So recently, one of my very good friends messaged me on WhatsApp asking why I have not been writing lately, as she hasn’t seen any of my writing in recent days.
And I, without thinking twice, simply blamed it on “Mr. Writer’s Block.”
And after replying to her, I wondered, “Is it really writer’s block or my own procrastination or lack of creativity?”
Sometimes, while doing household chores or while travelling, a wave of sonder drenches you, and your mind kind of starts behaving awkwardly and starts thinking about deep philosophical aspects of life and leaves you quiet and numb. You want to jot the thoughts down, but you don’t, as if you are simply enjoying the moment and don’t want to bring it before the world. I feel some escapism took over me, and I let myself wander alone in solitude. Is that thought of escapism a form of writer’s block?
After a few days, that very good friend of mine gave a prompt on a writer’s platform, The Momma Clan, of which she is a proud founder herself. The prompt was, “Whether writer’s block is real or just an excuse.”
So I decided to take up the challenge, ignoring the bully, aka Mr. Writer’s Block, or whatever it is—my own procrastination or something else—and present my point of view before you all.
So, here I am, finally putting my thoughts before you all.
I believe that most of the time it’s just procrastination, as my mind is full of ideas, but I just keep on doing other stuff, promising myself that I will write them down for sure but forget it later. Sometimes the thoughts come and go without hesitation, but to put those thoughts down on paper seems like a really big deal.
For me, I am a very observant person, and whenever I am with nature, taking a walk in the apartment premises, admiring the colours of flowers, the unfurling of leaves, or looking at the setting sun, chirping birds returning to their nests, or the silently waxing and waning moon at night, numerous thoughts start flowing in my mind. Sentences form, but never make it to paper.
So it’s not writer’s block, as there isn’t any dearth of ideas or creativity. Actually, it’s just that you are expressing your thoughts but keeping them to yourself and not sharing them with the world.
So, we just can’t blame everything every time on writer’s block because writer’s block happens when there is a drought of creativity due to burnout, illness, or maybe grief sometimes. We can rather call it a congestion of thoughts when numerous thoughts are stuck in one place and we don’t find any way to get out of that bottleneck.
And today, I choose to clear that bottleneck. Mr. Writer Block, you are not welcome here anymore. Not today! One sentence at a time, I’m letting the thoughts out. I have decided that I will start with baby steps, one step at a time. So now, when I go for a walk, morning or night, and observe something interesting or something that naturally grabs my attention, I will write one line related to what pops into my head immediately on seeing it. I will write it on my personal WhatsApp and send it to myself. A great feature of WhatsApp, isn’t it? Mr. Writer Block hates small things. He hates simplicity. So small and simple is how I’ll beat him. So now, none of my creative ideas or thoughts will go to waste or down the drain because of procrastination.
Thank you to my dear friend for the nudge and for this prompt. Sometimes all we need is someone to ask, “Why aren’t you writing?” to remind us that we can.
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