Healing My Writer's Block

Let's address the unfinished stories in the room...

Currently, my view is a narrow street. There’s at least three coffee shops on the block and the droll of construction. The heat is unforgiving and my faithful lavender latte is melting. The coffee shop I reside in is blasting Chappell Roan. The seats are retro booths and it makes me feel at home when my anxiety is working overtime. Despite frequenting this coffee shop, I get a burst of energy writing about it as if I’m narrating my own little novel.

It’s quite the feat for a burned out writer.

For the last six months, the comfort of Cafe Lucia's superb playlist and my heavily stickered laptop have served as helpful vices for this prolonged writer’s block. I’m not new to the ugly face of writer’s block. However, the past months have been particularly insidious — crippling anxiety, shitty writing, and abandoned projects. Whenever I research tips on ending writer’s block, everyone says the same thing:

            “Take it easy with yourself!”

            “Don’t let it intimidate you from getting back in the ring!”

The advice, while helpful, does little to snap that spark back into my veins. So, as I sit in a booth next to a shelf littered with books, I want to give you an honest breakdown of how I am (currently) fighting writer’s block. I think it helps to tell you I’m not an accomplished writer with a parade of published books under my belt.

I graduated in 2023 with an MFA in Writing and have yet to score a proper job to pay all my bills. I’ve applied to so many jobs that my brain is started to feel fried. LinkedIn and Indeed are now my sworn enemies, and if I have to rework my resume one more time, I’ll combust.

This story isn’t new. We’re in troubling times, especially as writers. But I think it helps to remind other writers reading this post that despite shaky waters, you can still write.

What is writer’s block?

I’ve posted a condensed version on my Instagram page but here we’ll dive deeper.

Writer’s block is the inability for writers to write. It’s the blockage of creative juices and the build-up of insecurity. However, I especially want to focus on writer’s block for those of us who are in our season of doubt. As someone whose work has been consistently rejected, I know a thing or two. To simply keep writing is damn near impossible, yet it’s the cure. Sounds frustrating, right? Here's four techniques to practice out:

·      Accept & Release

·      Abandon the unrealistic

·      Foster consistency

·      Writing exercises

            The working writer has to build the muscle of accept & release. This is accepting you did the best you could and releasing whatever idea you have built in your head of how your work will turn out. I find the most anxiety comes from pre-planning and submitting. We imagine this glitzy story of an agent finding our work and branding us the voice of our generation.

While this feels good, its highly unrealistic. Which is the next point — Abandon unrealistic fantasies and expectations of writing outcomes. Unrealistic expectations only make us anxious writers. It rushes the writing process and pushes us to pump out work that is poorly written. The more you dream about writing the next best thriller series, the less you’ll actually perform. Hence, why you lack consistency.

Writer’s block and a lack of consistency go hand-in-hand. Writer’s block creates the anxiety whereas your lack of consistency sustains it. To combat this, we focus instead on fostering consistency. Now, does this mean you force yourself to write for three hours every day? Nope, that’s setting an unrealistic goal you likely won’t complete due to anxiety. You wouldn’t expect an athlete to perform after pulling a muscle, right?

Instead, you start small with writing exercises. In my Instagram post, I mentioned four areas of attack: writing exercises, reading, small goal setting, and community. I prefer the first call to action to be writing exercises since they’re less intimidating for anxious writers. Here’s my favorite exercise: Spot & Write.

This is effective because it takes away the pressure of writing a high-brow piece. Instead, you’re stripped down to the basics. You want to remember how to properly describe a scene so you can continue strengthening that writing muscle. Here’s my results:

The point is a call to action that doesn’t overwhelm you. I personally find this is the best way to start OR try reading a book that inspires you. My go-to will always be The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. These are simple ways to work that strained writing muscle without the pressure of achieving a goal right away.

Where do we go from here?

Writer’s block teaches me that not knowing the future outcome of my writing career is a helpful tool. It shows me that my writing should never rely on being published, but rather on my loyalty, passion, and skill. The truth is, we won’t always have motivation to write. We have to carve out our time and remember drought seasons don’t last forever.

If this post inspired you, please subscribe to my substack + follow me on my writing page via Instagram and TikTok @deeandthepen. I’ll be sharing daily posts and blog posts every week. I’m working on creating a space for more communication, potentially a slack channel where we motivate each other to keep at our writing.

For those needing one last bit of motivation, here’s a quote:

“Forget about inspiration, because it’s more likely to be a reason not to write, as in, “I can’t write today because I’m not inspired.” I tell them I used to live next to my landlady and I told everybody she inspired me. And the most valuable characteristic any would-be writer can possibly have is persistence. Just keep at it, keep learning your craft and keep trying.”

-Octavia Butler

Stay inspired, writers!