SixR

When attempting to start writing you may need a bit of encouragement. I intend to echo those sentiments as it’s a wonderful exercise. Whether it be expressive, creative, informative, or some mix of many different writing styles the practice is fulfilling. Furthermore, I believe it is something most all are capable of to some degree or another. One of the tenets of my personal creed is that every person holds at least one lesson worth learning. Please spread your lesson. Here is a link to some of my writing on the off-chance that helps.

The Catch

Now, with that being said, writing is also difficult (hence the title). Perhaps I should say that writing can be difficult. Deciding to go on this journey of personal expression and development with incessant journal/writing for various reasons quickly raced from wonder to excitement to gratitude to petrification. The moment I realized someone else read and enjoyed something I wrote the process nosedived to be entirely unproductive. What could have caused such a change?

Expectation.

Real or imagined, and most probably the latter, the expectation of others caused hesitation with each word. Second guesses of motivations. Re-reading and overanalyzing my prior writing to find each fault not worth faulting to any one person. Yet, I did it just the same. After some time grappling with this feeling through reflection, I then decided to search for answers.

The Answer(s)

This post will not detail the many ways in which you can begin writing or making money as a writer. Nor will it delve into the aspects that deal with marketing or finding a niche. There is a plethora of posts, videos, and forums for these topics that are easy enough to find. This post is more of a simple guide to how to feel more confident in one’s competence in order to allow oneself to write. Truthfully, the relevance this has to writing is simply through my personal experience and what I have found in my scouring for information to help myself begin again.

Step 1: Read

I am amazed at how much this is not brought up in the many resources I have looked through when approaching the issue of writer’s block or lack of motivation/excess of fear. After all, how can one draw from an empty well? We have to feed our mind if we expect so much of it.

Anecdotally, this is really the most important step as it is the one that helped me the most. What to read, though? Writers will typically need more specialized knowledge about the subject they are writing about than the reader of the content. This includes writing itself.

Once upon a time, writers used prologues to show how well-read they were in both an attempt to prove their intelligence to their peers as well as convince their audience their book was worth reading. This included classics as well as contemporary pieces that typified their time. Such knowledge was paramount as it made a common literary ground with which to debate the works being made. These days, however, we typically judge works in more subjective ways or perhaps leave judgement to the backs of our minds in the pursuit of cheap entertainment. Regardless, some shared concepts are to be expected.

If you watched a movie that had fantastic visuals, great dialogue, and scintillating sound, but was edited out of order you may have had a negative experience. There are certain norms we expect in our media and to expertly navigate them is the job of the author or director in the example above. Once I began to understand this I looked specifically for works similar to mine that were highly praised. Not to copy the content, but to understand the flow of information. To study their structures. This led to a revelation within my writing as I struggle to create through-lines or keep to established style. Now I have agency as someone who can actively work on a problem in the writing process, giving me more confidence overall.

Differing in fashion from above, there are much more straightforward works that detail the art of writing itself. I would argue the majority of these books, as they are mostly books, are worth skipping. They convey ideas of their time or are as inane as my own writing. However, there are two I highly recommend that complement very well. The first being Stephen King’s (yes, that Stephen King) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. King’s work details his own journey very well and is a great precursor to any technical works. The second being The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. This is a short work that is densely compact with writing guidelines I am still attempting to apply.

Now it is time to look at the next step in the process.

Step 2: Balance

The above mentioned books and other advices may have you believing you should be writing or considering writing incessently. On the contrary. I believe (and research backs me up on this) that balance of health in all things is essential for optimal efficacy. A person’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being will impact their performance academically, and what writing is not academic in some respect. Or rather, what writing will not be inspected through an acadmic lens?

Let me be clear, I wish none to have anxiety, but rather to lessen that stressor. In pointing out this idea of criticism I am assuming you are at the same place as myself. If so, this approach will be of benefit to you. If not, this will still improve your wellbeing. I see no downsides.

Now you may be thinking, “I simply do not have the time, resources, knowledge, or capability to worry about my health and write.” I agree. If you find yourself in that situation prioritize your health. If, perish the thought, that you can not balance health and your day job then I suggest health once more. It is the ultimate factor in the end. One of the best ways I can recommend to get into this mindset is meditation. It requires very little while granting quite a lot. To make it a bit easier I will link to an app called Balance. I am not sponsored by it in any way, it has just been useful on my journey.

Step 3: Express That Block

What I am doing right this second is finding a method around my personal block and giving myself insight as I do so. This is similar to the idea of parenting your inner child; writing for your inner-critic.

Part of what makes this so effective, though, is that I am refocusing on the purpose of my writing. That purpose ultimately is unconcerned with what I have grown to be concerned with as I had lost my focus. The tiniest of spotlights made me have stage fright. It’s funny, as I put these words down I am actually chuckling at the thought of it all and it was so serious just a moment ago.

Maybe writing isn’t your expression for your block. Maybe it’s not writing that is even difficult for you. I honestly believe this can help guide some back to their center, though, irrelevant as to what that center is related to. Find your expression to move around your block and then look back to see the child scared of a strawman of their own imagination. Guide them to where you are. Then, I believe it’s time to create again.

Be safe, be well.