On Writer’s Block, Fear, and Insecurity

I’ve been struggling over the past few weeks to come up with the topic of my next blog post. I have a lot of ideas, yet I’ve found difficulty in getting those ideas to coalesce on the page. Whenever I start to write my thoughts down, I find my mind wandering and I’m unable to pin down the issue that previously seemed so clear in my mind. To compound this, I’m constantly distracted by school. With so many papers and readings occupying my mental energy, the temptation to watch Netflix or read trashy thriller novels is sometimes too much. This isn’t to say I’m not doing any writing at all; I’m simply not doing any productive creative writing.

So, today, when I sat down and found myself struggling to find a post topic for the third time this week, I realized I had my topic right in hand: writer’s block.

In many instances, writer’s block is simply a fancy way of saying procrastination – God knows how many times I’ve played Star Wars: Battlefront during times set aside for writing – but this sort of procrastination often originates with fear: fear of failure, fear that your ideas won’t amount to anything worthwhile. It’s disheartening to have a clear image in your head, only to find it unintelligible and poorly composed when put upon the page. Continuing to put time seems almost pointless when the spark of inspiration continually fails to form a tangible product.

I know this is something that any of my writer friends (not to mention artists, photographers, and any other “creators”) can relate to. It’s something we all go through, to varying degrees at one point or another. I’ve gone through many such periods. There have been weeks when I’ve consistently written two or three thousand words a day, only to have that followed by weeks or months of little or no writing at all. This is the nature of creativity. It’s a cycle, wherein the creative juices flow with ease or grind to a painful halt. Rarely is there a middle ground.

Insecurity is perhaps one of the biggest problems that writers contend with.  Often, it is the root cause of writer’s block. What if nobody ever reads your work? Or, worse still, what if people do read your work, only to decide they don’t like it? I think that this constant fear of inadequacy is what stops many writers in their tracks. I often find myself feeling that I am unworthy of the stories I try to tell. Surely there is someone who could do a better job writing my ideas, is there not? Are any of these ideas even original? What will people think?

As a writer, allowing yourself to consciously worry about these things is poisonous. Insecurity grows insidiously, and often starts with questions such as these. You have to simply write without worrying about the consequences. A professor I had last year perfectly summed up the approach I strive for in my writing: “Don’t ever worry about what your reader will think, because nine out of ten things you write will never be seen by anyone but you.” This really struck a chord with me, and thinking about it helps me to write for myself. As much as we would all like to be the next Stephen King or Margaret Atwood, most of us aren’t ever going to get a wide readership. Acknowledging this fact can be strangely comforting.

I’ve found that the key to overcoming writer’s block is to embrace the struggle. Use those fears to fuel new stories and new writing. Write about the insecurity you feel. Let it be a driving force.

During the times I’m not being as creatively productive, I attempt to keep my mind active. I read or reread my favourite books, I listen to a lot of music, and I ponder issues that are important to me. Even if these things do not directly inspire any writing, I’ll often find the ideas and emotions diffuse into later pieces, once the creative wheel has started rolling again. Even as I am not writing, I attempt to stockpile creativity for when I eventually get the ball rolling again.

I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic. There are many reasons for writer’s block and many different strategies for dealing with it. These are just some ideas I’ve come up with after some introspection and discussion with others. I think most of these ideas can apply across the board into all areas of creativity, and I encourage everyone to explore their creative side wherever and whenever they can. Who knows: you might even surprise yourself, just like I did with this blog post!

As always, thanks for reading!