Wrestling with Writer's Block

 

 Writer’s block is something I have never experienced before, at least, not the way it showed up recently. I’m sure the lack of creative motivation is what kept some spaces between my writing, but it wasn’t like this before working on my book.

Before my latest projects, the writing was up to my discretion, when I wanted to and when I had inspiration. I wanted to write fairly frequently, so I wrote often, but it wasn’t quite every day. Now that I’m writing a book, writing can become quite hard. What do I actually write? What should I bring to light from this time in my life? How do I transition from this point to the next? What do I write right now?

I face these questions every time I sit at my typewriter and attempt to work. I do not face these questions nearly so much with the newspaper work, because when I research, the material comes to me. The magazine writing can wait for inspiration or a bit of transparency, but the book is a totally different ballgame.

One strategy I came up with was re-writing the last page or so of what I last wrote, and seeing if the changes help me come up with the next thing to write. Another helpful thing is to just re-read what I have written and see if anything sparks a suggestion.

Writer’s block for me comes in the form of extreme fatigue when I think about working. I don’t want to do it. It is hard. Later is a good time. I wait until later and feel guilty for not doing my work. Other times I push through the block or stump and feel so exhilarated from the work. It is then that I understand why I am a writer.