Yesterday, I spent a long day staring at my phone, cursor blinking steadily on the blank screen, yet I couldn't write anything (at least not a complete draft).
I knew what I wanted to write about, I knew the direction I wanted my story to take yet I couldn't seem to get it quite right.
I wrote words and I wiped them off in the same breath.
What was happening to me? I wondered.
Probably a burnout? Already? This early in the year? I haven't even walked a long distance and I was fatiguing already?
I brushed off the thought and decided to try forcing myself through the process because my brain muscles could do it, couldn't they?
That was an effort in futility because it felt like I was only just pushing against a barricade.
Decided to take a break, went outside, walked a little, spoke with my brother, got back into the house an hour later, hit up a friend and told him what was happening.
We talked a while and in the process, it seemed as if the fog was clearing, the barricade falling apart so I decided to try again.
It wouldn't hurt, would it? Or so I thought.
Suffice it to say that I went to bed with a half written page of something I didn't like and wiped it off when I woke up today.
It is called TODAY. Today has endless possibilities for me.
I have a fresh start and a fresher perspective today, so I hope for a promising day of good work.
About the break in transmission I had, I'd just chalk it up as tiredness, maybe exhaustion.
To trying again today 🥂
Questions for further discussion.
In your own honest thinking, what do you think happened to me? Do you have a word or an explanation for it?
Do you know of any brain exercises (or something) I can do to improve my staying power or get out of a fog?
As a creative, do you also have moments like this? Your suggestions on how to get past it will be much appreciated.
1. Well, getting blocked on some days is the tale of every writer. It is what it is, you were just creatively blocked. Could be stress. Could be that you've engaged mentally in something before writing and to we're just saturated. Or you were just not in your element. Blocks just happen for no reason sometimes.
2. I'm glad you didn't stress it and just slept instead. It's was all you needed. Wait it out for quality work. You stress it, you end up with gibberish.
3. Like you, I sleep it out. Watch a movie. Read a book. Anything but force it. You'll find inspiration doing other things, and before you know it, viola, you're writing again!
As a graphic designer, I can definitely relate to this. Staring straight at an empty canvas without having any idea of where to begin can be damn annoying.
But guess what, having a nice sleep and not stressing over it is the solution. It took me a while to figure this out, since then it's been my go-to solution.
Solutions just pop out while I sleep now.