Plugs, Blocks, and Plateaus
Getting over them all
Ever faced a wall; faced its apathetic emptiness? Or maybe found some solace in its constant unchanging gaze? It is kind of a comfort one gets in a transaction that is very non-transactional, intangible. Lost me? Let me explain.
A wall or a place that does not give actually does give a lot. I have formed that theory after seeking constant stimulation and inspiration anywhere, everywhere, and getting sick of it. Even shamelessly asking people to share pictures of their hands at work (I have a hand fetish!) and then being able to write about it. Nothing wrong in looking for, finding inspiration, and getting the ink flowing. But, it is like a constantly tiring quest even if you have a million things around to inspire. The looking and feeling stimulated is not always a tandem ride.
Now, getting back to the wall. A wall is more a blank mindscape that does not offer any voyeuristic comfort or insight to the writing mind. This can very much spring up in one’s head and God save the writer who wakes up one fine morning to find this in their head. God’s not saving me right now, though. I am trying to rescue myself.
I am trying to get something out of my cul-de-sac. I am trying to project my own thoughts onto the wall. This block is an empty space and can be filled. Sure, it does not deliver any inspiration so how do I work around it? How do I project my thoughts, ideas onto it and get the ink flowing.
I write about ordinary things. I do not look for wonders in nature or wait for a supermoon to charge me to wax eloquent. I research like it is my job because it is, even though I have not made a cent writing to date. I read about people, their writing, their stories, their songs and I grow from there. It is like being a harmless unseen creative parasite or a symbiote. I also binge heavily on the inputs, resources shared by the creative communities like Garden of Neuro and poetry groups and draw water from there to keep my ink from drying.
I write about not being able to write because I have not been read in thousands, only in two figures. It bothers me and hurts me but it also makes me want to press on after a period of moping, self-pity, pep-talk with self, reassertion of writing goals, in that order. I write about me, my insights, my processes and it ensures a certain continuity and accountability to self. So, the wall may stop me from feeling inspired but it cannot stop the process of thinking.
So, whatever you want to call the space that stops you — a wall, a block, a plug, a plateau, it matters zilch. Sometimes, if you can stare at it and into yourself, you may discover something so interesting that words or art or even a workout spill out on their own. Take it from someone who has done this more than once. Be not afraid to look at a blankness just because it forces you to look within. God knows how many of us hate to introspect. Makes me squirm in moral discomfort every time I do it but it does wonders to harness latent creativity.
Try and ally with the block next time. It might just help you beat the routine of inspired writing and put you on the less trodden path of interesting, unusual writing! Thank me later!
