Libido, Narcissism And NaNoWriMo

Zo, tell me... how long hef you been feelink like zis?²

It’s NaNoWriMo this month – that’s the National Novel Writing Month – which means there’s a load of people trying to write a complete book in 30 days. I’m not taking part myself, but some of my online friends are. And some of them are struggling to find inspiration and determination.

If you search for motivation and creative ideas on the web, you’ll find an enormous number of blogs and other sites with practical ideas of how to beat writer’s block. Very few talk about why it happens, though. Since my lady happens to be a clinical psychologist, I thought I’d ask her.

It has to do with libido¹.

Freud is, as one would expect, the source of the original studies of libido. To summarise his work is an enormous task, but at its simplest (as I understand it) libido is the fuel that drives our motor: it’s the energy we use to do things that interest us. Most of the time, that energy is directed to the exterior – to things like writing, meeting people, working, playing, creating and so on.

Sometimes, though, the libido changes focus and is directed to the interior instead. This is the narcissism that Freud talks about: our energy turns inwards and makes us want to do less productive things. We want to sit back and relax, be looked after, to huddle inside our little psychological cocoon and hide from all the stresses of life.

In its simplest form, this is a good thing. It’s an alarm signal that we’re not looking after ourselves enough, that we’re pushing all our energy out into the world when we need to keep some. A good example of healthy narcissism is when we’re ill and want to snuggle under the duvet and eat comfort food (preferably prepared by someone else), or when we kick back and relax with a good book, a movie or the company of friends. A bit of me-time and we’re refuelled, raring to go again.

Of course, if the libido remains internally focussed for too long, it can be dangerous – this is the source of many psychoses, as in the example of Freud’s analysis of Dr. Schreber. Megalomania, paranoia, schizophrenia and other such problems can arise in severe cases.

Writer’s block is one form of the libido either moving to a different target or turning inwards. The energy needed for new ideas, to be wildly creative and invent stories has burnt out and we need to recuperate a little.

Unfortunately, the libido is not like a pet dog: we can’t just order it to do what we want. A large part of it is subconscious and, although it’s possible to grit our teeth and force ourselves to do something – thus redirecting the libido somewhat – it has a habit of going wherever it wants.

To continue the analogy, it’s like a pet cat. We can encourage it in a certain direction, but if it really doesn’t feel like going that way, it’ll just ignore us, find a comfy spot, sit down and lick its rear end.

So what’s the message for the NaNoWriMo writers (and anyone else suffering from writer’s block)?

It’s this: if you’re finding it tough going, it’s worth pushing yourself to see if that works. If it doesn’t, you may need to take a little time to redirect your libido somewhere else, before enticing it back to the book you’re writing.

Watch a movie, talk to friends, listen to music or go for a walk along the beach – any of these things can refuel the energy stores. But don’t leave it to its own devices for too long, or the libido will find a new target on its own and you’ll still be stuck.

Prod it back in the right direction. We can’t have it licking its nether regions, after all. It’s just not hygienic.

¹ Depending on whether you side with Freud or Jung, libido isn’t – or is – entirely sexual. Me? I don’t know doodly about it.

² I doubt Freud actually spoke like this – it’s just one of those stupid jokes we all do.