Everyday Canvas

My Thoughts on Writer’s Block

I really don’t belief there is such a thing as writer’s block. Maybe it is this disbelief that keeps me going. On the other hand, since so many writers complain about it, psychobabble aside, something like it must exist somewhere.

Still, you might ask if I have ever been blocked. I can’t say I haven’t been blocked at all, and I can’t say I am always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed while I am writing, either. There are times, when I stop finding the work at hand to have come to a total shut-off, which only points to the fact that the shut-off is only for that specific piece. There are times when I am just plain tired and need some physical action. There are also times when either the arthritis in my fingers is acting up or my eyes are getting cloudy. Rather than worsening my aging woes, I stop then.

If I am feeling all right, aging-wise, and the piece I’m slaving over is going nowhere, then I read something, play hangman or mahjong for a few minutes by myself, or go do something else totally different, like housework.

A short while later, not more than a couple of hours, I come back to write in a different area. For example, if the piece that didn’t go anywhere is fiction, I write a non-fiction piece, poetry, a haphazard character sketch to add to a list of characters waiting for their turn to find a role, or just anything. Sometimes, instead of writing for myself, I do a review or two. Also, I love to read. Since I have lots of books in queue waiting for me in my Kindles, this becomes the easiest thing to do, easiest on my gray matter and easiest on my mood.

There are pieces I started that never found their completion, and there are those whose endings I am not happy with, but I leave them alone for some time. If I want to start a new piece, I look at photos and pictures. I guess, I am a visual person to be inspired by images on screen or in print. Not so with music, though.

Unlike some people who can read or write to music, my verbal skills come to a complete halt when some music I love is playing. Music has its own domain in my soul like an emperor and overrules what images do where my writing is concerned. Listening to music usually turns to an almost out-of-body experience, something like meditation with amazement and adoration added to it. In other words, I become a different person and get totally lost in music to do anything else.

To sum up, if I am not accepting that writer’s block exists for me, I am not negating its existence for others either. If writer’s block means the end to inventing something new in writing, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is the end of life or the end to inventing new avenues where creating is concerned. I believe we just need to take what is handed to us and make the best of it, like making lemonade from sour lemons or discovering the brightest black light in our own shadows.


In the hope that it may help those who think they may have been blocked in some way, here is a link about what some famous writers say on overcoming Writer’s Block.

http://flavorwire.com/343207/13-famous-writers-on-overcoming-writers-block

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Prompt:
Everyone has their method of madness to overcome writer's block especially those of you doing NANO, what's your secret?
I hear people talking about morning pages, or writing about the goals for the day. Then I hear other people talk about taking notes ahead of time for their writing. Do you do silly writing games like word clusters or word associations? Do you look at pictures? Listen to specific music. Or do you just force yourself and hope for the best.