That emotional urgency to write. It's waned over the years because I’ve mellowed with age. I still feel the need to write, just not with the same emotional urgency I had when I was younger.
In those days the desire to write was like a calling, an urge. No coincidence the word URGE comes from URGENT.
The well-known American writer Jodi Picoult says:
"I don’t believe in writer’s block. Think about it — when you were blocked in college and had to write a paper, didn’t it always manage to fix itself the night before the paper was due? Writer’s block is having too much time on your hands. If you have a limited amount of time to write, you just sit down and do it. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page."
I do believe in writer’s block. I think there are times when writers are too overwrought, overwhelmed, or too emotional to concentrate on their writing. There are days you will have to take off.
The trick is not allowing yourself to be blocked for too long. Be kind to yourself, feel the emotion, sit with it a while and nurture yourself. Then force yourself back to the page.
Once you have re-engaged with your creativity, kick-started that chapter or re-written that fragment, you will feel better. Before you know it the feeling of being unable to write lifts. You will carry on.
Then you’ll say thank God I have my writing.
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If you’d like to share any comments or thoughts, I’d be happy to hear from you. Email me directly at lisacliffordwriter@gmail.com.