Every writer eventually encounters writer’s block, so if you haven’t yet encountered it, you will. It’s simply a matter of time. But what exactly is writer’s block, and once encountered, how can it be overcome?
Writer’s Block Defined
Writer’s block is a phenomenon that occurs when writers hit a creativity wall, one that prevents them from writing; and no matter how hard they try, the “afflicted” writers cannot make the words come. In fact, some of them may even be tempted to toss the story, article, or novel they once began with such fervor into the trash bin or else burn it in effigy in the backyard barbecue pit.
The Cause of Writer’s Block
Believe it or not, but writers usually create this wall for themselves. How? By allowing what is a mere stumbling block to turn into an insurmountable obstacle; for example, they find an inconsistency or hole in the plot, decide a storyline is at a dead-end, or conclude a character is not developing as they had hoped. So what do they do? They scratch their heads as they ponder the problem, but when they continually come up empty-handed and don’t experience that “a-ha” moment of illumination and insight, where all the pieces magically fall into place, they decide they cannot write; therefore, they cannot write.
The Cure for Writer’s Block
First, in order to overcome this block, writers need to be completely honest. They need to look at themselves in the bathroom mirror and call themselves a “wimp” for lacking the self-confidence of other writers and for doubting their ability to overcome what amounts to no more than a momentary glitch in productivity. Next, they should go read something by a really bad writer and tell themselves: “Hey, if this junk can get published, then my writing isn’t so bad after all. In fact, compared to this hack, I’m a real wordsmith, right up there at the top of the writing hierarchy with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Then, they need to go sit down and write.
Yes, it’s that simple. In order to overcome writer’s block, writers need to stop doubting their ability to write and write. Yet, if the answer is so simple, then why don’t more writers do it? Why don’t they just write their way through writer’s block? They don’t because they genuinely begin to believe they are incapable of writing anything ever again. And the more they think along these lines, the higher that wall between them and their former fluidity of language and limitless imagination grows until it really does become insurmountable. In fact, it becomes as high as Mount Everest in their view and as impossible to scale. So, the key is not to allow that wall to keep growing. Instead, when writers encounter writer’s block, they should climb over that wall before it gets too high to ascend and simply keep on writing.
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