Writer’s block? Stop!
Posted by gurprrietsiingh on November 8, 2009
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For a long time I thought I had a book in me…one fine day, it started gushing out. And then I hit a dry spell…
What an interesting experience…I am a writer…I must write…so I wrote…Forced it out..rotten stuff..stinking..and then even that ended…I kept forcing…Dry heaves like retching and nothing really coming out…
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Forced out by heaving muscles…no flow…no rhythm… it tears at your throat, leaves you feeling exhausted and hating the very thing you enjoyed a while ago.
That’s the worst kind of writing you can do. It stinks. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I know now…
I know now never to force…
I know now…to let go…and just refresh the reservoir, instead of trying to squeeze out every drop, by sheer force of will…
To go on as a writer, to not give up, to continue in spite of the first 9 refusals from publishers..that’s where you need will…
To write, you need love…you need a calm peace inside or a driving passion..you need to flow…
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If you aren’t a writer yet, I’m probably not making sense… If you are…you know what I mean, right? You’re shaking your head right now and smiling..and saying to yourself “I know”
And in spite of all the pain…all the self doubt…all the failures…I love it..
Many times I write because I think there is something inside of me that I must share with the world, that it will help…But sometimes I write just for myself, because I feel like it…like this one…I couldn’t care less if it’s published…or if you like it or you don’t or if it has any meaning to you…to me it does…And I love it…
And finally…I have learned that a good writer knows when to stop.
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Manpreet said
Well said! I once met a very famous Bengali writer and his 2 bits of advice was:
1. Write only when you can FEEL your writing, if you don’t FEEL it while your write, it’s better to stop! Wait for the impulse – only then you’ll be truly inspired from inside to write.
2. If you are a true writer, don’t look at it as a means of making money else you’ll lose the essence of it! Just focus on the message of your writing and rest shall flow.
Another handy tip that I got from my writing therapist friend Mari:
Turn to a journal if you don’t feel like writing! You can begin with, “I don’t feel like writing or what should I write” and just continue scribbling without ‘thinking’! – Idea is to de-clutter the mind to give it more space!
Love your posts always – very reflective indeed!
Ashok Banker said
Lovely post, thanks for sharing. :~)
These days, it takes several dozen, usually even hundreds of rejections before you get published – and even after getting published, the rejections continue. Times have changed.
The only way to avoid writer’s block is NOT to worry about publication at all. Like a pregnant mother doesn’t worry about the child growing within her and whether or not he will find a job, succeed, marry, etc in future. All that is for later. Most of my work remains unpublished and that’s true of every successful or unsuccessful writer. Publication is about commercial viability at that point in time, not about how good your writing is or isn’t.
And yes, constantly filling the well is the only way to avoid ‘blocks’ of any kind. Never stop reading, watching, observing, listening, dreaming…and you will never stop writing.
My problem is how NOT to write (and do other things). It takes an effort to get away from the keyboard, even to drink water, etc. Writing is breathing.
Ashok
gurprrietsiingh said
Ashok
I loved your note, thank you so much for coming over and sharing your thoughts, because, to me, a budding writer, you made a difference. What you say about publishers’ decisions being more about marketability than quality of content helped a great deal.
And filling the well! Good one, that!
Monisha Advani said
Drink some wine. Look at the lighter side of life. And then write seriously about it!
Kavi said
Havent been a writer ! But the ‘bloggers block’ is a phenomenon that visits me now and then. A gentle comment by a regular reader miles away, gently asking ‘where are you’… gives some impetus.
Over the recent years, as the blogging has evolved, i have grown to believe, that such ‘blocks’ are natural processes ! For renewal and clearing up the mind ! Quite often, such blocks have helped in discovering new pastures to write about, and ofcourse, new ways !!
gurprrietsiingh said
Ah! Thank you for helping me add another track to my note Kavi. Blogger’s block indeed!
Gautam Ghosh said
I wish I had blogger’s block
I have to consciously decide not to blog 
gurprrietsiingh said
Glad you don’t! A lot of us would be deprived!