As an active writer and one who has somewhat of a presence on social media, mostly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I am always interested in what other writers biggest issues may be. Astonishingly enough, aside from coming up with time to actually write, writer’s block is the biggest enemy of many a scribe. I say astonishingly because I personally don’t feel writer’s block actually exists. I feel it’s a crutch or an excuse used by writers who feel the need to justify lazy days. And before you go scrolling down to leave a comment telling me how nuts I am and how dare I say such a blasphemous statement, let me explain.
I write daily or at least try to. There are days when I have so many ideas running through my mind, I can’t get anything to make sense. It’s as if the mind is an expressway: fast-moving, bumper to bumper, and these extra thoughts are trying to merge into the mix. It just isn’t happening. So my thought on writer’s block is actually there are TOO MANY thoughts rather than not enough. Depending on just how full my mind gets determines how long the ‘traffic jam’ lasts. I have been able to free myself of this type of writer’s block within a day and there have also been times where it lasted several days. Luckily, it occurs very rarely.
As far as ridding myself of writer’s block, I simply free write until the thoughts start to make sense again. I just write whatever comes to mind; allowing each and every thought to fill the page. I write for five or ten minutes and then let it sit. After the short brainstorming session, I give myself a few hours to see if any strong ideas come to mind. If there are no immediate results, I free write once again. I continue these short flushes of my thoughts until ideas start to flow freely without forcing anything. I am always pleasantly surprised when I look back at these pages only to find several wonderful thoughts I am able to turn into writing pieces.
So yes, I do believe there is a writer’s block BUT not in the traditional sense most think of it. I consider it more of an overabundance of thoughts rather than a lack of thoughts. However you define it, every writer at some point has certainly experienced it. The next time you find yourself jammed up, try some free writing. You may just find yourself full of ideas.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you remedy it?