If you consider yourself a writer, or want to consider yourself a writer, there is probably no feeling you despise more than writer’s block. It sucks. Looking at a blank notebook page or Word document, with a million thoughts racing through your head and zero ability to put any of them into words is frustrating. What’s almost more frustrating is that writers all seem to have one solution to writer’s block: write anyways. Even if what you write sucks, the only way to get over writer’s block is to keep writing. So here I am, writing about what I learned while feeling like I was unable to write and the stages I went through.
Search for a topic.
I searched through my list of potential article topics. I browsed what other Odyssey writers published last week. I scrolled through Facebook and Tumblr, hoping for some super-interesting event to pop up. I texted my best friends, and complained about my lack of inspiration.
Force yourself to pick something, even if you aren’t feeling inspired.
Then, a saying popped into my head, "Write what you know." In that moment, it felt like writer’s block was the only thing I knew. It seemed like a lame topic, but I thought I could actually write about it.
Search for inspiration.
Being a procrastinator at heart, actually writing wasn’t my first step. I’ve always been a fan of quotes, so I turned to Goodreads to seek inspiration from people wiser than me. Here are a few of my favorites, plus the commentary nobody asked for:
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Yes, Maya, I agree. Unfortunately, this is not the day to tell those stories.
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
― Ernest Hemingway
OK, Hemingway, I feel like you’re missing the point.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
― Benjamin Franklin
The latter feels highly unlikely at the moment, time to attempt the former.
“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.”
― Neil Gaiman
I mean, if Neil Gaiman says it happens…
I felt comforted and inspired by the quotes I found, but inspiration doesn’t matter if you don’t do something with it.
Harness the inspiration and let yourself write.
I’ve wanted to call myself a writer since middle school (though I refuse to read my middle school writing notebooks to preserve my dignity), and in that time, I feel like I’ve faced more writer’s block than a single person should be able to. My hard drive is full of short story beginnings. I have black notebooks tucked into every nook and cranny of my room, filled with ramblings and ideas I never bothered to explore. I have more books than shelf space because all my favorite authors say the way to become a better writer is to read a lot and write a lot. I write an article for this website every week. “I like to write” is typically the first thing that comes out of my mouth when someone inquires about my hobbies.
The title of “writer” just seems too grand, and I don’t feel worthy of it. Writers need to complete what they begin at least some of the time, right? Even now, I’m contemplating deleting my entire word document and trying to find another topic. Or maybe being a writer just means being a person who writes. Who knows? I’m just going to write until I figure it out.
Let yourself write.
Check.
Hate what you just wrote.
Done and done. It’s taken me a long time to accept that first drafts are never perfect and that I’ll go through a period of hating every piece I write. Nothing is perfect the first time.
Edit what you wrote until you don’t recognize your first draft.
Check.
Count this as a battle won.
I’ve heard the exact same thing from every author I’ve met or heard speak. When authors are asked for advice to give aspiring writers, they all say, "Write. Then write some more. Read. And then keep writing." Writing despite writer's block is the best possible step, even if you hate what you write and end up never using it for anything.
