Writer's Block is What Happened
The worst day for writer's block seems to be any day that ends with "Y" | NOTHING. I came back to it today and realized I hadn't written since the middle of July. What's up with that? I have had all sorts of experiences recently that have given me new insight into the human condition, yet there is nothing to write about. I have gained a number of insights into the Word, but there is nothing to write about. I have gone places, visited with people, and made new friends, however, there is nothing to write about. NOTHING. WHY? Or, as the statement to the left reads, "Y"? |
Am I done with the desire to influence people with my thoughts and ideas?
I'm still alive, so I don't suppose that is the issue.
But, I have begun to take stock of my daily routine to see if there is some sort of a clue there.
Not sure I've found anything, but I'm going to use this page as my "sorting out" process tool.
Since "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates), I will now take the time to examine this life to see what mysteries may unfold that might shed some light on this prolonged paucity of the pen.
I went to Google Images to find something to place at the beginning of this article, but the plethora of images for "writer's block" left me without the desire to write. I scratched that idea and developed my own graphic based on some things I read while there. (At least the trip was not totally without merit.)
I have contemplated Facebook as a possible cause.
(Yes, I, too, look for something or someone outside myself to blame. Imagine that.)
If I am not busy with a physically demanding project--such as making a sandwich--then I am probably at the computer.
If I am at the computer, then I am undoubtedly on Facebook. I go there to see what "news" there might be, even though I learned long ago there isn't any worth knowing about. Mostly, I like to see what my more astute friends have posted. There is usually some tidbit of wisdom ready to be mined from their postings. Many of my friends are readers as well as writers. So, there is always a ready supply.
I take those gems, those tidbits, those little bite-sized pieces of thought, ponder them, re-work them, or comment on them within the post.
I'm beginning to believe therein lies the problem causing the poverty.
Putting out the little thoughts, without fleshing them out, takes away the opportunity--and possibly--the desire to write with depth of feeling. It is like I just keep skimming the surface, removing the things that could possibly be developed into something meaningful.
Sounds plausible to me, but that is not the problem.
I've also looked at my lifestyle at the present time.
I am busy building my bride's dream. (One of those physically-demanding activities alluded to previously.)
Each day finds me doing some aspect of building, remodeling, or crafting something to bring her dream into the present reality. This is so fulfilling that I take little time for the quiet of the early morning I normally love. I go to sleep thinking through some aspect of the project, and I awaken with ideas of how to move forward toward completion. Her pleasure in what I have accomplished is a strong motivator to keep me from other things that I may also enjoy.
This, too, sounds reasonable, but it is not the problem.
The problem, it seems, lies within the writer.
In this case, ME.
I posted the following to Facebook on September 23, 2014:
"Every writer faces the specter of the blank page upon which nothing will appear. Whether with pen, pencil, typewriter or keyboard, regardless of the effort involved in scratching out the letters, stringing them into words and forming them into sentences, the page remains blank. It is the curse of the craft."
Every writing coach I've ever consulted has said the same thing:
"The only way to overcome writer's block is to write.
Write.
Write something.
Write anything.
Just write."
All the other things that seem to get in the way of the writing process are not the cause, they are the symptoms.
They are merely distractions designed to deviate the traveler from the path.
Distraction seems to be our stock-in-trade for whatever it is we have decided to accomplish.
I see it played out and whined about throughout the social media platforms.
People are not accomplishing what they say their hearts' desire is; and the reason seems to always come down to the fact that they have wasted time with distractions.
Almost the entire population has become infected with Attention Deficit Disorder, that is, we cannot seem to focus for more than a few minutes on any one thing before something else garners our attention. And that "something else" usually has nothing whatever to do with that upon which we were focused just a few moments prior.
Maybe this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "Redeem the time, for the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15-16).
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