Bottom Line of Writer's Block + Why You'll Be Excited

Writer's block can last a day, two days, a week, a month - LONGER (!!)  During that time, our scale of panic goes from mildly peeved to "am i even a writer anymore??"  There are even countless - COUNTLESS - articles out there to get you through/over writer's block.

I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THE OPPOSITE

Sources say, writer's block is a bad thing!  Writer's block needs to be conquered!  Writer's block is annoying!  Writer's block is the bane of any deadline you ever had + all your hopes of productivity!

Sources say, a good writer will write something every day, even if it's just one line, or something pathetically minuscule like that.  WRITE EVERY DAY.  THIS KEEPS YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLO -

NO.  Just stop.  The only thing about these last few lines that is remotely true is that writer's block is pretty annoying.  We all treasure an edenic image that we can write like the wind without check, our "creative juices" magically pouring out like the Tigris and the Euphrates, and creating a gorgeous, lush plot for our readers.

WHO ARE WE KIDDING, HERE

First of all, NO.  |  That idea that a really good writer will writing SOMETHING every single day?  Some people can actually pull that off.  That's fine.  But for those of us who have strained and struggled and tried it and basically pooped dry, pebbly words onto a toilet-paper document, how comforting is the thought that, "Well, at least I wrote SOMETHING today"?  IT DOES NOT COMFORT ME.  I know that, tomorrow, I'm going to have to flush those terrible lines down the drain and start all over.  So what was the point of writing that crap in the first place?

Second of all, NO.  |  Writer's block is not the devil!  It's our fault for believing that we are capable of churning out brilliant ideas ALL. THE.  TIME.  It simply is not possible.  It is a ridiculous standard to set and it will only cause us grief.  If you tell me you have not felt at least a twinge of guilt when a week has gone by without any progress shown on your story, YOU ARE VERY MUCH LYING.

THIS IS ACTUALLY YOUR BRAIN, BEING HEALTHY

Your brain can't keep up with this impossible standard of 24/7 productivity.  While there are many times when you have to buckle down + push, there are also times when your brain is just wiped out and needs to rest, and come up with the next leg of your plot.  Plots are not Athena: they do not spring fully-formed out of your head - and, even if they did, you would have a massive splitting headache, okay?  OKAY.

I am a very intuitive, subconscious thinker/planner.  A lot of my plotting goes on at a level that I am not even aware of.  And when I am in "writer's block," maybe my brain is actually stopping at the crossroads to check its map and determine where to go next?  Maybe it's taking a nap, maybe it's figuring out where to go next, maybe it's even taking a breather and dwelling on some completely-other subject so that I don't burn it out on one topic at a rubber-searing speed.

WRITER'S BLOCK IS A NORMAL PART OF LIFE

True beans.  My advice is to stop belly-aching over "a day of small things" and wait patiently until the next crop of ideas has ripened.  If you try picking the fruit too early, it's going to be tiny, sour, and useless.  Remember that some harvests will take longer to come than others.  Some plots develop faster than others.  Some minds work slower, have more things to deal with, and just basically need to tend to other things as well.  There is //absolutely no guilt// in that.  So just caaaaaalm down, everybody.  Be diligent, but also be reasonable.

you've got this!
image via pinterest :D