Ramblings On The Craft : The Myth Of Writer’s Block

DISCLAIMER : I consider myself to be a life-long writer but I am still an aspiring author. What’s the difference? Essentially, to me anyway, it means that while I have devoted a great deal of time to my words and my art, the amount of money I have made as a professional writer to date could maybe be used to purchase a nice steak dinner for two. So while I have a deep and devoted passion for writing, I do not claim in any way to be an expert or authority figure. What you will find in these essays represent my personal thoughts and feelings about various issues related to writing. I think that in any endeavor, it is essential to have the mindset that there is always something to learn, something you don’t know. As soon as you start to think that you are an authority on anything (besides how to eat a hot dog or perhaps, spelling your name) there might be a problem. With that in mind, I am fully cognizant and comfortable with the fact that on any and all of these issues, I could be completely wrong.

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Put another way, I recognize and admit that I could be full of shit.

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Okay. Let’s get into this one, shall we?

I suspect that this is going to be somewhat more of an emotional issue for some of you and I’m sure that there are some who will read the title for this piece and reflexively dismiss me as being a judgmental asshole. So I hope you give me a chance and hear the perspective that I am coming from because I really do intend for this to be more motivational than disparaging. I want this to be a rallying cry, a reminder to us all of our own inherent value and self worth.

.So if you go no further in this piece, at least read the next sentence before you go on your way because it lies at the crux of everything that I am trying to say.

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The crime of believing in the existence of writer’s block is in the perpetuation of the self-dismissive notion that your art is somehow gifted to you by some external benefactor.

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That’s it. That’s really at the heart of this issue and where my statement is coming from. You deserve more credit than that. You aren’t just some mindless vessel which these ideas and words are funneled through.

So repeat after me.

I am NOT the doorway.

I am the mother-fucking key.

So in an effort to make somewhat of a distinction, I am not trying to suggest that you are any less of a writer if the words aren’t flowing out of you like so many brilliant flakes of gold. There are going to be plenty of days when it just isn’t working for you. There are going to be mornings or afternoons when the coffee just doesn’t feel like it’s helping and all you want to do is lie down and do anything but write. The reason why you are feeling all of these things is not because of writer’s block.

It’s because writing is hard.

And that probably sounds flippant and there may be some rolling their eyes, screaming out that we’re all talking about the same thing and I’m just drawing arbitrary lines and distinctions. So I will do my best to try and demonstrate where I’m coming from. Writing, or if I could be more specific, being a working writer is not for the faint of heart. It doesn’t work if you don’t have an incredible amount of tenacity and drive and stubbornness. It is a soul-sucking, confidence-killing endeavor that not everyone is emotionally equipped to handle. The difference is in having the ability to sit down and do it, even though it’s the last thing you want to do. Even if you know in your heart that every word you write is like dripping dog shit onto a stale, moldy cracker.

Here are some statements you will likely never hear from people in other lines of work.

“Man, really having trouble with my barista-block today. Can you come back in an hour for that whipped non-fat mocha?”

“Sorry, we won’t get your roof finished today after all. I’m having some carpenter’s block right now.”

“Oh, your lunch? Sorry, I’m having some serious cooking block, it’s going to take me a while.”

My point is that while it’s okay to feel the drag and the emotional weight of your endeavor, it isn’t okay to let that bring you to a complete halt creatively. I truly believe that we are blessed as writers to have the ability to do what we do. Not everyone can, it’s a rare talent. Anyone can start a book but to have the drive to take that project all the way to its conclusion is a gift which we must respect and nurture. If you want to just say “I’m having writer’s block today” as a way of expressing that the writing is harder than it was yesterday, I think that’s fine. It’s okay to feel like you are losing momentum or to be unsure of what you need to be writing next. Hell, I had it myself with this article. But if you’re calling out “writer’s block” as if it was a shield, or as an excuse to not write, I’m not so okay with that. Being completely honest, I feel like it is taking something that is emotional and imaginary and using it as an excuse to stop trying. I think it is defeatist and ultimately, we should be better than that. You prove yourself in those moments. Is the writing harder than usual today? The words just don’t seem to want to come out? As far as I’m concerned, that’s the most important time to make sure you are sitting down and doing it.

I have hinted at this issue in previous essays, but I believe that a big part of being a working writer is having the ability to see this as work. It’s just something you have to do. It’s totally fine to be passionate about your work, in fact I think it’s better that way. But I also believe that there are some who are just too precious about their process. If we focus too much on the external things, we run the risk of making them required for our mental well-being. Don’t get too caught up if you can’t surround yourself in your perfect recliner with your perfect pen and the perfect notebook with the perfect music playing while you look out over the perfect view from your perfect window. Having those things can be great and I have music I like to listen to while I work. But sometimes it’s also about writing out a few paragraphs on your phone while you’re sitting on the toilet. If you can mentally accept the fact that writing can, and should happen anywhere, at any time, you can start to chip away at the notion that somehow there is some external emotional event which has the ability to restrain you from your work.

Some writers have the notion that you shouldn’t be trying to force your writing. You should do it at times when it feels right and everything is working for you. What I am trying to say is that the act of writing itself is the most important thing. The more often you can consistently put yourself down at the keyboard and perform that act, you should find that the occurrences of writer’s block become fewer and far between. And remember, I don’t think there is any need to stress yourself out over a word count. No need to commit Seppuku if you can’t make it to two thousand words. The point is to write. If on one day, that happens to only be a few paragraphs, that’s okay. The important thing is to flex that creative muscle and engage your brain in your work.

And of course, if it helps you, take a day off or a week or whatever off from your project and write something else. I know how we can burn out and our brain wants to play with different toys. Write a poem. Edit something. Start an outline for a new project. Just do something. 

There’s a specific mental light switch that I found helpful, which is that you don’t have to put the pressure or the expectation on yourself that every word you write has to be perfect. There are going to be days when everything you write feels like (and probably is) total shit. The advantage of being a writer is that you can come back to that work with your editing pen and make it better. You can fix it. My point is that if you relieve yourself of that expectation of being perfect, the writing doesn’t feel as much like it’s being forced. You just sit down and say to yourself, well, this is what I’ve got today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

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