You Don’t Have Writer’s Block. You Are Recharging
Debunking the writer’s block theory will make you a better writer.
Every block you have is only taking you higher.
You’ve been there, I’m sure. You couldn't write and you labeled it as writer’s block.
To an extent, it’s not false. But it’s definitely not the right terminology for what happens to you when you have a problem writing.
The solution to this is looking at the big picture.
You focus on the moment, rather than seeing what’s next. Understandable. I’ve been there as well. I want results now, and “writer’s block” makes me mad.
But it wasn't until one key moment in my career as a writer appeared. A moment that made me realize that this isn't writer’s block.
It’s a much bigger thing. A level-up. A recharge.
Let’s look at my wake-up call. The thing that shifted my perspective made me trust the process a little more than I used to.
And it will help you find guidance as well.
Endings are new beginnings
The idea of life is that everything works in circles. Something ends for something else to begin. This concept applies to every little thing in life. Everything. Period.
To start a new story, you need to finish the previous one first.
For a strike to begin, another must end.
This is where I want you to focus.
Take a moment in your career as a writer where you stopped writing. The writer’s block you think you had. What happened next? How did you proceed from there?
Part 1 of my realization
I wrote for a long time with a routine in mind. With a routine that made me write in a good volume, decent stories. One the day I stopped. I didn't want to write anything at all. I didn't want to function.
I thought that this was it. The end of another hobby that I started with big goals in mind. I even got a little depressed.
Anyway, fast forward 2 weeks later, I opened the Medium tab again. Ready to type some words.
I had this glorious idea that I wanted to make research and write about. And so I did.
I wrote an article that got published at Mind Cafe, about Sherlock Holme’s Mind Palace.
A story that got published in a big publication? After 2 weeks of doing nothing?
Maybe the answer was at doing nothing.
Part 2
Another big dead end came up.
From June 8 to June 29, I wrote 1 story. Yes, just one.
And then this happened.
A burst of writing. I became unstoppable. But not only that. I became consistent with my quality as well. I made 2x of any earnings I had in a month, but in a week instead.
I wrote a story that earned me my first $10 and I’m so proud of it.
YES, the answer looks like doing nothing is the way to go.
The answer was about circles all along.
But my mind made me believe I was only useless and unable to do what I did.
Shifting perspective was inevitable.
Like body like mind
Mens sana in corpore sano.
The phrase comes from Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal.
You should have a healthy mind in a healthy body. Both of them need a recharge.
People that train for the Olympics have off-seasons. They take a healthy rest before starting a new cycle of training. Bigger, stronger than before.
In the same way, your mind subconsciously tells you it needs a recharge.
And it is presented to you as writer’s block.
Well, check again. When this writer’s block ends, you will be better than before. Because you rested. Because you listened to your mind, even subconsciously.
It might be one weekend or a month. Every mind works differently, and every situation is not the same. You only have to trust the process.
Final thoughts
Writer’s block doesn't exist. To prove that, take your mind above your head.
Put yourself in the third person. Look at how things are in life.
Life is all about circles. Endings bring new beginnings.
Your mind also is not different from your body. It needs rest. And the mind is showing it weirdly enough for you to understand.
Historically, as a writer, every ending brought me a new, better beginning.
And if you put yourself in my position, you might as well witness the same thing.
I want you to know we are on this together.
