Writer's Block

It is ironic that I am writing about “Writers Block”, as I am experiencing the exact phenomena.

Artwork by Lynda Cookson

I have great stories to tell in my mind, stories of where I have been and what I have done in the past weeks, but yet, I am struggling to put these images that play like a movie in my mind and convert them into words.

They say: “A picture is worth a thousand words”, but what they do not say is that those one thousand words for the images, are useless if they are locked away in the cages of the mind.

I sit at my laptop in an excited anticipation of what is to flow out of my fingertips as they glide across the keyboard.... but that is it, I sit and wait. The communication from my brain to the hands is lost or broken and it is a struggle to reconnect.

Artwork by Lynda Cookson

How to cure myself and break the brick wall in my head (I had the following ideas):

1. Just Write – practice makes perfect. “Push yourself to put pen to paper every single day...”
2. Hibernation – put your writing and any thought of your writings aside for a couple of days, try not to think anything of it. Clear your mind and find new inspiration.
3. Free writing – just write, anything and do not think about what it is that you are writing. Free the mind.
4. Brainstorming – takes me back to my school days and studying for subjects I did not enjoy...
5. Make a list of keywords to use in writing about your subject – they do not need to make sense (yet).
6. Engaging with other text – read (actual) books, explore other related articles and blogs online. Engage in text that is not yours.

Writers Block is not just a “condition” for writers alone, creative humans from all walks of life – musicians, entrepreneurs, students, professionals, experience its form in one way or another. The question that begs to be answered is what could be the cause of the so-called “brick wall in your mind”?

Artwork by Lynda Cookson

Is it the fear of putting oneself out there, fear of others judging what you write and produce (we, as the human race can be very cynical) or the fear of self criticism. We are our own worst critics.

Is it perfectionism – we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we strive to write / create the perfect story, paragraph or a mere single sentence and again, fear comes into this equation. We fear the outcome of our perfectionism, we fear what others will think and we constantly question our own work. Don’t get me wrong, questioning your own work is vital in growing the concept, the idea, but it can create scenarios in the mind as to is it just right, is it perfect?

If we, as writers, were to wait for the perfect sentence to be created, I do not think we would write anything at all.

All of this can be very stressful and that in turn adds another brick to the wall.

As I write this piece, I have been simultaneously chipping away at the brick wall in my head and have become enlightened. I see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. I can feel the fresh, crispness of my fingertips meticulously flowing across my keyboard. I am no longer at a loss for words.

This is me...... and this is my story.