Cintia asked Jane Steen:

Hi, my name is Cintia and I'm from Argentina. Being a writer is what I want the most in this world, nothing makes me happier than writing, but I'm more and more frustrated with each passing day, because I've been blocked for 3 years. And it is not that I have an unfinished story. I have NOTHING AT ALL. A blank page in front of me, that only makes me sadder... Is there a way to overcome this? How do you handle it?

Jane Steen Hi Cintia. You have my sympathy--there's nothing worse than wanting to write and feeling that you can't. I suspect the problem is that you want to write something meaningful and important, or a brilliant story, but your fear of failing in that endeavor is paralyzing you. It's a subset of paralysis by analysis, that problem that besets so many smart people who want to achieve something.

The answer is to give yourself permission to write anything and everything, just to get into the habit of regular writing. Sit down in front of that blank page and begin: "Being a writer is what I want the most in this world..." and write about how difficult you find it to write. Or free write about anything that comes into your head--literally. Set yourself an easy word count--200 to 500 words a day--and just spew words onto the page. Your well of creativity will actually be replenished by getting what's in your head onto the page; it's like a magic jar that keeps filling up as you empty it.

When I'm stuck as to what to write, that's what I do. I write anyway, and this has actually led, in a couple of cases, to story ideas that I'm going to turn into novels and even, in one case, an entire series. Good luck!

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