The Webster-Merriam definition of “blocked” is to be obstructed or to make movement slow or impossible. Creativity is typically defined as the ability to generate new ideas or novel associations.
Writer’s Block is usually associated with writing. Often an author is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative blackout. It can vary in severity from a few days to several years. The common reason is fear of imperfection and comparing their work with their peers. Many call it a psychological inhibition. Others argue that writer’s block does not even exist but rather use it as an excuse to quit if the going gets tough.
J.D. Salinger (1919 – 2010), author of the infamous book Catcher in the Rye, left the publishing world in 1965 to become a recluse and never shared any of his writings again. So much has been written about why he did this, but the most popular belief is that he suffered PTSD from serving in World War II and because of the negative effects of fame –the high price one might pay for being in the spotlight.
Margaret Mitchell wrote only one novel: Gone with the Wind. So did Boris Pasternack: Doctor Zhivago. A few others: Emily Brontë –Wuthering Heights; Anna Sewell –Black Beauty; Mary Shelly –Frankenstein.
Did they have writer’s block? Did it matter? Does it matter?
I normally have at least six or eight blogs in reserve. Many are written on a whim. Others are inspired by a spectacular sunset, an encounter with someone I care about, or for instance, going through my old poems and remembering why I wrote them.
Right now, I don’t have one blog in reserve, and I haven’t written that next chapter in my novel I know I need to get to. I tell myself, “You’re just going through a dry spell.” What is a dry spell? Is it just another way to say writer’s block? Is it a psychological inhibition? Am I comparing myself to better, more prolific writers? Is it just an excuse to not write? Am I being lazy? Should I look in the mirror and repeat positive affirmations? Does it even matter?
Or should I just write? Simply keep writing and writing and writing and writing and find joy and calm whenever and however, I can find it, like today, with this blog.
“In the book of life, the answers are not found in the back.” Charlie Brown
Enjoy the Passage of Time.
Sharon
© 2024. Sharon Kreider. All Rights Reserved.
One thought on “Writer’s Block”
Rather than block, I like to call these fallow periods, because just like in a field lying fallow, there is always something going on beneath the surface to help regenerate the earth / creativity.