Did you ever sit down to write and end up staring at a blinking cursor for hours? If you're a college student, the answer is easily yes. Whatever major you choose, you are more than likely going to be required to write a paper at some point in your four year (or longer) college career. You may not be able to figure out that opening sentence for the scientific research paper, maybe the content for your reflective non-fiction piece is escaping you, or the a specific word is just slipping your mind right now. Either way, everyone has experienced writer's block. Not just those who consider themselves "writers."
So, here you are: sitting down in front of your computer. Or if you prefer a pen and paper... a notebook and you are stumped. You cannot, for the life of you, zero in on a topic. Nor can you create the perfect opening sentence, designed to pull readers in. You are facing a real, incredibly frustrating struggle.
Here are some of the stages of experiencing writer's block:
1. Staring.
First you sit in front of whatever writing tool you plan on using and stare at the blank page. It could be a blinking cursor or an untouched pen. Your mind feels incredibly empty. You are wondering if a useful thought has ever passed through it before.
2. Some writing, followed by crossing out or deleting.
You think you have a topic or a worthy first few words. After jotting them down, you realize that they are all wrong. How could you possibly have thought they sounded good in your head. Delete. Delete. Delete.
3. More staring.
Now that you are positive a useful thought has never passed through your mind. You continue to stare at the blank, white page hoping that words will just begun to write themselves.
4. Tossing ideas around.
Maybe you could write about this. Or this. Or that. You come up with a handful of slightly good topics, but nothing that feels right. Delete. Delete. Delete.
5. Slamming of the laptop or the book.
You are thinking about how you have ever written a paper before. You close your laptop or notebook and try to leave for a while. Maybe coming back with a clear head will work.
6. Coming back.
There is still not one winning idea in your head. The deadline for the paper is closing in and you have reached a full-blown panic.
7. Staring...again.
Most likely it is hours later, you are now back at stage one. The frustration is real.
8. Settling.
It is now too late to be choosy. You rack your brain for one of the mediocre ideas you threw away before and settle on scrounging up an entire paper on it. Although you are less than happy about it.
We have definitely all been there, struggling to write something worthy of a grade... or to be published. It is incredibly frustrating, but a process you have to work through if you wanna get anywhere in life.
