Everyday Canvas

No longer capable of writing? What a drivel!

Prompt: "I believe now that I'm no longer capable of writing. It's not that I don't know what to write, but how to write it. That's what they say is a crisis. But in my case, it's something inside me, something which is affecting my whole life."
Michelangelo Antonioni
What are your thoughts on this quote? Do you ever feel like this?

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No, I have never felt like that. I can always write whenever and however, even if I can’t write on any suddenly given subject or proposal or a prompt for fiction. Neither can I make any of my work a masterpiece. That is why my favorite form of writing is free-flow, like what Lyn's a sly fox asked in yesterday’s prompt. I think a writer who loves writing can always free-flow.

I can, however, understand this author’s dilemma, and I feel for him. Could it be that he is taking himself too seriously? Could it be that he thinks his self-image is dependent on only what he comes up with and if what he comes up with is less than his previous work, it is not acceptable to him?

In my humble way of reasoning, any kind of writer’s block and what Michelangelo Antonioni talks about is due to the need for approval, such as when you write to appease the readers, to rival other writers, or you’re delirious about getting published. These reasons and others like them, however, are perfectly okay and understandable.

Understandable because authors depend on their pen and its approval by others to make a living. That’s why I am of the opinion that most writers should have a day job that will sustain them. If they truly love writing, they’ll always be able to find the time for it.

One who truly loves writing and wants to write should only look around. If there’s nothing around, even looking inside the trash can could give a few ideas. Yes, even trash can become a writer’s content.

I am not saying one should write from morning till night, either. A writer should have a real life and should be able to do other things, like enjoy being with people and have fun hobbies, as those things, also, create ideas for authors.

Why stop writing, only because the mind tells you that you have a writer’s block? After all, no one’s life depends on your work like that of a medical doctor or a surgeon.

If a writer, you write. You don’t need an edict from the Pope or a presidential dictum for you to write and your work doesn’t need to be a masterpiece at all. It can even be less than mediocre. It can even be gross. It is okay. After all, you wrote, didn’t you? And who knows, some gems usually hide in what we think is garbage.