What can you do when you’ve been beaten by the Block?
Opinions on writer’s block vary wildly. There are those who say it’s all in the mind and not really a thing, and those who confess to being afflicted with it on a regular basis. There are all sorts of tricks and ideas for getting over it and getting back into the groove of writing. But most of the time when we talk about writer’s block, we tend to talk about it as though it is a passing illness – a minor winter cold or similar.
What, though, if your case of writer’s block seems to be more serious than that? What if you’re completely blocked for a significant period of time and are just completely unable to make any progress at all, on anything? What if you’ll happily spend hours debating with yourself whether it should be “writer’s block” or “writers’ block”, just to put off the inevitable moment when you sit down to write and still don’t manage to do anything?
Look at the rest of your life
A bit reflective this, but it can sometimes be worth having a look at the rest of your life to see if there’s anything that might be stopping you from getting on with your writing. Stress at work, for instance, can leave us finding it hard to relax in our personal lives, which can lead to writer’s block. Similarly, stress in our personal lives can take up so much space in our heads that there simply isn’t any left for writing. Dealing with any other problems might not always be easy, but if you’re keen to get on with your writing, it’s likely to be easier to do it once you’ve got a clear head.
Don’t panic
It might sound counterproductive, especially when clearly all you’ll want to do is get over your dreaded case of the Block and start writing again, but there’s probably not much point in panicking about it. In the same way that panicking during a school exam can make us forget completely everything, even when we knew it all just two minutes before we sat down for the test, so worrying about not being able to write can make it almost impossible to write.
Look at this way: the energy you spend worrying about not writing is energy that you could be using for something else. Like actually doing some writing. Or making a calming cup of tea. Or going for a walk or reading a book or anything else that helps to clear your mind. Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll find yourself able to write once you stop worrying, but at least you’ll be less stressed about it, and hopefully it will only be a matter of time until writing seems fun again.
What do you think? Have you ever been hit so hard by writer’s block it’s stopped you writing for months on end? And if so, how did you overcome it?
