew up in an abusive home, leading to severe depression and a determination to do better as a mother. One of her sons wants a dog from the time he is a baby; Anne very much does not. For years she appeases him with creatures who live in cages and tanks, but on his tenth birthday she can no longer say no—and she proceeds to fall in love with their new four-legged family member, Mattie. Then Mattie dies a sudden and tragic death, and Anne feels herself begin to sink back into depression.

Trying to cope, she immediately adopts Milo—a dog who, unbeknownst to her, has already been returned to the rescue by several families due to his aggressive behavior. But even after she realizes Milo is dangerous, she’s committed to trying to give him a chance at a good life.

Anne’s journey takes the reader from dog school into the deep woods as she perseveres with Milo’s lifelong rehabilitation and her unwavering efforts to be a good mother to her sons. Working with Milo strengthens Anne and expands her ability to love. Ten years later, when Milo dies, Anne faces another choice: close the door to that part of her heart, or risk loving another dog after two tragic losses?

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Category: On Writing