Since the time I was a child I loved to write things down. Whether it was a list of things to do, or thoughts that seem of value to me; poems or a song, I jotted it down on paper.
Oftentimes I had been even writing down things after I went to bed at night. Into my notebook positioned conveniently on the bed-rest. Peculiar as it may sound, it was in total darkness, as I knew the light from my room could potentially alert my parents.
I found some of my writing organized and practical, and some scattered and creative. I realized back then already, that if I wanted to recall some of my thoughts and ideas, which came to me especially at the evening hours, I needed to collect them on paper.
The one skill that proved to become one of my immensely valuable and cherished skills was touch typing, which I learned back in college. And once I learned to transfer thoughts onto a computer screen with a speed of light (almost), my writing took on a different dimension.
While writing can be seen as a rather lonely and personal experience, it’s also way more than that. When we transfer thought process onto some medium, we enable it to become widely available and to spread to other people.
There is often a mysterious touch in many of writings. The mystery is that until I, as the writer, start touching the keys on a keyboard, it’s not very obvious what will come out of it.
You could call writing an art, if you like. As before the piece is written, it sits somewhere in the collective space, awaiting creative discovery.
What about the writer’s block?
There could be variety of reasons why a writer experiences a writer’s block. Just a simple change in life circumstances can lead to a block in the flow of writing. My block came after some unforeseen events considering my mental health, and continued for quite a while, not getting addressed.
The fact that I was feeling truly uninspired to write anything down was really a change for me. The thought process behind this block was something on the lines of ‘not knowing enough to share’; ‘not being as great as I seemed’ and just feeling down generally.
What helped me personally to get out of this self-absorbed situation was one video that I watched not too long ago. The message that stuck with me from this video was about the consistency skill of real writers. Writing no matter what. Even if one doesn’t feel like there is actually something to write about, write anyway.
I took on this little challenge with myself and decided to get back into writing more regularly than in the last few years. And while my current writing may not yet be (at least in my eyes) so content rich, I am feeling good about the simple change in the process.
The soft touch of the keys I type on, the jerked flow of ideas, each sentence that comes into life, the proverbial electronic smell of freshly printed words on paper….all that gives me some form of satisfaction.
So if I was to give any prospective or stuck writer a hand with their flow, it would be this:
Sit down every day at your computer, respectively with a real paper and pen. Open the notepad and close your eyes for a brief moment. Relax your thought process and hands. Take a deep breath. Ask for a title to come to you. Once it does, open your eyes. Write down the title. And as you do that, some words may pop through….continue writing them….persevere…correct as you go along…adjust your writing…continue…
Write a few paragraphs every day and make it a consistent habit. Flow will come with more practice.
Enjoy this creative art form and share your ideas with the world. There is always space for one more article, in the world of internet. 🙂