"Writer's block doesn't exist... lack of imagination does." - Cyrese Covelli
I have always had a strong aversion to large crowds especially when it comes to public speaking. Not to mention that I am terrible when it comes to sitting still. I find it incredibly difficult to sit there and listen to someone talk for more than five minutes. If my focus doesn't shatter because of my wandering mind, I get bored. I need to keep moving or fidget just to pay attention. Back in middle school, I had a teacher use me as an example. I still remember her words: "Look at Lindsey, you think she's not listening because she's staring out the window, but her grades reflect the opposite. I know she tries and her grades show it. For those of you who are staring blankly at me, I can tell you're not paying attention or simply do not care because your grades tell me so." Embarrassment flooded my cheeks because I was the center of attention for a few short seconds, but I held onto that. My Language Arts teacher did more for me that day than I realized at the time. In her own way, she told me that it is okay to not make eye-contact with someone to learn and retain information. It has become a part of how I learn, how I communicate.
Speech. Text. Television. Advertisements. Looks. Emotions. All communication. Writing, I will dare to say, is among the dominant forms of communication. Every day, how often do you see words and letters? I bet that you cannot turn your head and not see some form of writing. Go on, take a look. I'll tell you what I see, a box of granola bars, my go-to snack food. I see the brand, the flavor, the ingredients, and that's just on the front. I turn my head and I see a television with a Maybelline advertisement playing. Looking to my left, there's my bookcase with titles gracing spines hinting at the many words hidden between covers. So, what about picking up a book? It's the same thing, right? An author is communicating a story through their own words. Words that took hours upon hours upon days and weeks and months and years to be put together in a manner satisfactory enough for the author to hand off to their readers, you. It is hard work. Work that can flow easily onto paper, or become the writer's worst nightmare, writer's block.
Oh, the dreaded block! How horrid are the terrors that emerge from its dark and vile shadow? Dost thy cower to its evil or 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? Uh oh... sorry about that. I just quoted Hamlet by Shakespeare in a lame attempt to sound amazing. At least I'll admit my fault. Whenever I get writer's block, one of a few things happens, including randomly quoting books or movies. Overcoming writer's block is definitely not my forte and I have written about it on here Writing about Writer's Block).
before (See
But that post was about how I confronted writer's block, never what caused it. Sure it happens out of the blue and frustrates all it touches, but seriously, why? Why do we have to deal with this? Why do writers have this problem? Is there a specific cause? I have asked myself this many, many times. Diving into the internet, I straight up googled "causes of writer's block" and I found a couple sites that were surprisingly helpful.
The first site is a blog maintained by the author, publisher, and co-founder of The Hot Sheet, Jane Friedman. On October 22, 2015, she posted an article, 5 Reasons You're Experiencing Writer's Block, and in the article, other than being wonderfully, blunt and brutally honest, she lists good answers to my questions. If I could copy and paste her article into mine, I would. Go check it out, it really is a good read. Yet, the first thing she opens with is this simple line: "We're going to go there, right now, even though it might lead to automatic resistance: Writer's block is a myth." When I read that, I scoffed. Yeah right, do tell. And I continued reading. Friedman goes on explaining how the term came about and about how adults in our world don't like to think. She continues with writers are thinkers and are required to think hard in order to create "works full of meaning, purpose, and nobility." I liked that. Then came the list:
This past year, I have blamed writer's block for my lack of writing. I blamed the stress wafting from others and buried myself in my self-pity. Criticizing myself for my lack of productivity because I involved myself with too much, allowed myself to be swallowed by my emotions and drowned by a sea of self-loathing. Yes, it has been difficult, but was it my environment to blame? Has it really been that I have lost my passion? Or that my expectations were set too high after I published a book, expecting myself to write another within the same timeframe? I put to much pressure on myself and in the end, destroyed what I had wanted to create. I was my own enemy. I failed myself. My techniques for getting out of this funk were foolproof until they weren't. There is still that spark of passion but without fuel, it will only smolder. After reading Friedman's article, I can only agree with her.
I have found that writing has become my favorite form of communication. When I speak, I feel like I am unable to be completely coherent and end up relying on waving my hands in order to make sense. My favorite phrase is "Words are hard!" because they are. Writing is easier. I am able to think about what I say and delete it if it does sound stupid. Backspace, you are my saving grace! However, writing stories, while it may seem like a hobby, has become my way of communicating my thoughts. Not just a plotline, but hardships, challenges, and hopes. A reader may bypass this as mere words on a page, but the hours spent behind those words are what makes me proud of them. As long as my personal writer's block has held me, the more my written words hold value. It took an effort to get them onto paper. It took heart and soul and tears to convert them into something legible. While I may have stumbled a lot lately, those words have never left me. They have merely been hiding, waiting for me to rekindle my passion and light my path.
Speech. Text. Television. Advertisements. Looks. Emotions. All communication. Writing, I will dare to say, is among the dominant forms of communication. Every day, how often do you see words and letters? I bet that you cannot turn your head and not see some form of writing. Go on, take a look. I'll tell you what I see, a box of granola bars, my go-to snack food. I see the brand, the flavor, the ingredients, and that's just on the front. I turn my head and I see a television with a Maybelline advertisement playing. Looking to my left, there's my bookcase with titles gracing spines hinting at the many words hidden between covers. So, what about picking up a book? It's the same thing, right? An author is communicating a story through their own words. Words that took hours upon hours upon days and weeks and months and years to be put together in a manner satisfactory enough for the author to hand off to their readers, you. It is hard work. Work that can flow easily onto paper, or become the writer's worst nightmare, writer's block.
Oh, the dreaded block! How horrid are the terrors that emerge from its dark and vile shadow? Dost thy cower to its evil or 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? Uh oh... sorry about that. I just quoted Hamlet by Shakespeare in a lame attempt to sound amazing. At least I'll admit my fault. Whenever I get writer's block, one of a few things happens, including randomly quoting books or movies. Overcoming writer's block is definitely not my forte and I have written about it on here Writing about Writer's Block).before (See
But that post was about how I confronted writer's block, never what caused it. Sure it happens out of the blue and frustrates all it touches, but seriously, why? Why do we have to deal with this? Why do writers have this problem? Is there a specific cause? I have asked myself this many, many times. Diving into the internet, I straight up googled "causes of writer's block" and I found a couple sites that were surprisingly helpful.
The first site is a blog maintained by the author, publisher, and co-founder of The Hot Sheet, Jane Friedman. On October 22, 2015, she posted an article, 5 Reasons You're Experiencing Writer's Block, and in the article, other than being wonderfully, blunt and brutally honest, she lists good answers to my questions. If I could copy and paste her article into mine, I would. Go check it out, it really is a good read. Yet, the first thing she opens with is this simple line: "We're going to go there, right now, even though it might lead to automatic resistance: Writer's block is a myth." When I read that, I scoffed. Yeah right, do tell. And I continued reading. Friedman goes on explaining how the term came about and about how adults in our world don't like to think. She continues with writers are thinkers and are required to think hard in order to create "works full of meaning, purpose, and nobility." I liked that. Then came the list:
- You've lost your way
- Your passion has waned
- Your expectations are too high
- You are burned out
- You're too distracted
This past year, I have blamed writer's block for my lack of writing. I blamed the stress wafting from others and buried myself in my self-pity. Criticizing myself for my lack of productivity because I involved myself with too much, allowed myself to be swallowed by my emotions and drowned by a sea of self-loathing. Yes, it has been difficult, but was it my environment to blame? Has it really been that I have lost my passion? Or that my expectations were set too high after I published a book, expecting myself to write another within the same timeframe? I put to much pressure on myself and in the end, destroyed what I had wanted to create. I was my own enemy. I failed myself. My techniques for getting out of this funk were foolproof until they weren't. There is still that spark of passion but without fuel, it will only smolder. After reading Friedman's article, I can only agree with her.
I have found that writing has become my favorite form of communication. When I speak, I feel like I am unable to be completely coherent and end up relying on waving my hands in order to make sense. My favorite phrase is "Words are hard!" because they are. Writing is easier. I am able to think about what I say and delete it if it does sound stupid. Backspace, you are my saving grace! However, writing stories, while it may seem like a hobby, has become my way of communicating my thoughts. Not just a plotline, but hardships, challenges, and hopes. A reader may bypass this as mere words on a page, but the hours spent behind those words are what makes me proud of them. As long as my personal writer's block has held me, the more my written words hold value. It took an effort to get them onto paper. It took heart and soul and tears to convert them into something legible. While I may have stumbled a lot lately, those words have never left me. They have merely been hiding, waiting for me to rekindle my passion and light my path.
"Instead of feeling like a failed writer, be patient and kind toward your writing self until the situation changes. The less you fret and put a negative spin on it, the more small pockets of time might open up. And, since you have been wise in keeping your writing brain primed, you may find it easier to write than you imagined." - Jane Friedman
