Blank Pages: So you think you have writer’s block?
Everyone who must pen down words to paper or type on a screen has experienced ‘writer’s block’. You know that moment when you’ve got a crisp blank page and no words to put on it, it’s an agonizing feeling that gets you thinking maybe your brain is cheating out of your own thoughts.
The question on a lot of minds is whether writer’s block is true or just a myth, and what makes hardly any sense is why we go through it or what’s happening in our brains when we do.
Writers, readers, and the general public who have an interest in popular topics hear me when I say writer's block isn’t real! Given that you’ve cemented this into your skull, I know you're asking why you cannot write.
Why is this happening?
First thing’s first, understand that we are all prone to exhaustion. Usually, at the time when you experience blank pages you are tired or beyond tired and are still looking to burn the midnight oil to complete a piece, story, or work in progress. It’s okay to rest, you need it and frankly so does your brain.
You’re pushing the delicate strings of your nerves so hard hoping they’ll produce not just an idea but a bombshell that’s going to leave your audience with their jaws on the floor. Your fatigue has unfolded on top of the high standards you’re holding for yourself and it’s evolving to pressure. Suddenly, you fear that everything that comes to mind isn’t good enough.
‘’I’m convinced fear is at the root of most bad writing’’ — Stephen King
‘Blank pages’ is not a disease or a virus holding you back from a perfect hook, a killer title, or a consuming plot but a continuously evolving ball of string threaded from negativity within our own minds. When we begin to push ourselves, doubting the value of our ideas we begin to feel that our work lacks structure and that’s assuming you choose to gamble on what you believe is a bad idea and write anyway.
However, another cause of writer’s block that cannot be ignored is lack of reading. Taking time to experience stories or short pieces of work helps open your mind to deeper insight on said topic, it’s like a psychological breath of fresh air. The more you read the more you write because your mind receives a myriad of new experiences from the stories, design of plots, and development of characters, it’s a much-recommended way of improving your work. It’s quite difficult to experience writer’s block while reading sustainably, as long as you’re reading to enjoy and not scanning for ideas.
Additionally, you need to know that laziness is a plague. I’m not talking about procrastinating and putting off a chapter or editing a draft till later or the next day but actively wanting to write with the effort you feel you need to have to write overweighs the desire to write. At that point you don’t have writer’s block you’re just a couch potato. You will never write anything if you sit around instead of actually getting to work.
Personally, I find that Stephen King was right when he said “amateurs wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work” what I mean to say is when I experience blank pages while I was writing this article it helped to just write the first thing that comes to mind. Don’t overthink it, scribble it down on a notepad or napkin if you have to, all that matters is that you get it out there. I call this filtering, it helps clear your mind and allow new fresh ideas to roll in so that you can go back to your original project with a fresh pair of eyes and a different set of notions. A common practice that I usually invest in is gathering the best line of my filtered thoughts, editing them to create a piece…it works well with poetry for me.
How to soldier through blank pages
Relax. Don’t be so hell-bent on the fact that you need to have so many things to get the story done , because then you’ll be exhausted before you even work out the first sentence.
Don’t be afraid of taking time off. You and your story needs to spend time together, it’s true. However, you also need time to give your brain breathing space so it keeps you fresh every time you come back to your work. That being said please do not take months and months to procrastinate or else you’ll never get anything done.
Take time to read, particularly when you’ve got free time, and never be too far from a notepad. Full disclosure, I’m not saying this so that you plagiarize from the book your reading but because ideas are surprises. Somewhere in between the pages you never know what thought can strike.
Acceptance. You need to accept that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just let it satisfy you, forget any crazy expectations. Accept that you are a writer and no one can make you doubt that. Rejection is a part of the process. One man’s loss is another man’s gain and this story is your gain, don’t let anyone turn it into a loss.
In conclusion, writer’s block is nothing but a state of mind that we put ourselves into for different reasons, commonly it's just the fear we have inside of us fuelled by negative emotions or thoughts. The cure begins when we take a step back to breathe then attack the page with a calmer and clearer mindset. Don’t forget that self-satisfaction is key, the story is for you to enjoy writing as much as it is for readers to enjoy reading so take it easy.
References:
https://www.janefriedman.com/reasons-for-writers-block/
https://goinswriter.com/overcome-writers-block/
https://www.instagram.com/kaboompics/
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https://www.pexels.com/photo/opened-notebook-with-silver-pen-near-magnolia-4210787/
