The Twisties and Writing by Debra H. Goldstein
As I am writing this, the Olympics are going on. In the past, I have been glued to my television to watch the various events, but not this year. Instead, I’ve been following the Olympics through internet news stories. Consequently, I’ve known who won before the events were televised. More importantly, I’ve had a chance to follow the different personal stories that the media has highlighted.
Obviously, the biggest story for Americans has been that of Simone Biles and the twisties. When it was announced she was pulling out of the all-around competition, I respected her for protecting her mental and physical health rather than trying to do something that could have resulted in serious injury (to this day, I remember Kerri Strug going for the gold but needing to be carried to the podium).
At
first, though, like many, I questioned how severe the reason for her pulling
out was, but as I came to understand the definition of the twisties – an
inability for the mind and body to be synchronized; a loss of the sense of
space and dimension in mid-air; the inability to tell up from down – I realized
the profound sense of horror the twisties must mentally produce at the moment
it hits. Reading more, I learned that gymnasts must relax and go back to basics
until their mind and body once again become one.
In
our way, writers often have a version of the twisties. Some call it writer’s
block; some call it fear of writing something as good as a past story or book;
some call it the inability to find words that meet the mental concept one has
for a work. For some, the problem occurs at the beginning of a book, for others
in the middle, and occasionally at the end. There are writers who only write
one book because they never overcome their mental block. There are other
would-be writers who never complete their first book for many reasons or
excuses. In each instance, the writer is suffering from his or her own version
of the twisties. The solution is often like that of the gymnast – relax, go
back to basics, and then revise to fill in whatever is missing.
The
solution is easier to summarize than to put into effect. What do you as a
writer do when you have your version of the twisties? Readers, do you ever have
a similar experience and how, if you are able, do you overcome your twisties?
