At its core, writing can be a visceral experience. Even though it can be extremely hard at times, the profound sense of intimacy felt from getting words onto paper explains why many of us continued writing into adulthood after beginning as children. There is a freeness in arranging one's thoughts into a story. Your story. Whether it's while sitting in front of a computer, or hand written inside a private journal for your eyes only, or on a post-it note or maybe even a cocktail napkin to blossom into a novel later.
It's a fact that inspiration hits when you least expect it, often during activities completely unrelated to writing. There are days I will have my latest work in progress pulled up in front of me, and I'll stare at it blankly while cursing the very day I first thought writing a book was a good idea. But I've been doing this long enough now that I understand it's a temporary setback. It's a roadblock I can simply drive around. How, you may ask? All I have to do is literally anything else, and the ideas will begin to flow once again.
Writers look at the world differently. And because of that, I believe writer's block doesn't really exist. Oh, I believe a lot of us feel stumped at times. And I know occasionally, finding the right words can be difficult. But I also think we allow that stumped feeling to manifest itself inside our mind. We let the
idea that we cannot come up with an idea or solution to our writing problem expand inside our brain, leaving no room for anything else. In effect, we let that moment in time freeze us in place. We start to question our creativity. Imposter syndrome creeps in. And before we know what happened, that moment turns into an hour, a day, a week, a month, or even longer.
As soon as I recognize the signs, I stop staring at the computer screen and walk away. I know that doing anything else, being anywhere else, could spark a brand new idea for a story or give me the answer I need on how to fix that chapter, paragraph, or just a sentence that has nagged at me since I wrote it a week ago. I leave my house and go to where other people are. I eavesdrop on the conversations of complete strangers. I wonder why the guy sitting in his car eating a burger he bought at a fast-food restaurant drove to a grocery store parking lot to consume his food. Why not go inside the grocery store and buy something better for himself to eat since he's right there? Is he not supposed to be eating the burger and doesn't want to be seen at the fast food place? Is he hiding from his wife or girlfriend... maybe his boyfriend? Or is he a criminal hiding from the police? Or hiding from something or someone more dangerous? Perhaps he's not hiding at all and is making a statement for all of us to see. But what could that be? The possibilities are endless. What's his story? More importantly, can I invent something ominous or fun, or whatever else, for
my story, using his situation? The situation I will make up for him.
The answer is usually yes. Thus allowing me to clear the roadblock that was temporarily preventing my creative flow. I'm sure other writers use a similar method to get past their own obstacles. The real message here is when you find yourself rolling up in front of a creative roadblock, get out of your chair, away from your computer or whatever you use to write, and go do something unrelated to writing. Don't let your mind fill up with all the reasons you think may have stopped the flow of ideas. We as writers too often get in our own way and can't see the clear path beyond the roadblock. It's a simple message—stop thinking about it, drive around it and never give up.
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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊
