Writer’s block in the time of a global quarantine.

The usual diagnosis of a writer’s block has a typical common cure- good stimuli, which comes easy with a hike in nature.

What to do in self-isolation?

Just sneak out? NO. DO NOT GET OUT.

जान है तोह जहाँ है.
और जहाँ है तोह content है.

Writer’s block is a common phenomenon in the most vulnerable species of artists called writers. It proves that you are doing something right. But usually, a stroll in nature or just a break from the monotony gives a boost enough to get over the block and have something on that empty screen you might have been sharing at.

Creation is not possible without consumption. Consumption is like sleep time. You will get nothing done when you are sleeping, but it is essential for the time when you are actually doing something. It gives you the energy for the rest of the day. Consumption gives you that fodder to create more.

But, what is the solution to a writer’s block when you are not just stuck in your head, but also physically, in a room?

Of course, there is the internet, and the power of a parade of platforms waiting for your attention. But there is nothing like experiencing something first hand, even if it is not a story. the way a leaf fell from the tree might give you an analogy for something that you have been trying to explain in simpler terms for weeks. Consuming content online works, sure. But it is content that has taken direct inspiration from real life. Nothing is original anymore. The wheel has been invented once and today nothing you make can be unheard or unthought of. But if inspiration is taken from the right sources, your content might come out more authentic, if not absolutely original.

Keep yourselves away from the meter that constantly updates you about the number of corona cases globally, or locally. For the time you are working, try having minimum contact with social media.

You are done staring at your blank sheet, or screen, you have had some neck exercise from scanning through the Post-its that might be decorating the wall. What now? Read a book? That might just help. But something that can help more is stories.

People living with you, around you, even far away from you would be experiencing something which is a lack of genuine conversation right about now. After a few days into self-isolation, people do crave that feeling of meeting new people, talking to them, they crave their personal space, away from their spouses, and the best perk for you as a writer, they are ticking bombs of stories that they might want to tell you.

Talk to them. talk to your grandparents about how it was during partition, talk to your parents about the difficulties they had during the great depression. Ask your father what he would have majored in if he could go to college right now, ask your mother what business she would pitch if she got an interview with a venture capitalist. Call up your friends from school, and have a video conference, a small virtual reunion, ask them what they are doing in life, call up your house help and ask them how they are coping with the pandemic.

We might have become physically distant because of the lock-down, but I believe we have become closer to each other due to it. We are caring about each other, the entire world is going through something similar, relatability levels are at its peak, we are using the platforms available to connect with people because we cannot meet them in person. I have talked to people over video call that I hadn’t talked to in the three years after my graduation.

We are physically farther than ever, but in experience, virtual intimacy has equally multiplied.

It might sound selfish, to communicate with a hidden motive of getting content inspiration from them, but in the end, we are nothing without our stories and stories become as strong as much as they are shared. You might not be a fiction writer, but a good story is an oil for the machine that your brain is, things will start running smoothly after a good story session.

So, go on, tell your stories to fellow creators and get some from people around you.

I believe writers would find this quarantine the best time to actually sit and write because there will be no other distractions. The entire world has to sit home. Even people who never would have thought about recording their opinion in words have their own blogs in the matter of two weeks of self-isolation. It is beautiful when you are locked-up with nothing and no one else but your thoughts. You get to know yourself better, and that reflects in what you do. Use this time to experiment, write in voices and tones that you didn't know you had in you.

This piece is an example of how I came out of the block just by calling an ex-employee that I used to work with. She and I talked about feelings and emotions and that is when I got the inspiration for this piece and many more. Before I use them in my daily writing, I thought I’d share with fellow writers.

Wash hands, stay home and stay safe.