Did you know that writer’s block could be your body’s mechanism to protect you?
Writer’s block, a phenomena where the writer feels a resistance towards writing, which could project itself in the form of lack of interest, ideas or inspiration to write. And in no time you’d realize you haven’t written anything in months.
Why does it occur?
How and what is it protecting us from?
Well, some studies say that writer’s block might be a subconscious response that arises when the writer’s mind senses a potential threat.
What could be a threat to a writer’s mind?
Let’s imagine, you have written a few pieces, posted them on different social media platforms and received some validation from your peers which has made you believe that you are a “Good Writer”. You have now set a standard for yourself and expect yourself to write a certain way. Well, that’s the threat!
When you set an expectation for yourself, your subconscious senses it as a threat to your image of yourself, hence it prevents you from self-doubt, self-judgement or seeing yourself as a failure by stopping you from writing and continue living with good stories of your past accomplishments
Isn’t it fascinating!
If you really see, writer’s block is not the problem, it’s just a symptom of lack of trust in your skills to write and that’s what needs to be worked on.
How do we do that?
To build any skill, it’s important for us to feel safe within ourselves. So, seat yourself down and assure yourself that you are with you in this journey. Give yourself space to write crappy stuff, focus on your purpose to write and set expectation with yourself that skill building is a lifelong process, no matter how good a writer you become, you always have more to learn and give yourself permission to fail and learn from it.
Now, get at it!
Enjoy Writing!