We’ve all had our fair share of Writer’s Block–or at least something adjacent; if you’re one of those “lucky” people who claim to have never experienced Writer’s Block then I don’t think you’re real. Everyone’s had it before, it’s that foggy feeling in your brain that happens the moment you sit down to put your thoughts on a page. It’s dreadful and it fucking sucks.
You see now, as a twenty-year-old, I don’t really get Writer’s Block as much as I use to because I simply stopped caring. I used to go into writing like it was some kind of state exam. I wouldn’t allow myself to make mistakes or do my own thing. Growing up, I thought writing was about following a specific set of rules: always capitalize “I”, no run-on sentences, no repeating yourself, NO USING “I” in an academic setting. I completely blame my elementary teacher; she was the same teacher that told me how the usage of “I” was strictly forbidden in an academic setting (bullshit..I know).
While reading Reid’s paper, I noticed that we shared a similar mindset when writing. She went on to talk about how when we write with rules, writing’s more like a chore than a hobby that connects people. To combat this, Reid laid out some straightforward, easy to grasp tips:
- Write about what you know about (curious, passionate, etc.)
- Showing AND telling
- Adapt to the audience you’re writing for
Rules like these helped me shaped my way of writing. Instead of worrying about sounding like one person, I sound like myself and it’s pretty goddamn sweet.
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