Writer's block and other musings

Musings / A day in a writer's life

I'm running late with my self-imposed writing deadlines, articles waiting to be written and I haven't managed a single draft.

Unavoidable issues got in the way some months back.

Today, I've been blest with some time. My cup needs a third filling of a hot coffee. I struggle to write even a line.  

Familiar?

I need to put my thoughts to paper but my pen freezes. My muse refuses to write.


Some writers call this mental block. But I don't want to believe it. I have too many things to write about. Many memories and sentiments to capture.

I'm overwhelmed ... a dozen evergreen articles waiting to be written, hundreds of articles more waiting to be revised,  stories started, and journals piled.  Ah, what with my blogs begging to be updated.  I'm facing all of them but can't seem to go on.

As a writer, this is not a sight of my heaven on earth.  Of course I could write meaningless words. But, this is different. I can't write at all. My mental faculties, my senses are frozen.  At the moment, I'm snared.

It's fine to be overwhelmed occasionally.

Now I know; it's Monday. The day when I want the week to start right, and I want everything done in one sweep. The very thought has freezes me but I'm certain this is momentary.

I've just compromised with my Muse.  And it's looking good.


Suggested reading:

The Psychology of Writer's Block (And How to Overcome It) by Jennifer Lachs. Accessed February 10 2019.   



(c) February 10, 2016. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Why do I write?

I write because I love to write.  Recently though, writing has become extremely therapeutic too.

For a while my mind went blank, not because I had nothing to say. On the contrary. It might have happened to you, when sometimes you have much to say but very little with which to say them. Well, I've been trying to look beyond the horizon and explore new ideas and topics to write about, but this time is one of those moments when words seem to fail me.

I'm glad that Virginia Woolf rescues me by putting my thoughts to pen when she said: "I must be private, secret, anonymous and submerged as possible in order to write." I've always been a private person in so many ways. I still am, but somehow, about five years after the millennium few things within and some ways I relate to others relaxed when I started writing seriously.


So, why do I write?  And I don't mean just any kind of writing. What I mean is creative writing, one that comes from the heart and my creative juice.  Horace summarised in part my answer and I'd like to quote what he said in Latin, one I've learnt ages ago...

spatio brevi spem longam reseces;
dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas;
carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

~ Horace, Roman Poet ~

Translated in English: "... from the short space of life you should exclude distant hopes; for while we speak, the envious hours are passing away; seize the day, trusting little as possible to what comes after."  Thanks, Horace, for putting words into my thoughts to pen.  An inspired pen certainly would want to capture these moments, these passing hours, and put them to paper.

I write because I love to write. I write because it satisfies a need. I write because it fulfills a purpose.      

Staying Motivated When the Blues Strike

Even with highly self-motivated people, there are days when "motivation blue" simply happens. Call it by any other name, these are moments when motivation is on a slump.  To a struggling writer, it might be "mental block" or moments when the mind goes blank.

So what do you do when motivation blues strike?  Motivation is a broad topic. Out there we read heaps about motivation.  Writers write about it. Life coaches pump us up with it. Motivational speakers talk about it. Even well-meaning religious friends can overwhelm at times with rebuttal of biblical verses. 

If we don't lose sight of our dreams, our goals, then shouldn't this be enough to motivate us? This - despite all sorts of challenges stretching us in all directions, difficult situations and difficult people who seem to block our path consciously or unconsciously. We need to be realistic especially in times when our dreams seem too impossible to achieve.


If you ever experience this 'motivation blue'  ~  start by taking a deep breath.

I try not to get overwhelmed by the piles of things needing to be done, tackle them one at a time, and in smaller chunks of to-dos. It's always good to remind ourselves, and each other.

Touch base with a friend or two we can relate to. Ask them what they are up to. Let's hope that their effect on us motivates and encourages rather than the other way around.

Tidy up, declutter at least obvious clutters around you. This one task, I tend to do a lot. As a writer, I have piles of drafts all over, a dozen open books for references, etc.  Although, I know too - some writers thrive on mess around them because they say they can think better with clutter as is. So they say. 

You can always read inspirational books, success stories, and biographies of people influential in your life. 

Be creative. Think of your favourite things and react on it. I usually listen to Mozart andantes, adagios, violin sonatas. Lately, I've been more inspired listening to the French version of "If I Only Have Time" popularised by John Rowles in English. French song is sung by Michel Sardou. Or you can listen to other easy listening pieces of your choice. If you play an instrument, better still.  Play something and give your soul to it, con mucho gusto.

Intrinsic motivation must be present if we are to do our best. 

The Ugly Duckling and a Lesson on Acceptance

Many of you will remember the fairy tales "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling" written by 19th century Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen.  Lately, I've decided to include children's books among those I've scheduled  to read and do some nutshell abstracts. The authors Grimm brothers and Christian Hans Andersen come to mind.

To recall, "The Ugly Duckling" demonstrates Andersen's sympathies for anyone who in a way, is an "outsider" in search to belong, to be accepted. The story is about a duck ostracized by his fellow fowl because of his perceived homeliness. To his happiness and surprise, including the others, he eventually matures into a graceful swan.



In any kind of group - society, interest groups, workplace, church, or even in dot com community and forums - like the ugly duckling, we want to get in, to belong, to be accepted, especially when some "cliques" become quite apparent even if they don't want to admit it.

Sometimes we go through life when we feel different from some people around us. The duckling was not ugly at all. He was simply different. Yet, he suffered humiliation and sadness, teased and ostracized by his fellow ducks. He was even unjustly beaten by some of them. These can be uncomfortable, lonely and painful.

One day he flew --- then eventually "found" himself, fully realizing there's really nothing wrong with him. Like the ugly duckling, we can hope for acceptance and be appreciative when it happens. And, like the ugly duckling, our time will come when we will be accepted, even loved.

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