Who writes stays. A certainly true saying. But also one who cleverly overlooks that writing is not always just a pleasure. To have written, yes, that is enjoyment, relief, edification. But still having to write can be a miserable torture. The blank paper, the blank screen are like sneers that slander every word imagined, every sentence approach and dismiss them from presumptuous bouncers on principle: “You can’t get in here!” Writers call this writer’s block. Nevertheless, everyone knows them: students before the next essay, students before the housework, project managers before the report, speakers before the presentation, journalists in front of the article, bloggers, authors, poets, even the authors of love letters. To put it in a nutshell: writer’s blockades are like herpes – the infection can never be completely cured. But sometimes the symptoms can be alleviated…
What is a writer’s block and how does it come about?
Anyone who has to deal with words in his job has ever stared at blank pages and did not know what to do next. Most describe this phenomenon as an inability or difficulty to put their thoughts into words and write them down. Thoughts float here and there, but goal-oriented and structured thinking is difficult.
What is the inability to write?
Just as each writer writes differently, the writer’s block also manifests itself in different ways. Some struggle with the right entry, others struggle with every word. And still others do not make a single sentence. Also, physical symptoms, such as restlessness, headache and nausea can occur. Most then go to clean up the apartment, clean, laundry or the like. Psychologists speak of avoidance actions.
Why do we get a writer’s block?
Often the writer’s block comes quite suddenly. And one wonders: Why is this happening to me right now? There are two possible reasons for this:
1. The psychological reasons: The fear of failure may be behind the write inhibition. There are so much pressures to deliver a good result that you censor yourself during the writing process. Can I write this like this? Will that please my readers, my boss or a professor? Often it is negative experiences that inhibit one. The last texts were panned. The criticism is so deep that you can’t get rid of it.
2. The substantive reasons: Actually, you have all the information in front of you and would only need to arrange it. But that’s exactly where the problem lies. The mountain of information is so overwhelming that you do not even know where to start. The inability to make connections and organize the information leads to the inability to write. But the opposite, the lack of information, is inhibiting. You just do not know what to write because you hardly know anything about the subject. In this case you need to visit essaytwist.com.
Time pressure releases writer’s block
Robert Boice, a psychologist at the University of New York in Albany, examined the problem. Boice made an experiment with 27 academics who suffered from a writer’s block and looked for ways to solve their writing inhibition. For ten weeks. Anyone who was allowed to write spontaneously, that is, when he was motivated to do so, showed moderate creativity at best. Other than those who were constantly pushed to it: they were the most productive.
