Writer's Block

The title above, snarky though it may be, still defines, even in the modern mind, the inability to gather necessary resources and get to work. The first adversary is not contrarily, denial. The thought of bringing such a commonplace entity to mind, awakens synaptic pathways rarely trod. Let us see if perambulation is contrary.

Writing has consumed man since time immemorial. Clearly, there have been many standing at this very crossroad.  Settling on a subject is ordinarily the first course of action. Typically, this is where my troubles begin. Finding an appropriate topic stymies the best of writers. Once settled on an apposite subject, settling in on the course is the next workload to establish.

This is the very point where a writer experiencing writers’ block tends to lose ground. Flail he or she may do but none of this will release the writer from the inexactitude clogging his thinking. One finds oneself going on about the dilemma but nothing stills the emotions dogging the uncertainty. One thing for certain, writing about the surrounding woodland or the weather conditions is much more acquiescent than this insufferable stall.

Accordingly, the writing will simply present itself. In fact, during more amenable periods the writing seems to come of its own. My head seems awash with words, phrases even. Now it is a trial to even come up with the words to simply express myself. I suspect eventually the words will come. Somewhat in a torrent, I pray, spilling out as usual but at some later date, I fear.

With music, I would confront these seeming doldrums by simply playing through them. This is what I am attempting here. My process follows the same exemplar: over time, playing familiar tunes will ultimately lead to new ones. This methodology suits music but for writing I am not quite sure. Perhaps, writing is too solid. My sense is that recapturing favorite writings would be somehow counterproductive.

Unlike music, writing demands conjuring from thin air. Music follows a simpler paradigm. Music is about chord changes. Wresting art from a collection of chords is one of life’s more enduring challenges. Chord changes create a framework upon which a composer may hang the magic of melody. No such preordained matrix exists in the world of writing.

The blank page or even a ream of them seems forever conjoined with the soul of writer. This is a perfect model of the way society views writers, yet when more closely examined the writer adheres to much the same world view as an everyman. An ordinary life is surely a common aspect shared amongst scribes as well as workers throughout the planet.

Enough frivol, examination may breed contempt, yet a measure of good was realized.

© Stephen Alexander 2011