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People generally think that when writers write, there is a special
time, place and circumstance for them to produce great written
works. The absence of such induces a dangerous disease called the
“writer’s block” wherein a scribe can’t write, as there is
no proper “inspiration” to get the creative juices going.
Is this right? Wrong. It’s not. There’s no
such thing as writer’s block.
Writer’s block is a very easy catch all excuse
for being lazy—lazy to write, revise, edit or rewrite. It’s just
plain laziness. Admittedly, all writers suffer from laziness once in
a while, and that’s okay. That doesn’t mean there’s something
blocking the creative juices to flow freely, or that the juices
dried up. It’s there but it needs proper stimulation to flow.
Blame it on mood swings if they don’t flow, but not on writer’s
block.
Sometimes, there are certain manuscripts that
really call for special circumstances to be written. If one is
already saturated with editing and rewriting a manuscript for two
weeks straight, it’s understandable if a writer takes a break from
looking at that piece for some time and then getting back to it much
later. That’s normal. But that’s not writer’s block. That’s
merely rescheduling workload.
Different writers also have different approaches
when it comes to writing. Poet and film scriptwriter Pete Lacaba,
for instance, checks in a hotel to do his writing (for more focus,
he says). Performance poet and UP professor Vim Nadera locks himself
in his room and types away, and his family knows better not to
disturb him during these moments (so says his wife). Fictionist Tara
Sering once said in her blog that she prefers bringing her laptop in
a nearby Starbucks in her home and working/writing inside the café.
We all have various ways of approaching how to write. But if we
can’t execute our approach, that’s merely a problem of time
management or scheduling—not writer’s block.
There are also different ways of getting
inspiration to write and sustaining that inspiration. For instance,
the vibe of this scribe will not reverberate as much with the
absence of a view—a room with a view of the outside world (I need
to see the sky or some land), a café with a window view (to
alternate writing with people-watching), or an open view wherever
(like a beach front or a veranda with a mountain-view). If I don’t
get my view, I don’t have writer’s block. I’m just being
maarte.
So don’t believe the notion of writer’s
block. If you’re a bona fide writer, the itch to write needs to be
scratched whatever the circumstance you find yourself in at the
moment. So scratch away and write those masterpieces now.
Comments? Suggestions? E-mail libay.scribevibe@gmail.com.
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