writer's block

You Only Think You Have Writer’s Block

January 18, 2018 By Erin Beasley

“I don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe writers get stuck. One absolves responsibility. Admitting your stuck means you can fix it. […] Writer’s block is a sympathy card. Only writers could be so inventive as to come up with it.”

Neil Gaiman, Book Reading in Austin, Texas

The New Year ushers in the usual resolutions: eat healthier, exercise more, watch television less. For writers, though, the time period typically involves some commitment to a writing project. They aim to finish a novel or other manuscript before 2018 comes to close.

How to Be a Better Writer: Accept Your Fear

July 14, 2016 By Erin Beasley

Writing can be terrifying; publishing, more so. You come to the blank page, and expectations build. You’re supposed to put words down? What if they aren’t good words? What if you can’t find anything to write? What if nobody wants to hear what you have to say?

What is the Blank Page?

May 2, 2013 By Erin Beasley

The blank page often is thought of as a curse. Writers bemoan it. They even wail about it. They fret and stew about the blank page. They worry about putting words on the page. They worry about not putting words on the page. They fear the blank page will haunt them for the rest of their lives. They wonder when the blank page will stop being such a bully and let them write. They wonder if they can stage a coup. They fear the blank page already knows their plans to rebel, so they hide. They avoid the blank page. They make a pot of coffee. They wash the dishes or fold the laundry. They pretend they can’t see the blank page from the corner of their eye, but they know it’s there, glowering, waiting.

What to Do When the Well Runs Dry

February 12, 2013 By Erin Beasley

The curse of the blank page is an actual phenomenon. You, the writer, come to the page, and nothing pours forth from your head or hands. You stare at the blinking cursor, and it stares back at you. You feel yourself diminish underneath the weight of its gaze. Your ideas, already a trickle, stop altogether. Your well runs dry. You wonder if the source of water has been depleted entirely or if it’s time to move onto a new well. You wonder a lot of things when faced with the blank page and the blinking cursor.

Finding the Writing Rhythm

April 1, 2012 By Erin Beasley

Some people experience writer’s block because they don’t – or think they don’t – have any ideas. Other people experience it when they have too many ideas. I’ve experienced both aspects of writer’s block (even though I don’t believe in writer’s block), but my latest block has nothing to do with having too many or too few ideas.

writer's block

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