Writer's Block

Godwin Inyang's Cross River Jungle Photos
Writer’s block (as defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary) is ‘a problem that writers sometimes have when they cannot think of what to write and have no new ideas.’

A firm that had been producing goods for public consumption which brought income to maintain the factory and pay the employees is not doing that anymore because of lack of raw materials. It’s either management would desperately look for where to get these resources so production would continue to keep the firm afloat or there is an imminent threat of a shutdown and that means the employees and management might lose their jobs. A writer running out of ideas is like an industry going bankrupt and panic would grip most workers’ minds.

But panicking isn’t the solution to smashing, I mean, curing a writer’s block. Like the industry, a writer must do his or her best to get the raw materials (new ideas and experiences) that would imbue him or her with zest to keep writing.

I’d say that writer’s block does not mean that you are bereft of ideas but that they are dormant and some new experiences could help activate your creativity. If you have been spending your life in the city, make a change and access the countryside. If you can afford it, just change from the old environment and go live in a new place where you can garner new experiences and you’d discover how quick your problem is solved. If it is still taking you a long time after a change to write, just be patient. You might later discover the raw materials you’ve gathered for your creative works would last you for life.

Writer’s block again I’d compare to network failure. You’re good to go, so also are the service providers but each time you try to get linked you have a message on your screen asking you to check the connection and then reload. You check your credit status and realize it shows a red icon. You smile, recharge your line (the icon turns green) and with a single touch you’re linked to your favourite websites. Same thing with writer’s block: a change of environment or experience which helps you recharge your creative line might just be all you need to get linked to your dormant muse again.
~*~

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