That feeling you get, when you know you should be working on your book or story, but you keep pushing it off because you feel it in your gut...what awaits you as soon as you sit down in front of that laptop. Writer's block!
Writer's block is a common affliction, and it happens to even the best of writers. I understand this. I tell this to myself all of the time. But when writer's block hits me, the only thing that fills my head is "I'm not meant to be a writer if I can't think of anything to write! I should just quit!"
"Why bother?" is just one of the thoughts that may fill your vulnerable artist mind, a phrase memorised by the words "help me, I cannot concentrate". The first thing to do in the face of writer's block is to acknowledge that it's not the end of the world. In almost every case, it's temporary. However, it's important to keep in mind that the longer you leave your work, or your project, unfinished, the higher the likelihood that the quality of the work could become severely compromised.
While you may have identified and admitted to yourself that you have a writer's block, it is just as likely that the problem lies elsewhere, outside of your immediate workplace. With a little free-association, you might even discover that it's not your first business today.
Rather than let it get in the way of your productivity and creativity, you should make a note of the block and take the steps necessary to get it out of the way.
Here are a few simple tips that you might want to consider when fighting writer's block:
1) Go on a hunt for the source of the block of creativity.
Is it a moment of depression or hiccups or low productivity on a Friday morning? Is it because you're having a bad day or an unpleasant client who needs you to solve the problem? Whatever it is, acknowledge it and get it out of the way.
2) Clean up your environment, your life.
If your desk is cluttered because you've allowed your mind to reach in and eat the dust on purpose, you must clean it again. It's!!!!author taxes.
3) Ask your subconscious mind for help.
If the problem persists and you feel aware that it might be a block of creativity, get down to the core of it. We're advised by some writer gurus to give our subconscious a daily assignment of "the what", "the why", and "the where".
Ask your subconscious how you're feeling, what you mean, and the homeostasis of your situation. Then simply listen to your subconscious answers. If that is a block, then know that your subconscious knows how your vision should be, it knows what your personal unconscious mind bringing to the present is, and it will provide you with solutions.
4) Channel your other creative juices.
If words aren't coming easily, get out your paint brushes, dust off your camera, or put on that flowery kitchen apron you tucked away in the back of the utensil drawer. There are so many ways to let your creativity come out. Find a different way to let it flow out, and just maybe, it will open up the dam that's keeping you from writing.
5) Read, read, read.
There's nothing that inspires a writer more, than reading. Enough said.
Whatever the cause of our writer's block, it must be addressed in order to store the necessary information for solving the problem that blocked our creativity a few days earlier.
Certainly writer's block is a frustrating affliction. On one day you may get an idea and can't get past the first word, the next day not find the information that led you to the first word.
If you put yourself in the space of being in that situation, take a moment to ask "Why?" You may simply need perseverance and respect for the work that's already claimed into your world. But you also need a new question, one that helps you set the priorities that you will need to better maintain a creative journey.
Writer's block is bad, nay horrible! I don't wish it on anyone. I dread every day that it takes over my creativity flow. But, as I relayed earlier, it's not the end of the world. And whatever you do to get rid of it, don't quit writing. Don't give up the dream!
Happy writing, and may your creativity remain!
Comments