Writer’s Block Is Not Just For Writers

People often asked me about ”writer’s block.” Blocks are not limited to writers. It happens to all of us. Blocks come in all sizes and shapes. It can be digestive or heart issues. It can be a traffic jam. It can be making that telephone call or writing that letter that you just keep putting off. We all know the excuses. Everything from the dog ate my homework to more imaginative and elaborate white lies. Folks who follow my writing often ask if I ever run out of ideas or if I am ever paralyzed with the dreaded “writer’s block.”

Writer’s block is a very real thing. It can be paralyzing. Writers may stare at their hands poised over a computer keyboard or at the pen clutched between fingers and wonder why they won’t move. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. It may last hours, days or years. There are support groups for writers who are “blocked.”

Blocks happen to everyone. There are everyday blocks. You know - doing those things that you would rather avoid. It can be calling for a colonoscopy appointment, changing the oil in your car, weeding, cleaning your house, or making that dreaded dentist appointment. Why do you think we get those emails, texts, or calls from your dentist’s office? They know you need some urging.

So, in response to writer’s block questions, I remind my questioners that it is not a rare disease that only attacks those who write. For this writer, being blocked is not an option. I face constant deadlines. Once an article or column is turned in, there is another to write. For more than 20 years, I have shared my thoughts and experiences while exploring the place I have grown to love. Mayberry with Tides, a writer friend once called Amelia Island. I have shared my adventures on foot and bicycle to places far afield around the world. Some trips have been more exotic than others – exploring the Hebrides islands, cruising up the Amazon River, and two safari trips to Africa.

So after the writer’s block question the next that usually follows is where do the ideas come from? How do I get started? Somehow the ideas always come; sometimes just in the nick of time. There have been some close calls. As each week’s deadline approaches, I wait patiently for my muse to deliver.

In a vital, happening community with fascinating people, the inventory of options for columns is endless. The challenge is narrowing down, not finding. Many ideas come my way via email, and things are observed as I move through my busy days. It is the everyday things that make up our daily lives that grab me. Friends and business associates who know me well can tell when something may trigger a column.

“Bet we’re going to read about this,” they’ll say. And they do.

So advice on blocks? Get over it. Don’t label it.