Uninspired: On experiencing a bout of writer’s block

Writing can be incredibly frustrating.

Although, technically, what I mean is that not being able to write can be incredibly frustrating.

I doubt that’s a revelation to anyone who’s ever written anything – hell, even getting the right words down onto a birthday card can be a struggle – but sometimes even the obvious warrants stating.

As someone who writes both for work and as a hobby, I’ve dealt with the frustration of writer’s block multiple times; of sitting to write and not knowing how to start; of starting multiple times and going in a different direction each time; of procrastinating just to avoid dealing with the problem entirely. It’s really not fun. In fact, it can be pretty disheartening.

Currently, I find myself suffering from a lack of inspiration and a subsequent inability to write, specifically where my blogging is concerned – excluding this post about the problem itself. I just don’t seem to be able to get any good ideas flowing.

I typically take inspiration from everyday life, so I have considered that the lockdown that the UK is still in (for the most part) and the fact that my life has settled into a pretty uninspiring routine, may be to blame. Then again, writer’s block happens on occasion, so maybe I just happen to be in a period where my muse struggles to find me. And, unfortunately, I don’t have any book reviews planned in the near future, so there isn’t even that type of posting to fall back on.

Having found myself in similar ruts before, I know that it’ll likely come to an end at some point, but till then I’ll work at encouraging some ideas.

I’ve occasionally come across advice on how to deal with an inability to write, and the piece that’s stuck with me the most is to just sit down, write, and hope that at some point coherent text begins to form. I’ve found that some combination of that and continually mulling over any and all ideas that come to me typically ends up working.

So, I’ll continue to sit down with my laptop as often as I can, and I’ll keep trying to find some inspiration around me. Hopefully, in time, something clicks. If not, I’m sure there’s plenty of other advice on writer’s block that I could seek out, if need be.

I really just hope something works soon because otherwise I might be relegated to writing about how I can’t think of anything to write about for the foreseeable future. Also, as frustrating as the struggle to write something can be, I do love when I’m working on something I think is good. More than anything else, I just want to get back to that.