Writer’s block! We all hate it, but I’ve come to find that what we know as writer’s block aka the lack of ideas, is never really the problem. Keep reading and figure out what real writer’s block is and what may be stopping you.
Perfectionism
If my car is not parked perfectly (equidistant to each line), I will get back in and repark it until I do so. I will rewrite things again, if my handwriting is looking crappy or something is crooked. I’ll organize clothes for hours until my closet looks perfect! This is how bad my perfectionism is. I do the same with writing.
I have a weird way of thinking where I believe everything I write needs to be perfect. It’s impossible. I can’t get anything written when I have that mindset because I’ll always change my mind. Nothing is going to be good enough except perfect and perfect is rare, rare, rare. I will always look back on something and be like “who wrote this shit?” and change it up again. And again.
Just write! You’d be suprised what you get down if you just trust yourself at first and remind yourself that editing is a thing. We can edit, thank goodness!
Like the saying goes,
“The first draft of anything is shit.”
Ernest Hemingway
Originality
According to Georges Polti, there are only 36 possible (dramatic) story plot lines/situations. No matter what you read or watch, everything falls into one of these plot templates or a mixture of them. I may have to agree. Nothing is original. At this point in human life, we’ve discovered a lot! A lot of things have been done. A lot of people have lived. A lot of great and creative things have been made.
A lot of our writings are bound to be similar or reminiscient of something else already whether that’s because we’ve been subconsiously inspired by it or because it’s just already out there. That’s fine!
This is not to say your story or ideas aren’t unique or special. I just think it’s important to write everything you can whether it’s “original” or not.
The beautiful thing about stories and writing is that is all connects and shares commonality, relatable themes, and similar motifs of the human condition. It all becomes grounded in the same way and that’s why we love them. Not because they are original but because it’s relatable, well-done, interesting, entertaining, and genuine.
Greatness
Call me selfish and egotistical but I really like the idea of being successful. I honestly dream about creating something great. I can only imagine how it feels to create Harry Potter, write a movie script like Shawshank Redpemtion, or write teleplays for Breaking Bad. I wanna create something great too, but that mindset may not always work to my advantage.
It may inspire me to work hard and that’s great. But I personally am writing my “firsts.” My first novel, screenplay, pilot episode, and more. The chances of it being really shitty are very high. And that’s OK! I still have time to practice. I have SO much more to learn. I can still edit things. It will be ok!
The idea that everything I need to write has to be great is stopping me from writing altogether. And the most important thing for a writer to do is to write. I’m not going to write the next great TV series like Game of Thrones (the earlier seasons at least) in one go. It takes time and mistakes! Nothing is great at first. And honestly, greatness can be overrated (but that’s a whole other blog post).
I have to remind myself why I write. Not for more money, fame, or recognition, athough those aren’t bad things. Writing is about you! If you like the idea of being a writer more than you actually write, you’re not a writer.
That’s it! I don’t know if you share these writing blocks with me but I’m just happy I’m aware that these are my problems. Writing is hard! I always find myself having great ideas but putting them on paper rarely seems to translate but with some self-awareness, hopefully I’ll get there! Thanks for reading this quick post about writer’s block!
TESIOLA 
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