Anyone who loves writing -- whether it be a passion or a living -- wi'll say that writer's block is the worst entity in the universe. They're completely right; many people think of writer's block as some slump like baseball players get when they can't hit the ball well. The truth is; it's far worse than that.
When a baseball player has a batting slump it ends relatively fast, but with writer's block, I can say from personal experience that it seems like it can last forever. For me, writer's block isn't the inability to write; it's the inability to form words that contain the mind's imagination. Anyone can write and, in time, many can write well; writer's block has nothing to do with simply writing. I've been in a writer's block for over six months with one novel I was working on. I had to completely stop and shut myself off from the story in order to get out of it. I couldn't create the story that I wanted, so I completely dropped it; I simply walked away, hoping that eventually i can snap out of my slump. Three weeks ago I did. I was at breakfast with my dad and I was discussing a topic within theoretical physics and space colonization, and then I snapped out of it -- instantly.
The only thing is, I didn't unblock myself from my original novel, i found inspiration to write an entirely different one. The plot was just rolling off my tongue so easily, it was as if I never had writer's block at all. It really is interesting how quickly the mind can create when inspired to do so. It is so difficult to do, sometimes; the plague of writer's block can prove that.
Sometimes, we write too much and simply have lost the motivation to continue. I know I get that feeling, sometimes, when writing for the Odyssey; it gets difficult to create new content weekly the longer you continue to write. So I spend all week researching and trying to find topics to write about. Sometimes, I spend days reading and understanding a concept before I begin writing about it, especially when it comes to my science articles. Then, I finally figure out what I want to write about, usually the day my article is due. Then I begin to write, and proofread, and double check my information. Finally, I send it off to my editors who are wonderful people. They spend a while looking over every article like it was their own, and then it is finally published.
The readers only see the finished product; the writers have to bleed their work onto paper, for days, weeks, months, or even years. One famous author, Ayn Rand, took 10 years to complete her magnum opus, "Atlas Shrugged." When it was finally completed and published, people hated it. She was ridiculed because, at the time, no one understood the novel. She was so broken from it that she never wrote a fiction novel again. It is difficult to put so much time and effort into something beautiful only to have it be ignored or heavily criticized. Some articles I write take me weeks to research -- only to have five shares.
Being a writer is a very difficult task because most people don't realize just how much we put into our work. Writer's block is only the beginning of a list of difficulties novelists or weekly writers have to deal with. Maybe after viewing written work from a new perspective it will make others appreciate the effort more.
