Writer's block is a myth

I know the feeling people describe when they talk about writer’s block, but it’s just a temporary setback. Like a kidnapper putting a bag over your head, you've got to fight back against the temporary setback and find a way forward.

I experience that feeling multiple times a week.

The difference between me and other writers is that I write anyway.

Even when I’m facing what feels like an insurmountable obstacle, I do my best to find my way around it or through it.

Some days that means I write complete garbage, but I write anyway.

See a theme here?

I write regardless of how I *feel*.

Writing doesn’t care about your feelings and neither do the people who are going to be consuming that writing.

I think the best exercise for writers or people doing any kind of writing is to force yourself to sit down and write every day, especially when you don’t feel like you have any words.

On those days I start just writing out my thoughts. That’s it. I allow myself to ramble mentally for a bit and give myself space to breathe without expectation. I know that not everything I write can or should be published.

That helps alleviate some of the pressure.

After I’ve rambled on a bit in my writing and allowed my brain to just dump itself out on the page is that I start sifting through those ramblings searching for coherent thoughts and ideas.

In all of the dirt my brain has just dumped on the page there is likely to be at least one rock (idea) in there somewhere, but it’s now my job to sift through that dirt, find the rock, and move forward.

This isn’t an easy, quick, or clean process. It’s a little painful, your hands will get dirty, and you may ultimately end up with nothing usable.

But the outcome isn’t the purpose. It’s the journey to get there that’s refined you, made you sharper, and helped you improve as a writer.

Write even when you know it sucks.

Then wake up tomorrow and do it again.

Repeat ad infinitum.