UnBlocked

     I've heard from several writers, both professional and amateur, that there is no such thing as writer's block. Which seems odd to me. It seems like such an established thing, something that has existed since the dawn of the recreational written word. Although I've seen several articles in the past few weeks alluding to the fact that writer's block is a myth, that the best way to overcome it is to write through it. Write anything. Even if it's just the same three words over and over again. Something to keep the writer muscle flexing until the words start flowing again.

     For some reason, and I can't explain it myself, I've avoided reading these articles. Perhaps because, although there are things that are universally true when it comes to writing, the how of it is wholly unique for each person. To be sure, there are universal things that work almost all the time, for almost everybody. When you think about it, no painter ever became famous by following the exact methods of his forbears, and no poet either. It's true that the end result may ring of similar themes, symmetrical subjects, those key things that speak to people, but the roads they take to get there are invariably different.

     Now, so many people are giving this same bit of wisdom, that this thing that is so commonly perceived doesn't exist, it's merely an excuse.

     I won't say that I've been stricken with writer's block, but I have been finding it difficult to write this story lately. My main character is about tell the woman he's been dating for over a year that he needs to leave town for the weekend to go to his sister's wedding. A wedding he wasn't invited to, for a sister his girlfriend doesn't even know about, and that he hasn't even so much as spoken to in two years. He assumes he'll be making this trip alone, but his girlfriend, upon hearing the news will assume her own invitation to this event.

     It's supposed to be a very uncomfortable and confrontational conversation, and these are exactly the types of conversations I struggle with in real life. Inevitably there comes a point when you can't avoid these conversations. There's never a good time for it. I've never heard of anybody finding the perfect moment to break up with someone, or to tell them something you had to tell them, that you know for sure they won't want to hear.

     I guess the reason I'm having a significantly harder time with it than most is that I've had so many of those conversations in the last few years; there's never  a good time for it. Even when we write fiction, we write what we know. We lend our personalities, our experience, and our imagination into the words we set down. And, however accidentally or intentionally, instead of applying the metaphor's we've read into our life, we begin applying the metaphors of our life into our writing.

     I'm not having a hard time writing this scene because of "writer's block," I'm having a hard time with it because I have a hard time being on either side of this conversation. The problem lay with the fact that not only do I have to deal with one side, I have to deal with both sides. I have to figure out how to be the person who finally breaks the subject, and then immediately switch tones and be the reactive side; when you find yourself uncomfortable on either side of the equation, you'll be paralyzed by both.

     So maybe it isn't what most writers see as writer's block, but I say to you as a writer, when faced with the "I don't know what to write" scenario, to challenge yourself to see if you truly have no idea what comes next, or to see if what comes next is something you, as a person, have difficulty dealing with. If what is really holding you back is your own personal feelings on a situation. Especially when it comes to seeing both sides of an issue you are very biased on.

     The key to effective writing is being the devil's advocate. I know so many people, myself chief among them, who will argue the opposite side of any issue, regardless of conviction, just to have the discussion, to rally a debate. It's a far more difficult thing to do when you have to play the devil's advocate with yourself, especially in a story. When you craft an art, no matter how lighthearted, it is a view into your own perspective,  and to fight, to countermand, to argue against yourself, is counter-intuitive.

     In the end, whatever the writer's block is that you're clinging to, it's a construct of your own mind. Something within you, from your history, your personal experience, that is preventing you from doing something that is inherently the opposite of what you believe, or practice, or hold sacred. To be an effective writer, you have to play both sides of the field, offense and defense. And you have to fight as hard as you can for both sides.

     Because, ultimately, not only is it up to you to decide which side wins, but also to make it convincing.