What’s Wrong With Writer’s Block?

By Jenise Jackson
Blog Content Contributor

What if I told you I had looked a blank screen for approximately four hours, before I finally decided I should write about how I had looked at a blank screen for approximately four hours? The horror of writer’s block is real and it’s been my main enemy lately. Add that on top of the stress from school and you have a crazed 20-year-old whose writing resembles gibberish. Writer’s block can be discouraging and honestly make you want to give up on writing completely. If you can relate, just know that you are not alone.

A lot of the time, writer’s block is caused by conflicting feelings. Maybe we have an idea of what we want to talk about, but can not effectively put it into words. Maybe we put a bunch of words on a paper, but there is no flow. Maybe you just don’t have a clue of what you want to write about at all. I have realized that the first step to overcoming writer’s block is understanding that this is natural. Every writer goes through it at some point. If you were to ask a best-selling author about their journey to writing their masterpiece, I am sure they would tell you they ran into some obstacles. So just because you are stuck, it does not mean you should stop writing. It means you have to work to conquer the challenge.

Writing is basically a job for me, so combating writer’s block is a must. I got lucky with this article and decided to write about my struggle with writer’s block. But when I get writer’s block again, I can not just turn to writing about this subject. So like the millennial I am, I decided to search the internet for tips on how to work through writer’s block that will hopefully help me in the future. While most of the tips look like they will be useful (you can find my favorite ones here), I think the easiest thing to do to is just step away from the writing for a little bit and then come back to it. This is time that can be taken to do something creative. Get out of your writing setting, be around people, whatever it takes to get you inspired. You may be surprised what a short rest can do for you. You might just come back ready to write a gem.

Like I said, writer’s block can happen to us all but you can make it through. The article you are reading is proof of that. So do not be so hard on yourself. Sometimes it takes a longer time to produce the best work.

Featured image by Jenise Jackson.