My experience with the Writer's Block.

  
    What is writer's block? According to Wikipedia, writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. Well apparently it is not just limited to authors and professional writers but can affect us amateur writers too.

    I never used to believe people when they said they are going through the writers block, always thought that it was an another word for procrastination. But when I went through it myself, rest assured, I can vouch that it sure exists. Its so frustrating when you can't write anything! Never did I think that there will be a time, where I won't be able to think of anything to write! Am a compulsive writer. Writing's always been easy for me. As natural as breathing. I could always think of some or the other thing to write. Poetic verses used to come to my mind unbidden. The only thing I couldn't do was write fiction. Not because I lacked imagination, believe me I have plenty of that, but because I lacked direction. My stories would go in all directions without a definite ending, and that's the only reason you don't see me writing fiction. When I was going through this period of writer's block, I couldn't think of anything to write. Even when I did come up with something, I just couldn't follow it up. Sometimes my topics are such that I can't write it in one go, and it used to happen that while I was writing well one day, I couldn't continue it the other day. I would either forget the matter I wanted to write or I just wouldn't feel like writing it, convinced that it was not going to be interesting enough to read. I remember I once started up a poem on the battle of  Thermopylae, and finished two complete pages. So far so good. But then I just couldn't end it, and had 2 give it up altogether. Such a huge waste of time and energy.

     This disheartened me so much that I completely gave up writing for 4 months, blaming it on a lack of time and lack of creativity. Not completely untrue either, when you are doing engineering (especially from Mumbai University), all you get to write is assignments, assignments and more assignments. And with us final year students, who have grown lazier by the year, its copying, copying, and more copying. So no creativity there. And then I wonder how I got the writer's block.

    So after 4 months, what got me writing finally? The answer is: people reading my blog  and asking me why I am not writing anymore. This made me so ashamed of myself that I decided to write something, even if its not interesting, and to see to it that I follow it to the end. And what better thing to write on then my godawful experience itself? So here I am, writing about my Writer's block, with naught a care for what others think about my article, and just being happy with the fact that I finally completed writing something. It's not been easy writing this article either, even though its not some ground breaking work I am writing on, I got up at least 6 times while writing this, and almost gave up 2 times, but now am almost to the end. Like I said, its not ground breaking, nothing commendable, but its still a beginning. And hoping that there are more to follow (posts I mean, not writer's block).

    And one last advice from my experience: the best way to deal with writer's block is to confront it head on, rather than procrastinating or giving up writing completely!
So Happy writing! :)