My Experience with Writer's Block and Overcoming It

 

Writer's block, in my own personal experience, is something that eats away at your brain. You sit down in front of your laptop or your book and you want to write- you really really want to write- but your imagination fails you and no words come out. Then, you eventually have to shut the laptop or the book and keep it aside and I think that's one of the worst feelings in the world for a writer. As someone who has always penned down her thoughts and feelings, not being able to write is like a curse to me. If I do not write, I cannot express myself in the way I want to express myself, and that is truly something that disturbs me to my very core.

When I was in high school, I had started on a fanfiction with a really intricate and complex plot with even more complicated sub-plots (and I do not know how I came up with all that but I just did). In the beginning, I was so excited about it and I was making multiple character and plot outlines and writing three to four chapters per day. But slowly, I lost my enthusiasm over it and even though I still wanted to write, I found myself staring at my laptop screen, my hands clasped at my knees. But despite it all, I refused to give up. After two long years of procrastination and middle-of-the-night-urges-to-write, I finally finished that fanfiction at a hundred chapters. And the fact that people still read that very amateur work of mine to this date is something that has always pushed me to never stop writing.

The second book of that fanfiction (yes, there is a second part and no, it didn't end with a hundred chapters) is still underway and I have promised myself that I will finish that before this year ends , even sooner in a couple of months if possible. And poetry- it is something that is even closer to my heart. Nothing has ever quite touched me like poetry has. That's the reason why I write poems based on all my favourite people, favourite things, favourite quotes, favourite songs and so on. But even there, I've had difficulties. I remember feeling like trash merely because I couldn't write a poem that was satisfactory to me. Going to competitions for poetry writing and not winning- not even being able to write a satisfactory piece- was very much soul-crushing for me. But if I had allowed all that to stop me, I would've went mad because honestly, there is no other outlet for all the emotions I bottle up inside of me.

So basically what I mean to say by all this is that I overcame my writers block.. by writing. Because I can't separate my words from me. It's almost like it is intertwined into my soul.

I learnt consistency when my professor walked into class and proposed a sixty-days blog challenge. And I'm proudly saying that I learnt it and I learnt it thoroughly because today is my sixtieth day of blog writing. Sure, there are times I've wanted to give up. Sure, there are times I've felt like my writing is inferior to other bloggers. But I just.. wrote. And also some of my beloved classmates used to come up to me and say that they really like what I write and the fact that people actually do read it and even like it is something that has always pushed me to write even further. So thank you to every single person who has ever motivated me to keep at this. And thank you to my professor for giving me this great opportunity.

If you're someone who face the issue of writer's block, my advice to you is- and it might seem stupid but- just write. Even if it is one word or one sentence or a very poor description or out of order, WRITE IT. Read more books and gather more thoughts which are to your preference. And honestly one of my cheat codes is Pinterest- the source of my inspirations when I have none. Go onto there or any other website you like and read- get inspired- create. Or when you can't even write a word, don't lose your mind over it or do a little and then write about that. Or just go to bed and take a nap- believe me, that does wonders. So does your comfort song or your comfort movie or your comfort sitcom. 

One of the literary facts that hurts my heart is how Franz Kafka (one of my favourite writers), was in his lifetime, thoroughly disappointed with everything he had written and thought that he was all alone in his struggles. Today, there are several people across the globe who admires his works and the person he is and recognizes the fact that he was truly a brilliant writer. There is a portion of the internet who quotes his words and goes, "I feel the same too."

At the end of the day, writers help people understand that others feel what they feel and others think what they think. It makes us a feel a little less alone. And your writing might just be the reason someone feels validated in their feelings. So write. For it is the very same reason I write- to express and to be understood.

And we, human beings, only crave two things ultimately- to express and to be understood.