Imagine yourself sitting in a stadium at a random football game that your parents stubbornly dragged you to. The bleachers are filled with crazed fans who all coordinated their outfits to match their team's colors. You have no idea what is going on with the actual game because you're too distracted by the drunk guy yelling at the salesman about the indecent prices of beer in the front of the field. Then it hits you. It nearly knocks the wind out of you because of the wall-breaking capacity this idea holds.
At first, it's just a lightbulb beginning to flicker. Then it's such a nail-biting idea that you can't possibly sit still until you write it down. Writing down whatever murmur that popped into your head that was inspired by the angry drunk man. You have to, or else it'll be gone forever.
The inspiration can come from anything, from anywhere. But the ones that are worthwhile are the ones that make your blood boil with adrenaline. They're the ideas that remind you of why you started writing in the first place. It makes you want to immediately jump in your car, race home, and run upstairs to your computer that hasn't been touched with fictitious words in months, maybe even years.
Sitting at the desk, you're thrilled to feel the nostalgic warmth that fills your chest as you lay your fingertips on the keyboard. Wrapped in a blanket that is so big that it goes around you twice. Your brain is racing with anticipation as you begin to tell this drunk man's inspiring story. But suddenly, everything fades to black. Writer's block has ultimately won again; the idea is gone, blank, like it got off the train of determination and onto the subway of procrastination.
Dear, the writer who does not write,
Words are hard. Especially when you're staring at a blank page, willing yourself to write something, anything. Even if it's bad, it just needs to get on the page so you have something to edit later. Whether this piece is on a ticking deadline or if it's just to pass the time, there's always a point where people or "writers" experience the term known as writer's block.
If you are not aware of this term - you're either someone who doesn't write for a living whatsoever or you're an angel sent from heaven above. Writer's block, or better acknowledged as a writer's worst nightmare, is, "the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing" (Dictionary). It is definitely the most frustrating thing that any writer has to deal with. You want to write and you miss the feeling you have when you write, and yet every time you get behind a keyboard, your mind goes completely blank.
The only real cure for this is to constantly be writing because, if you ever stop then the block will ultimately capture you and swallow you whole. Sending you into a deep, dark and depressing state of uncertainty. Questioning if you're actually good enough to make a career out of this or if you have what it takes. But before this ends up turning into my dark hole of insecurity, I will say that as long as you keep writing, you'll be fine. And even if you do fall off the wagon, you can get back on. You just have to rediscover the reason why you fell in love with it in the first place. At least that's what I do.
So when your mind feels like a mountain of clutter and you can't possibly climb out of it with a decent idea, just remind yourself that you are definitely not alone (because I am definitely on this train with you) and that you can write again. You can do anything you put your mind to.
