If you’ve ever suffered from blockage, right now you might be thinking I’m crazy. We have all been through those moments of absolute drought in which we believe that we will never have a good idea again or that we will never be able to write again … And isn’t that writing block?
Well… If you want to call it that… I don’t mean that people don’t crash every once in a while. I myself have seasons in which I write almost nothing – or nothing, directly. But what I also know is that many times, we confuse the lack of desire, time or commitment with ghost writer block and that has to stop.
You might hate me for this, but I don’t think there is writer’s block . It is not that the muses abandon us. This blockage is something that we cause ourselves, it is the decisions we make that lead us not to write . We are tired after a day of work and we sit down to watch TV, instead of writing a couple of lines. Or we go out for a drink with friends. Or simply, we leave it for another time.
Writer’s block does not exist, it is you who are avoiding doing what you have to do.

I also make bad decisions

As a general rule, I usually have two types of writer’s block:
1. When I start to write.
2. When I reach 50% of the story.
I don’t think I’m the only one that happens. These are the two points where it is easiest to crash. In the first one it may be due to lack of motivation or ideas, you want to be as original as possible and, suddenly, you realize that everything is already written and you have nothing new to say . In the second version of the block, fatigue usually plays an important role. I am a narrator, I write many stories and it is not difficult for me , however, novels, when they exceed 100 pages, stagnate. If I get carried away, they die, I know that I have to force myself and force myself to do writing marathons to finish them and not fall into a block that will make me abandon them forever.
It has been very good for me to know myself as a writer and to know that it is those two points that make my existence bitter.
For example, if I think a story is not original enough, I don’t bother. I’m just starting to write those that really motivate me . When I get stuck in the middle, I force myself to do sit-ups and writing marathons, I organize the rundown of my novel to the maximum so that the writing is easier for me – I have to avoid thinking a lot or I start looking for other things and lose concentration.
Every time I have been lazy to decompose the scenes or to make a rundown… The novel ends up dying half… That is why I think there is no writer’s block, but bad decisions .

Writer’s block in the real world

Writer’s Block is a very lyrical name for certain problems that writers usually have:
• Perfectionism . You’re not sure that story is as good as you deserve, so you don’t write it.
• Fear . You don’t think your work is worth it so you don’t show it. In this way no one can tell you if you are good or bad, better to stay with that you are bad and save yourself browns.
• Lack of faith . If you think you do something well, you will do it well. If you think you are doing it wrong, you will screw it up.
This is like being an alcoholic. The first step to fixing it is admitting that you have a problem. Do you tend to be critical of your work? How many times have you hidden that you are a writer because you think you don’t deserve to call yourself that? Do you think that real writers are just those who have some kind of heavenly gift?

Okay, breathe, buddy.

Today we are going to become iconoclastic and we are going to load the myth of writer’s block, do you think? I want you to come out of the mists of doubt and begin to think of yourself as what you are; a writer or a writer . What I want is for writer’s block to never, ever catch you off guard.

You will never run out of ideas

Since you wake up — and even while you sleep — your mind never stops thinking. You never stop having ideas. It is not that you have a source or a limited number of ideas for your entire life. Scientists say that your brain has an average of 70,000 thoughts a day .
Hell, you have to have some good idea, don’t you think?
Surely you have never felt a dining room blockage or sentimental blockage. Even when you feel sad or empty, you know that you have a flow of feelings within you. In fact, ideas come together with feelings , they are born from your joy, your sadness, your fear …
You are always thinking, therefore you are always creating new ideas . There is no lack of ideas, most of the time you are simply not paying attention and you let them pass. Ideas never stop coming, but you have to know how to get hold of them, before they fly away.

Make lists

One of the problems with blockage is our brain. You think that you are blocked, that you do not have good ideas and, by magic, that is exactly what happens to you. Well, “free writing” helps you remove that plug. I’m not a big fan of these New Age solutions, but if it suits you, go ahead.
This idea is taken from the book Accidental Genius , by Marke Levy and it is about making a list of 100 ideas , without thinking. Free writing, 100 ideas.
Why 100? Because it’s easier to get 100 than 10. Don’t judge the ideas, take a piece of paper and write down the first 100 things that come to mind, without filters and without thinking. Only write. You may be surprised to find that you have made more 10-minute list progress than in the entire last week.

Watch

Writers used to go to cafes. They sat and watched people, the world around them. Now only hipsters and idiots who think they are Hank Moody write in cafes. But the truth is that writing and observation are inextricably linked. You can’t write if you go through life looking at the tips of your shoes, or worse, your belly button.
To observe your surroundings, you don’t even have to leave the house. You can watch the news, read the newspapers, and talk to people . Ask your neighbors and friends how their day went, say hello to people you come across, and see their reactions.
Something as simple as changing the route you take to get to work can help you see things differently … Imagine if you stop reading only science fiction books and start reading the classics … How much could you learn?
With all that new information running through your head, new ideas are sure to appear.

Share, even if you are not prepared

Do you know how to learn to swim? Jumping into the pool. If you spend your life looking at the water, you will never learn.
The blockade, almost always, is nothing more than poorly concealed fear . Show your work to others, let them see you naked.
Only three things can happen: that they like it, that they hate it or that they pass on you.
We are afraid of criticism. We are very afraid that they will tell us that it is garbage, that they will throw it away and that they will tell us that we are not good for this … That rarely happens and … If it happens, what? Share your work even before you are ready . Whatever you do, it will never be perfect, so share it before the funk kicks in and you’ll have time to work things out.