In the past months, writer’s block was something I was allowing to have its way, but for about some weeks or probably a month now, I have been fighting it, and I have been winning.
Before now, I used to wonder a lot about how people manage to write on a daily basis. Questions like, "How do they keep up with that? Don’t they suffer from writer’s block?" and many others would often cross my mind. But when I came across the method I am currently using, I came to understand that writing every day is actually doable and, in fact, easy.
The following are the approaches I use:
I Go for Writing Prompts
This is the number one method I use to tackle writer’s block. If you go through my blog, you will see that almost all my articles are responses to writing prompts from different communities.
Sometimes, I do not find the topic interesting. Sometimes, I find the topic too demanding. Whenever I come across such, I take a deep breath, peacefully skip the prompt, and check other communities for writing prompts. It is better for me to look elsewhere than to settle for something that will take me 10 hours out of the 24 hours in a day to write.
Before I discovered this method, I used to write based more on what I felt like writing, and most times, after putting in the effort, I would end up not getting votes. That was a big discouragement for me. But when I found out about the prompt-writing pattern, I started getting encouragement from the little votes I have been receiving.
Writing as a Means of Expressing Myself
In as much as I am writing mostly based on suggested prompts in various communities, it is still a way of expressing myself, without being biased or writing just to please others. The prompts I find interesting, I write about with joy, pouring out my thoughts on the subject, especially when it comes to lifestyle topics.
Not just that, having people read my posts, support them, or even argue against them gives me pleasure. It also tells me that I am on the right track because my writing is sparking discussions and engagements.
The Little Encouragement of Payment
Another big motivator that has kept me on track for the past month is the votes I am getting. Although they have been small, perhaps because I am a newbie, do not have enough Hive power, or am not engaging enough with others—they have still been encouraging. Regardless of the reasons, these little votes on my articles have motivated me to take up the prompts and write, instead of allowing my day to end without any written work to show for it.
There is also the fun part—after writing, I find myself peeking at my article, checking to see if any votes have come in. If I do not write, I will have no article to anticipate votes from at the end of the day.
These are the ways I have been fueling and fighting writer’s block, and they have been incredibly helpful.
Your article now has better grammar and structure while maintaining your original message. Let me know if you would like any further refinements!
Thanks.
This is my entry to Day 26 of marchinleo writing prompt