WRITER’S BLOCK

For those who are new to this term, writer’s block is a state where the writer loses the ability to produce new work. For some writers, it is a temporary period of time, a fleeting phase where the writer soon recovers from it and is able to proceed with his/her profession. But for others, it can be extremely significant. There are authors who for years haven’t been able to proceed with their project and hence, given up writing itself.

Let’s discuss this term for our new writers and readers visiting our website (who are helping us bring a change), who are starting a new journey with us so that they never suffer from this so as to avoid any hindrance on our journey together.
The main cause of writer’s block is anxiety. Writers have various ways of writing. Thus, a variety of things can cause him/her to experience anxiety, sometimes leading to anxiety.

Another reason for writer’s block could be grief or depression or illness. There are many ways to deal with grief, depression and illness – sharing your feelings with a friend, books, counselors etc, — but if you can’t write because of pain or sorrow, you may need to concentrate your energies on healing yourself before you can start writing. There could be things that stop you from writing that have nothing to do with writing itself like you not having personal motivation to write and all the reasons, solutions, advices and even the best writing exercises won’t be able to help you. Work on yourself first.

The next reason is comparing our success with that of other writers. Not at all authors can write one novel yearly. Sometimes pushing yourself to write more helps as it may increase your productivity but at times, when pushing yourself to get more stuff out makes you just miserable, go with your natural rythm. Know the writer in you better.

Take a break from writing for a while, return to it only if the writer in you says that he/she is ready. Don’t rush to it. Don’t quit writing easily too. Take a paper. Write a word, then a sentence and then a paragraph. See if you can go ahead with it. Else start writing and don’t stop until 20 minutes no matter what crap you are writing. Let it be as bad as it comes out. Don’t bother about writing rules. Finish it. No one will see this until you want them to see. This way you get your idea on paper where you can work on it and finish it and this really helps in restoring your sense of competence as a writer.

Don’t be obssessive about one piece of work. Keep on working on other projects. Have more than one. Getting stuck at one? Move to another. This way you won’t stumble on writer’s block. And also when you start something, commit to finish it. Continue to work it by returning to it again and again, find the problem and work on it. Sometimes, a mere walk to the park, watching TV, reading a book etc helps promote creativity. Find which one is better for you.

Keep talking with yourself. Understand the part of you that creates creativity so that you are in harmony with the writer in you.

And don’t forget to relax. The more you worry, the harder it gets to think clearly and the closer you are to writer’s block.