And Other Writing Obstacles
We often throw around the term “writer’s block’. It’s a terrific catch-all phrase for why we’re not writing (when we think we should be writing). I’ve argued before that there’s no such thing as writer’s block—my friend once asked if there’s such a thing as “ditch-digger’s block”. “No! Ditch diggers just get down to it and do their job!” He’s not wrong; we often use the phrase as an excuse to all our writing woes.
But he’s also not right: writer’s block does exist—but it’s not a creative obstacle. Instead, it’s a message to our creative mind that we’re not on the right track. To get past it, we need to listen to what our creative mind is trying to tell us.
Consider writer’s block like it’s a symptom; it’s the same feeling, but diagnosing the ailment can lead to different treatments. For example, if we’re staring at a blank screen and don’t know what to write, we need to step back and consider our purpose. If we know what we want to write and don’t know how, then we need to brainstorm our meaning before we put pen to paper. If we don’t want to write what we think we should, we can stop and ask why we think we should.
Digging deeper (ahem, like our ditch digger) is the way out of writer’s block. Find the underlying cause and you’ll cure the frustrating symptom.
Or, you can go and get yourself another cup of coffee. 🙂