For Miami University's Odyssey community, my deadline is to write an article once a week. Of course, articles can be about anything; I've written about everything from politics to personal life. Although, there isn't a news story every week worthy of commentary, and I only have a limited amount of personal stories that can flow into an article.
So then, I have to result to creativity — which can be a problem.
If you're like me, you're left-brained. Left-brained people are more focused on organization, logic and numbers. If you're right-brained, you have creativity and art flowing through your head. I don't have that. So when it comes to posting on Odyssey, it can be tough to get a creative article out when I feel like there's nothing to write about.
So, this is what I've resorted to: writing an article about how tough it can be to actually write an article.
If you've ever had a "job" or requirement that forces you to crank out a creative twist on something or an authentic article, you understand how real writer's block is. It's even real for the left-brained people like me who have to write a paper; that's something you'd expect people to be good at if they love logic and organization. Writing is unique, though. It requires a sort of finesse that focuses you on writing creative yet structural papers.
So what do you do when you have writer's block? To me, there's nothing that can help it. Sometime's you just have to stare at the computer screen or piece of paper before the right approach comes to you. It's frustrating, but that's how it goes. So for all of you Odyssey writers or writers and general — when you feel exhausted with having to be creative, write about it. Turn your frustration and exhaustion out on the page. Whether it's complaining like me, or complaining metaphorically in a story or ranting about a news article that made you think a little longer than usual. Writing requires you to be able to use your emotions to manipulate your story, and those stories are the best ones.