“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly, and that is why it is so hard.”
– David McCullough
During the last two months of 2022, I have faced significant struggle when it came to writing new articles for this blog. The issue remains to this day as I write those lines. I guess this is what certain people would call the writer’s block: despite a significant amount of ideas flowing through your mind, you find yourself incapable of connecting the thoughts and producing something tangible. On other days, the issue is the lack of ideas that represent an opportunity worth exploring. Maybe a person’s mind is not in the right state in order to create something worth sharing with other people.
When it comes to art of any form, may it be writing, music, painting, or even sports, everybody goes through a dry path from time to time. These periods may last for a day, a week, a month, up to a year and sometimes even beyond. Eventually, they will subside, and something else will take its place. However, the challenge is to find the willingness and ability to push through those hard times, especially when doubt invites itself into our thought process.
Writer’s block can be caused by a person’s history in writing, such as rules and restrictions from the past. You can feel hesitant about what you write based on how others perceive it in such a situation. Some other causes of writer’s block have been due to writer’s anxiety. It could be a combination of external factors making it difficult to think clearly, such as work, personal issues, overthinking and so on.
“For as long as I try, there is always that chance of getting up.”
– Nick Vujicic
There is no easy way to get past the writer’s block, or any form of block. It can feel paralysing for some, demoralising for others, or just a small bump that is enough to leave significant damage in your car. As I force myself to get some writing, I intend to go back to the basics. To go back to the way I used to write my articles when I initially launched my blog: keeping them concise, going straight to the point, without any excessive research done. Sometimes, the best thing to do would be to go back to your roots in order to rediscover yourself and your style of writing all over again.
Another approach would be similar to a football coach when their tactic is not working. In such scenarios, it would be best to try a different game plan by changing tactics and developing a new perspective to the environment around you. The same can be applied for writing whether it is about genre, structure or just the general style used.
There are surely other ways to overcome such barriers in the things that we enjoy doing.
However, one thing is certain: persistence is the key factor.
If an attempt does not work, maybe one should try something else in order to make it work.
Change The Lens 