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I’m Gonna Fight Writer’s Block

Will writing about not being able to write help me write?

By SamPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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I’m Gonna Fight Writer’s Block
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

So this is a bit different from what I normally write. No book or anime reviews, no mindfulness. No, this is all about my brain and my insane inability to write fiction. Maybe it’s Covid catching up to me and taking all my creative drive, because I’ve had trouble writing fiction all year. I had a good spell back at the end of 2020, but 2021? Barren. It’s a desert out here.

What’s the goal of this then? Well you can read all the “how to beat writer’s block” articles in the world, and at some point they all say the same thing: just write something. Not in a snarky way, in a “literally just sit in front of your computer and hit keys with your fingers” kind of way. Other than my monthly book reviews, and the occasional other type of pop culture review, I’ve been doing a poor job with taking that advice. I’ve got story ideas on post-it notes scattered all over my desk. So why can’t I write them?

I really don’t know. Yet I’ve come to the idea that I can write about how I can’t write! Haha! Take that writer’s block! That’s 200 words right there! And all those exclamation points! My creative writing classes always told me not to use too many, but tough luck.

Where do I go from here? So my Vocal writing…I’ve even been in a funk with that! I used to do movie, anime, and music reviews at least 3 times a month. I’ve been slacking so hard, and it’s awful. I’m going to try to hold myself to writing more on Vocal as well as doing some fiction. This is it. I’m publishing this so it’s out in the world, now I feel like I have to stick with it. The ink is finally on the page. I’ll make a list of anime I’ve I watched and start doing some more of those. I mean I’ve been sitting on a Stardust Crusaders review idea, but it’s my favorite anime so I haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet. I feel like that one has to fully convey just how much I love the show, and I can’t review the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure seasons that come after Crusaders until I buckle down and do that one.

You know what, that brings up another good point. A huge reason for why I don’t write can also be that sometimes I just won’t let myself write unless I’m sure it’s 100% perfect. That’s silly I know; what’s editing for if I was planning on writing something perfect? And I like editing, which is the weird part. I love going over what I’ve written and rewording this, or cutting or adding that. I don’t know why I put this pressure on myself to write something that’s already top tier if I know it can be fixed later. Am I afraid of thinking I’m a bad writer? Maybe I get embarrassed if I catch an obvious typo? I’m not totally sure. In all aspects of my life, however, I tend to do this. It may just be another example of me feeling like it’s not good enough unless I’m giving 110%.

Ok, so let me try to write something that will motivate me to NOT think that way: You can make mistakes when you write. Your stories won’t always be perfect. Rewriting is normal and expected. Lady, you went to school for this, you definitely have some talent in you!

Wow. That was actually helpful?! Yay! Look at me go! I think we’re doing well here. Oh my goodness, what if this helps other people write? Like, if you google “writer’s block” and somehow my article falls into your lap and you see me writing (checks notes) over 600 words at this point even though I’ve had writer’s block for months. Give it a try, I say. Write about how you feel not being able to write, and maybe why you can’t. Sooner or later you’ll be like me and say, “Holy shit. How did I write a full, single-spaced page in Word? I haven’t done that in a while!” Cheers! Happiness! Success!

On that positive note, I think this is a perfect place to end things, don’t you? I’ve done what I came here to do, and now I’m a bit excited to try and dive back into trying to write a short story for the first time in months. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for going with me on this mental exercise to beat up writer’s block. It turns out that literally writing stream-of-consciousness style is a pretty good way to get the creative juices flowing. Maybe it’s something you may even find yourself doing to help your own writing.

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Sam

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