Sometimes, Writing Really Tries My Patience
Sometimes, Writing Really Tries My Patience
How to deal with the unwelcome stress bomb of a blank mind
It’s a normal day.
You wake up refreshed, energized, maybe even smiling.
Because you’re a writer with ideas, concepts, and storylines swirling in your head.
You get excited at the prospect of opening the floodgates and letting the words stream live onto a blank page.
Because there’s more coming in and you can’t find room to contain it all, much less mentally filter, organize, and improve on your wild imaginings.
You sit in front of your computer or turn on your voice recorder or click on your phone’s note app — all handy tools of the profession any respectable writer simply can’t do without.
And whoosh, just like that, an empty void sucks the thoughts right down the drain.
You panic, not knowing what to do. It feels like someone pulled the literal plug, emptying your brain of its contents — without mercy.
You’re frustrated, itchy, nervous. Goosebumps litter your flesh as the early signs of a full-blown anxiety attack set off mental alarms.
What the hell just happened?
Some would call this irritating mental state a case of writer’s block. Others might call it fear.
Still more refer to this unwelcome stress bomb as a possible sign that maybe, they’re really not a writer at all. Because they believe that being able to create “on-demand” is an ingrained skill for those of us heeding the call.
Fair warning …
This confidence-crushing perspective may be a cleverly disguised strategy to avoid the truth of being a writer.
Face it: If you’re a writer, there will be good days, better days, and great days.
There will be times when articles seem to develop themselves, as if your subconscious simply switched on your fingers, instructing them to skip nimbly over the keys by instinct in some sort of unknown permission to create — whether you’re engaged in the process or not.
But before you sit back with too much trust in that allegedly intrinsic mindset, here’s the flip side.
As a writer, you’ll also have bad days, crappy days, and why-did-I-ever-think-I-could-do-this days.
And that’s when your overburdened brain takes over and shuts everything down. Because you weren’t paying attention to the not-so-subtle hints that it may be time to reboot.
Blank screens, empty minds, anxiety, and doubt are inherent to the profession.
May as well get used to it if you want to pursue any aspect of creating content, regardless of the final destination. Because the secret method for digging our way out of the misery of writer’s block has yet to be discovered.
So we need to wait it out. That’s right. Stop forcing it, pushing it, or intimidating your muse with veiled threats. Because your motivating imp will not reappear until he/she’s good and ready.
And that’s really great news.
Stepping outside your brain and setting aside the stress of performance failure is something we rarely do on purpose.
Because writers are often too damned stubborn to think a day can go by without having to put in the effort to send some sort of message out to the masses.
The fact is the public can and will wait. They’d prefer to read insightful prose and stimulating articles that explore insurmountable challenges and mind-blowing questions that are well thought out and presented, rather than a few piles of steaming crap they wished they’d swiped off the screen.
Trust me, readers will remember the smell of a poor, hastily written post a writer failed to clean and sanitize.
So revel in the unavoidable emptiness and take a break.
Step away from your computer and leave your notebook on the table. Shift your mind to other activities that allow your thoughts to wander in other, new directions.
Listen to a concert, watch a nature show, get in a workout. Remember to focus and engage in the moment with whatever activity you choose — and give yourself a chance to alter your mindset.
And when you can’t stand it anymore — when those irritating characters and scathingly brilliant ideas begin to form and gel on the blank stage in your mind — calmly approach the keyboard once again.
Then take a deep breath, stretch your fingers, and get busy!
Thanks for reading,
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Jill Reid is the author of Please God, Make Me A Writer, Real Life, Discover Your Personal Truth, and Life in Small Doses. Her books, videos, and newsletters explore writing, life, relationships, and personal success strategies for building the skills and confidence you need to achieve your dreams.
