I am a writer. I write for Odyssey, I write when I'm bored. I write stories, songs, poems, and anything else I can think of. Writing usually comes naturally to me. Sometimes it scares me how easily my head can fill a piece of paper with jumbles of words that turn into long elaborate stories. However, it doesn't always come so easy.
Writer's block is a real thing. It's painful and it's tough and it sucks to have a million ideas but not know how to piece them out. It sucks when it's so bad that you have no ideas at all.
It sucks you up, and you go days without writing, maybe even weeks. You don't want to pick up a pen, nor do you type anything out, because everything you write, you HATE.
All of the colorful ideas that usually swirl around your head are at a halt, frozen in mid-air and you keep trying to grab at them.
Writer's block is frustrating, it's soul-aching, it's tiring.
It's hard to have writer's block when deadlines have to be met or you really want to write something.
It's like your whole mind was just swimming with the most beautiful fish, but the lake froze over and now the ice is blocking you from seeing them.
Certain moods can make or break if you have writer's block. If you're writing a sad story, maybe you don't mind being sad, but it's hard to stop yourself from being happy so that you can connect with the mood. If you're writing an important paper, maybe every little stressor is bothering you.
All of these things inhibit your writing chances.
Writer's block causes headaches, anger, and stress. You try and try to connect with what you're writing or focus on an idea, but your head is clouded with other completely irrelevant things.
It's a really tough situation to be in, and a lot of people don't see that.
"Just write." Is usually what they say. Then, you'll either laugh or scowl at them.
It's not that easy, and most people don't get that.
Saying "Just write" to a person with a wall in between them and their ideas is like telling a sad person to "just not be sad" or a homeless person to "just get a home." It's nearly impossible in the moment to "just write" without producing something you're not proud of that your heart really wasn't in.
When you're an avid writer, writer's block is devastating. It's like being a track runner, training for months, and just missing the place you were supposed to make in the race, even though when practicing you did it just fine.
Speaking from experience, writer's block is something that gets to me and hits me really hard. I take pride in my writing, every piece I have, and the way I do it. Not being able to do it freely because of a mind block destroys me. Writing is supposed to be an outlet, so why is mine closed?
I will sit and wait or pace around impatiently, reminding my boyfriend I can't do anything and how badly it sucks. Luckily, he is usually there to remind me of how good I've done in the past.
No matter what, when you have writer's block, it's like a cloud is following you around sucking up every possible idea you could have had.
Writer's block sucks, and it's hard to understand when you're not a writer.
So if you ever see a friend who always writes and is stuck, give them time, space, and reassurance.
