This isn't so much about my own struggles with the Block as hopefully getting other people past a particular manifestation of the Block.
I do not believe that the reader can tell when the writer is bored. If that were the case, they should also be able to tell when you're excited, crying, laughing, etc., and I for one have gleefully written pieces that have made people cry, and tearfully written things they paid no attention to. I do, however, believe that there are two problems that can masquerade as the reader knowing that the writer is bored.
1) The reader knows when you're not giving it your all. The reader knows when you're phoning it in--when the dialogue isn't sparkling, the description is cliched, and the tension is limp. When you're bored, it's harder to devote your full skill set to a scene. So the reader can't tell that you're bored--but they can tell the effect of your boredom.
2) The reader knows when a scene doesn't belong. The reader knows when there's no conflict, no scene goal, no tension, no plot development, no forward momentum, no character development, no purpose. And scenes with no conflict, goal, or tension are sure to bore the writer just as much as they inevitably bore the reader. So the reader can't tell that you're bored--but they can tell the cause of your boredom.
This is a hypothesis, and I haven't tested it with more than my own works, but I can tell you that if I'm bored, the reader will be--not because I'm bored, but for one of the two reasons above (usually the second if I'm working on Null and the first if I'm working on Devin). With that in mind, though, if you can inject tension into a scene and give it the full benefit of your writerly toolkit--the reader won't know if you're bored or not. And if you can't do either of those two things, the scene probably doesn't belong in the first place. A shift in perspective that I hope will help at least one person get past this type of Block.
"The reader knows when you're bored."
I do not believe that the reader can tell when the writer is bored. If that were the case, they should also be able to tell when you're excited, crying, laughing, etc., and I for one have gleefully written pieces that have made people cry, and tearfully written things they paid no attention to. I do, however, believe that there are two problems that can masquerade as the reader knowing that the writer is bored.
1) The reader knows when you're not giving it your all. The reader knows when you're phoning it in--when the dialogue isn't sparkling, the description is cliched, and the tension is limp. When you're bored, it's harder to devote your full skill set to a scene. So the reader can't tell that you're bored--but they can tell the effect of your boredom.
2) The reader knows when a scene doesn't belong. The reader knows when there's no conflict, no scene goal, no tension, no plot development, no forward momentum, no character development, no purpose. And scenes with no conflict, goal, or tension are sure to bore the writer just as much as they inevitably bore the reader. So the reader can't tell that you're bored--but they can tell the cause of your boredom.
This is a hypothesis, and I haven't tested it with more than my own works, but I can tell you that if I'm bored, the reader will be--not because I'm bored, but for one of the two reasons above (usually the second if I'm working on Null and the first if I'm working on Devin). With that in mind, though, if you can inject tension into a scene and give it the full benefit of your writerly toolkit--the reader won't know if you're bored or not. And if you can't do either of those two things, the scene probably doesn't belong in the first place. A shift in perspective that I hope will help at least one person get past this type of Block.
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