Writer’s block…
Where have all my ideas gone? I can’t find them. I watch TV, I read a book, I listen to music…still can’t find them. I need an inspiration, I need to write something good. I slug around thinking…thinking. I sit down, venturing the deep ends of my mind…still seeking the answer to my great depression. I’ll do the things I have to do normally once I get an idea…it won’t be long now. It gets late…time to sleep, still no ideas…still no inspiration. No, can’t sleep! I’ll find an idea, write it down, then sleep. What can I do to get inspired…god help me!
Many people suffer writer’s block . It’s horrible…it’s a writer’s nightmare. Some authors say that writer’s block is caused when you have so many ideas…but you just can’t pick which one. As you struggle more to find an idea, your self-confidence begins to sink, and the ideas you have don’t seem like they’d function, so you just set them aside.
It sure doesn’t feel like your mind is over-loaded on ideas when you have writer’s block. It feels more like there is an invisible force field circling around your head, blocking out any ideas, and…kind of leaving a big hollow emptiness inside of you. When I first heard that writer’s block (which is defined as a lack of ideas) could be caused by too many ideas, I found it ridiculous. I just couldn’t make sense of it! But then…one Saturday afternoon, without knowing it, I put it to the test.
I felt like writing something…I wasn’t sure what…but I felt immensely inspired. I sat down in a small, white, and silent room, with not much in it. I immediately began to write. I didn’t look up from the paper, it was like I forgot where I was, too indulged with the marks of my pencil. As if the words were performing a dance routine…it was all flowing together. I sat there for about 45 minutes, conducting a masterpiece of letters and sentences. I composed a most beautiful piece of writing.
A few weeks later, I felt another surge of inspiration. I grabbed a piece of paper and fled into the first room with a table I saw. This room was greatly decorated, with pictures on the walls, and other things that attracted the eye’s attention. I had an idea, but for some reason I couldn’t start right away, and decided to think it through. As I thought there quietly, my elbows resting calmly on my desk, my attention kept being drawn elsewhere. I seemed to drown in my river of thought…my thinking seemed to drift off like a cloud to the top of my head, and float away. I waited patiently, but my train of thought kept de-railing, so I decided to go about my writing from a different approach. The idea I had had didn’t seem to be working, so I tried for another. Looking around the room, I discovered little ideas, but they seemed to go nowhere. Looking at the shelves with various assorted merchandise, I begged my brain for another idea…but my creative fluid seemed to be all clogged up, and no matter how long I stared at the wall, I couldn’t revive an idea. Feeling depressed and worthless, I gave up my attempt to write something good. But then, a few nights later, the same idea came back, and I went into a more empty room, and my idea was easily translated onto paper.
I think writer’s block might effect different people for different reasons. I find it easier to write when I’m in a room with less distractions, it seems to give me more space to think, and doesn’t crowd my thoughts. Other people might find it easier to write in a crowded room, so they are more surrounded in inspiration. These are probably people that are very goodat sticking to an idea, unlike me, who gives up sometimes when my creations seem to be going nowhere.
Some people may think that writer’s block isn’t really a big deal, but believe me, it can be quite depressing! Some of us are very addicted to drinks with caffeine, such as coffee. It really wakes you up in the morning. But when you don’t get your regular dose of caffeine, you begin to suffer from with-drawl. That is sort of what writer’s block is like. After you’re used to writing good things, and sometimes even getting praised for them, not being able to write another hit, let alone write anything at all, can be quite a put-down. It can put you in bad mood. But when you have trouble, try sitting down in a small, empty room, and inspiration may come your way. But no matter how stumped you are, always remember that the best ideas usually come when you’re not trying to find one.
Now, as I get tired, and my train of thought starts slowing down, I’d like to finish by saying one thing. Writing, like coffee, isn't the worst things you can get addicted to. But as well , writing, like coffee, takes patience for the water to boil, the idea to come.