Here sits the writing teacher, surrounded by stacks of journals, freshly printed pages of the last couple of weeks of word-processor free-writes tucked beneath my laptop.
Characteristically, I have a pen in my mouth and I’m gnawing it to pieces. I hope I don’t swallow any ink. I pick up a page, scan it, shake my head.
This one’s too depressing. That one, I already turned into a blog post. This one’s too personal. That one was just a really, really long free-write about shopping for pants, and I can’t find any redeeming qualities in it. This one bears no relevance whatsoever to my blog.
I want to cry; why do all of these pages look so useless to me right now?
I think about resorting to a generic, safety-net blog post: The List Post. The Book Review. The Link Post. The Photograph with Poignant Quote.
I start making tiny braids in my hair and wonder if I should paint my toenails.
And I’m still chewing on the same pen.
I think about posting Wise Words about how there is no such thing as writer’s block–because in essence, that’s true. You can always sit down and free-write. There are always words waiting at the bottom of the well.
But you know what?
Instead, I’ll say it and own it. I. Feel. Blocked.
Even just typing those words, I feel an opening, a loosening in my chest. Yes, admitting it is good sometimes. It helps me breathe a little more deeply.
Admitting it sometimes is just the trick. Writing “I feel blocked” on a page taps the well, opens the spring of words. From there, maybe you’ll write your way into a solution, into the reason that you feel blocked this day, this week, this month.
Or maybe you’ll just write “I feel blocked” one hundred times in a row, until your pen runs out of ink. At least you’ve written something today.
Does anyone else want to own up? Who else feels blocked this week? What are your tricks for un-blocking?
(You can answer these questions here in the comments. Or, if you are so inclined, I am still looking for guest bloggers here at Invincible Summer. Drop me an email at jess (dot) invincible (dot) summer (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll talk blog posts, writer’s block, ideas, and solutions to save people like me from destroying our teeth by chewing pens to shreds).
Ah, yes. I find that I need to create time and space to make it happen, it won’t just solve itself. So today, I’ve been taking care of my home, so that I’ll have somewhere comfortable to sit tonight, when I’ve promised myself some time to just start writing something, anything.
Clearing space is so important–and often I forget about that. I tend to live among a lot of clutter. “Writing something, anything.” How perfect!
Hey Jess sending you bright sparkly rainbows to break through your block…
I get back to nature when feeling blocked I head out back sink my feet into the grass and breath long deep breaths the I sit on my bench under our fairy tree and read some books meditated and find my way back to inspiration.
Oh, yes–these are all great suggestions/reminders!! Getting into the outdoors always clears me up, it seems. A fairy tree sounds lovely.
I find I’ll put my journal aside for days, then suddenly that urge to feel pen in hand, gliding across the paper is too much to ignore and I just start rambling and eventually I read back and think, “wow, where did that come from?” *L* I sometimes think those pauses are necessary because we are cluttering our minds with too many thoughts, and not letting our souls speak. Then when we go back to it, voila, our soul is yelling at us!
I like that perspective: the necessary pauses, the silence. Yes.
Do something completely unrelated…paint, hula hoop, run with the dogs, go to the zoo…get out of your head for a while.
Writer’s block, is something I am all too familiar with. I use to be plagued with it. When it does rear its ugly head, like many others have a few things I try. Being so close to the sea and even closer to the hills with all its beauty there is always inspiration close at hand. However, if we are talking about a serious block, I find something in the newspaper or internet that makes me angry and that will produce a torrent of words then I can choose what to do with them. If that doesn’t work, it means I need a break/vacation.
Oooh! Getting yourself angry. I love that … When I’m really mad, sometimes I can’t help but write. Thank you!