IN MY previous column I mentioned this thing called “writer's block,” which I define to be a writer's feeling of inadequacy and seemingly insurmountable self-doubt in the face of having to actually complete a writing project. To illustrate: if they were too busy themselves with other things in the meantime, a writer would feel inspired and almost impelled to pen an impressive work; however, this heady feeling would almost always evaporate in an instant once the writers were to find themselves parked before a typewriter and some paper, a computer keyboard, or a pen and a notebook.
Why is this? The reasons for this are myriad, probably as many as there are writers and possibly much more if similar excuses were to be counted too. It is because of this that I will not discuss them here. Instead, I will cut straight to the chase; what is a writer to do, should he find himself mired in this invisible, timeless, and insurmountable predicament? (And by writer I include here the likes of professionals who must prepare written reports and students who have to turn in papers or dissertations.)
My solution is to write anyway.
Huh?
Yes. The answer is to accept writer's block completely and write anyway. Allow me to explain.
Man's existence throughout the ages and long before history has always been defined by struggle. Adam and Eve felt it, and we their descendants are bound to this fate by virtue of (or resulting from the curse of) being human. Man and woman had always struggled, one way or another; even those who have inherited vast sums, though easy their lives must be, must inwardly content with the fact that unless they made something of themselves, they will always be overshadowed by the forebears who made it possible to live free of toil. In the past, such men and women distinguished themselves in pursuits such as conquest, politics, mercantilism, and the arts; nowadays, it seems that a good many of them see pursuits that require them to break a sweat as beneath them and instead glut themselves on things like expensive food, trips to exotic places, wild sex, and copious amounts of alcohol and drugs in order to escape this inner urging to perhaps outdo their forebears, which will always come with the risk of failure.
In other words, man will always have to struggle. If the struggle is not with the things outside of him, then it will have to be with the things inside of him. Those familiar with Islamic theology will find a parallel in the concept of Jihad (which in Arabic basically means struggle), of which there are two kinds: the Lesser Jihad, or external struggle and includes warfare and conquest; and the Greater Jihad, which refers to self-perfection and the cultivation of one's own character.
Therefore, though it might seem laughable at first, the inner struggle of writers with themselves to produce a piece is much, much more serious than it actually is. However, writer's block should not be a thing to be mocked, nor should it be something writers beat themselves up over. Instead, it should be something a writer must accept as part of the territory, something that must always come with the honor of being a writer. Perhaps a badge of honor, even? After all, it is not easy to commit one's ideas to paper, especially if one is aware that such ideas may be rejected, mocked, shunned, or even not given any attention at all.
Like the young warrior Paul Atreides in Dune, do not be paralyzed by this fear, but let it wash over you and pass through you. Then once you feel it fully, write. You'll be surprised at the works you'll produce.