Writer's Block

Writer’s Block, that time in every writer's life when they simply can’t put anything down on paper. The words don’t flow. Inspiration plays hide and seek with your brain. You fear your story will never be written. I understand. Though it may seem like I’m productive and all, I actually procrastinate with writing more than half the time.

The reason I want to talk about this issue early is because it’s one of the toughest hurdles to jump being a writer. To some, ideas cascade like a waterfall in their mind. Their world is as vast and endless as their imagination. The problem: they don’t know how to describe it all on paper. The words don’t come as easily as their ideas. I know a lot about that. I struggled as a writer for the longest time. My ideas were endless, but how I’d write them were a constant problem. Blank pages glared at me for hours. How would I ever start my story?

So what did I do? I read any book I could get my hands on, absorbing its sweet knowlege in my brain. I watched television and movies, paying careful attention to their good and bad points. I observed how others behaved and how their actions affected others. To me, all of this was the key to be a good writer. And it actually worked. Books taught me how to write; the styles I liked and the ones I didn’t. Popular fandoms helped me see what people wanted out of a story, as well as what they didn’t want. People showed me how to make my own characters more organic and less robotic.  

The key to being a good writer is to be a good observer. If you know life works together the story will feel real to the reader. However, this method of learning isn’t always easy. What do you look for? What’s right and what’s not? How do i know if I’m observing the right things? That’s the beauty of writing; there’s no right or wrong way. Writing is a personal art. It adapts to the person writing it. A story is unique to it’s creator. No two stories are alike (that’s plagiarism!).

The most important thing to do when you have writer’s block is to write no matter what. No matter how bad it sounds on paper, any draft is progress; any progress is better than none. So relax. Don’t worry about how it sounds or compares to others. Everyone can improve and everyone can revise and edit. Take your time. Writing is not a marathon.  

ONce you get past writer’s block your work won’t become a chore. It’ll be enjoyable. That’s how it is for me. And that’s how writing is supposed to be.

So smile. You and your story are both unique. Don’t write it for others, for their approval, write for your own. Because self gratification and hard work means more than words can describe.