The Blessing and Curse of Writer’s Block

Bea’s Books

The partially blank page and the barely read book send chills down my spine. They can be terrifying, and, in a sense, I am writing this out of fear. The past month has seen me run away from both books and writing, two of my lifelong comforts. Why? I think some of you may already know the answer. 

Writer’s block is excruciating, my fellow writers can attest to that, but a reading slump is a seldom-discussed, but extremely difficult state of mind to be in, as well. As you might have guessed, I’m here to lament and conjure up solutions for both. 

My inability to write is often, I’ve always had a bad case of frequent writer’s block, and, over time, I have come to realize that periods of blockage can be periods of marination. Think of it like this: A chef does not constantly cook, they are reviewing recipes, preheating the oven, gathering ingredients, etc. Writers are the same, and writer’s block can go from being an inconvenience to a necessity. Letting yourself sift through ideas, truly develop voices and be inspired by the world around you is marination at its finest. All in all, taking advantage of occasional mental blocks can be…well…advantageous! 

On to reading slumps. Sigh. I have had three perfectly fascinating books sitting on my nightstand for weeks now, without the urge to read any of them. Normally, in place of this, I would be reviewing a book, but, as difficult as it is to admit, I seem unable to finish one. Different solutions for this problem work for different people. Setting a goal (and holding yourself accountable for it), swapping out your book for a new genre or building a habit by taking ten minutes to read per day are all perfectly good solutions and just a few of many, but sometimes the reading slump just needs to pass. 

I promise you will develop a hunger for reading and writing your own stories once more, and in doing so, I am also promising myself that I will, as well. Maybe the partially blank page and barely read book don’t have to be so terrifying. After all, the partially blank page will soon be filled and the barely read book will eventually be read.