Squeaky Chairs

"Writer's Block" is a diagnosis for a writer's mental constipation. Although this term is so frequently used, I don't believe in it. The way that I see it, there are an infinite amount of words floating all around us, just waiting to be plucked from the air. When people say that they are experiencing writer's block, to me, that says one of two things: that they are either being too picky, putting too much weight to every word, or that they feel uninspired to write at all. Both of these are sad scenarios. One way to perpetuate writer's block is to blame it on forces outside of ourselves. This room is too... rectangle. This chair is too squeaky. I ate a cheeseburger for lunch. Cheeseburgers always make me tired. I can never write when Uncle Harry is in town. My computer keyboard has Cheetos stains on it. That shadow on the wall looks like a unicorn in the House of Representatives trying to answer a cell phone with a fire extinguisher. And the list goes on.

Once we realize that we can write anywhere, no matter how much of an acute angle our room makes, we will never struggle with blank pages again. One way to do this is to begin writing without expectations. Often, we have such a narrow idea of what we want our product to be that we don't allow the writing to just happen. Go with it. No matter what it is your writing, the key is just to start. The answer is in the act of doing, not complaining. In fact, I titled this blog without knowing how "squeaky chairs" were going to fit into a a blog about writer's block. Once you allow your ideas to flow through you, you will soon be amazed at the result. If you have a writing assignment, or are just pressuring yourself to write, then sit down and do it. Once you get into this habit, the term "writer's block" will seem like a fake doctor's note to you, too. So the next time that you have trouble writing, just sit down and start!