Writing is all about how well you are able to communicate your ideas effectively while maintaining your audience’s attention. There comes a time where, after so many essays and papers, you feel like you have no more ideas. You become tired of how badly your work is received, and it seems like you are effortlessly doing so. You lose your self-confidence and your passion starts to fade away. You find yourself, in a tough situation, where your confidence can only be restored until you prove to yourself that you are, in fact, a good writer, but you no longer have the energy to do so. In the process of trying to improve your writing, the first thing you think about is your Professor’s or classmates’ comments. You should always take advice, especially if it’s for your own good. However, the real issue is rooted much deeper, and it is the writer.
From my experience, when you think you are suffering from writer’s block, try not to think about those comments. I know it’s a contradiction, (how will you ever get better if you do not listen to people’s advice?), but this will keep you from feeling frustrated. After coming home with a failing grade on an essay, which has happened to me many times, we tend to get upset whether we want to or not. This is something I really want to stress is, it’s not about taking things too personally or being too sensitive. When you care about your work, when you put effort into what you are doing, you will have an emotional response to it, or else you would not be human. My writer’s block has been as bad as to prevent me from proofreading my work, simply, because I am afraid of how bad it will sound. It can be a paralyzing experience, and it’s a sad one. You want to be able to write down all your ideas, but before you do so, you have to convince yourself that they are good ideas. It’s like you write something, and it sucks, but why not try again?
You find yourself in a place where your professor isn’t going to rub your back and pass you a tissue when needed. You ask yourself how do I get back to writing? Who is going to give me the extra sense of certainty and reassurance I so badly need? Truth is that a person’s work does not always reflect their true potential. Honestly, someone can write a bad paper, and be an extraordinary thinker with bright ideas. There are so many external factors that play into someone’s ability to write, so please don’t give up. Creativity is something that is inspired by the world around us. If you are depressed or stressed out that will kill your creativity.
Though you might be in a dark place where you are writing bad paper after bad paper, you can come out of that dark place. Creative people are able to use their experiences to fuel their ideas. That is precisely why they are creative because of their ability to create. Great works of art do not come with a clock or written out perfectly the first time around. In this phase of writer’s block, I am thinking of all the possible ways that I could use this time of apparent fruitless work to my benefit.
What, personally, helps me to keep creating more work is the thought of the world, potentially, being robbed of some unmade work of mine. To be a bad writer and to give up is one thing, but to be a good writer and give up is another. My fear is that I am that latter, so that fear keeps me going. It’s not much, but I think that’s the saddest thing in the world. Not the death of a beautiful woman, but the death of an artist (not literally, in this case, but metaphorically). It’s just a philosophy of mine. Do whatever it takes to convince yourself that your work is worth knowing and that it’s beautiful either way. So, do not deprive the world of your genius work. Though you may think your work totally sucks, eventually your love for your work will speak for itself and others like love it too.
Keep your professor’s comments out of your head and continue writing! (Though it’s a contradiction)