Some have it easy. They have a continuos flow, their articles are short, simple and sweet. Some on the other hand take ages to type out their thoughts, then work on it meticulously to make it look better.
Whereas some, even though they are overflowing with ideas, find it difficult to begin.
This is called The Writer's Block.
Is it good to have a Writer's Block?
Absolutely. It implies that your intuitions are working correctly, that you are conscious of what you're going to write. Its a self imposed quality test. It means that you attach a certain self respect to yourself and your opinions which are going to be read by diverse people all over the world.
This is an indicator of whatever you're going to write is going to be really, really good.
How to get around it?
Two people were climbing a hill. One was a withered, Old man. The other man was in his early twenties.
The young man, who was athletically built, asked the old man, "Hey, How are you going to climb this hill? It's too long a distance to cover for an old man like you!"
The old man replied with a benign smile,"I'll meet you at the other side of the Hill."
The young man scowled at the Elder and proceeded to begin climbing the hill.
The old man started climbing the hill step by step. He didn't let the fact that the hill was a steep one to daunt him. He just proceeded step by single step. Each step was small, and so the old man gradually made progress.
That night, the old man saw the Young man stooped under a rock. The young man whined,"I'm turning off, it's impossible to ascend and descend this hill. Its too long!"
The young man returned home, failing in his task.
The Elder on the other hand, stuck to facing the Hill as one rocky step after the next one, and though it took him quite a bit of time, eventually got to the other side of the hill.
So, how can you write an entire article on a topic, then continue writing articles on topic upon topics, if you let the beginning lines of your initial article make you think so much?
The First Tip is to just write whatever comes to your mind, no matter how simple or unimpressive it is. Huge downpours are made up of countless raindrops which are so minuscle. Its only the small trivial things that add up to become great momentous achievements.
During the course of writing down whatever that strikes you, You will tend to hit upon the very concept you were searching for earlier. Incidents from your very own life will come up in your memory, and you will automatically find a way to apply those experiences to lucidly express the contents of your article with them.
Whenever you begin composing an article on any topic, there are three Very important things you should do:
1.Research2.More Research3.And Research again.
You need to keep gathering data, garner reports, access videos of the topic if there are any, read previous articles on the subject, understand what it really is at its core, what you're dealing with, how it can be related to everyday life, where you can draw examples from. The bottomline is :
Its imperative that you have a clear-cut understanding of the topic you are going to write on.
Once you have an in-depth understanding of the topic at hand, Opinions will freely originate from you. They will surprise yourself to such an extent that you'll wonder,"My god, am I the one who's coming up with all of this?"
Yes. You have it in yourself to become an impeccable writer. Anyone can become an expert on any subject, become a best selling author, an impressive writer.
The basic criteria which lead to these achievements is the complete understanding of what their objective is.
Writing an article isn't about writing lines upon lines of text that simply imply no real meaning. The opinions that are provided should be universally applicable. Everyone should be able to benefit from those opinions. The opinions, thoughts and ideas expressed should be time-less in their substance. They should have the potential to be applied at any point in time in a person's life.
Stop Doubting your ability!
The single most important thing that causes a severe Writer's block is : Fear of failure.
People tend to unnecessarily begin thinking that they're not cut to the job.
That's a gross misconception! It's just a manifestation of Fear of failure.
Now why does this fear arise? Because there isn't enough Confidence. Why isn't there enough Confidence? Because the necessary tasks for the job haven't been done.
What are the necessary tasks that are to be done before writing?
A fresh, open, free thinking mind. Being creative helps a lot. There shouldn't be any other things clogging at you behind your mind, telling you you have this to do, that do to. You should be focused upon what you're doing : You're in the process of writing a good article!
While writing it, you shouldn't write it to please the readers, write it to please yourself.
Yes, self satisfaction brings out the best out of anyone. For, who is a better analyst , who knows more about you, than you yourself?
Sometimes some writers do bizarre things before beginning to write. Some go on a spiritual trip. Some begin voracious reading. Some get drunk beyond their senses. Some go on a soul searching trip. Some actually do what they're going to write.
There are different ways to open up all those ebbing thoughts inside your mind. The first step is to have a clarity of thought. Focus on what is to be done, and just do it. Don't let thoughts about your work's outcome clog your brain.
How could have Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel for so many years, if he had let the Pope's snide remarks on his work affect him while he was working single handedly in solitude?
Michelangelo had self belief. He believed in himself. He believed he could pull it off, and he pulled it off amazingly.
That's what you need to have, to write without any obstructions in your flow of thought. You need to have self belief, belief in your ability to deliver as a writer, belief in your ability to captivate the attention of writers.
Stop thinking how the end result would appear like. Errors are permissible during the initial draft. What's important is that you are letting the ideas flow. You can always review the draft and perfect it. Its better reviewing what you have written, instead of contemplating on what to write isn't it?
Remember, writing anything is an art. Even writing a blog post. If you do it just for the sake of writing a meaningless array of words, you can, but how can you achieve any sort of satisfaction from it, if you yourself know that it is not written for its real worth?
Get into what you're writing about!
Another important thing to do, is to actually place yourself in the thick of things about which you're writing. You need to strike the chord of relevance between everyday events and the contents of the article. How will this help the normal person? How can a student benefit from this? You need to think empathetically.
Place yourself in the shoes of the readers themselves.
Once you become a neutral reader of what you've written, then the ways to improvise, the weak points, the points that have to be given more importance, ideas that have been left in the dark, and ideas on what follow up articles you have to write will automatically present themselves to you. It's just, by simply thinking that it's difficult to begin writing, you've placed all your ideas in a steel vault. It's upto you, and it IS you, who is going to unlock that treasure trove, and let it flood the minds of the readers.
Set aside self doubt, sow the seeds of self belief in your heart, and research extensively on the topic you're going to write on. You'll be amazed at the results!
If you have, at any point, suffered from Writer's block, or if you have any different approaches to combat writer's block, then you're Very welcome to share it in the comments below! Or if you liked the article, or if you had a difference of opinion on the article's contents, you have every right to state it in the comments below!
Good points! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Harvey!
ReplyDelete