It’s Not ‘Writer’s Block’ — It’s Emptiness.

How to refuel your creative centre.

Christina Care
The Startup

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The phrase ‘Writer’s Block’ looms over all of us who dare to pick up a pen or tap out sentences on our computers. It suggests that we, the writer, have hit an impasse — we’ve strained too hard, or squeezed out every inch of creativity we had, with nothing left. Well, I have a confession to make…

I don’t think writer’s block exists.

Recently, I read the fantastic Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. In it, she talks about so-called ‘writer’s block’, and describes it like this —

“If your wife locks you out of the house, you don’t have a problem with your door. The word ‘block’ suggests that you are constipated or stuck, when the truth is that you’re empty…”

In the classic The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron also describes it not as a ‘block’ but as a ‘drought’ —

“In any creative life there are dry seasons. These droughts appear from nowhere and stretch to the horizon… our work feels mechanical, empty, forced.”

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Christina Care
The Startup

Emerging author, copywriter, editor and digital strategist helping creatives grow their practice. Xoogler.