Two-Fifty Tuesday: Unblocking Writer’s Block

It’s Your Building Block of Writing (Really!)

A friend once told me he didn’t believe in writer’s block. Of course I scoffed. Because of course it exists. I’ve lived it. That overwhelming, anxiety-ridden, sinking despair when the curser blinks, unmoving, on the blank page—that’s real. 

So I called him on it. His reply? “But there’s no such thing as ‘ditch-digger’s block.’ They just carry on with the hard work.”

Huh. 

They just carry on with the hard work. If you’re a ditch digger, your hard work is physical. You’re battling the elements—the hottest or rainiest of days—or maybe you have your own limitations—you burned your fingers cooking dinner and now you need to hold your shovel with blistered hands. 

My point: every type of job, every type of person has their own challenges. Writing is hard. Creativity feels elusive, like we have to catch lightning in a bottle before we can write—and that’s when we feel blocked.

But too often we use it as an excuse to stop.

Instead, I’ve learned to use it as an excuse to stop and think. I now see “writer’s block” as a warning from my creative subconscious that something in my story isn’t working, so I reexamine my plot or characters. I’ve learned how to use that overwhelming, anxiety-inducing, sinking despair to work for me. It’s not easy. It’s freakin’ hard. 

But it beats digging ditches.