Syndrome de la Page Blanche

https://www.azquotes.com/quote/440366

 

      I haven’t posted a word in this blog since April 4^th.  It has been two months.  Wow.  That is unacceptable.  Of course, it is only unacceptable to me.  I am not sure any would care about this as much as I do.  Others would mostly likely say, “You took a break, you probably needed it.”

I did take a break and I do believe I needed it.  The was not, however, a conscious choice.  It just happened.  When I realized it was happening, it was not so easy pick up and write.  I was in the throes of a writer’s block. “According to writing expert Mike Rose, writer’s block can be defined as: ‘the inability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of basic skill or commitment’” (uis.edu).  Yep, I diagnosed it correctly, it was indeed writer’s block.

I feel I am coming out of it.  I do attribute the block to the culmination of the work and stress of the academic year.  It started in the last month of the Spring term and has lasted until three weeks after graduation.  It has been the two weeks since Memorial Day of doing very little… taking that break, that has me now breaking out of the block.

Another university, Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, offered this cure for writer’s block.

 

How to Cure Writer's Block

1.     Write every day — even if you don't feel like it. ...

2.     Figure out the “when and where” that makes you the most creative. ...

3.     Every once in a while, forget the rules. ...

4.     Take regular breaks. ...

5.     Set clear deadlines. ...

6.     Make the brainstorming process more sensory. ...

7.     Do lots of reading! ...

8.     Try a different writing method.

 

There are detailed explanations and example for each of the points on the website.

Coincidentally, on May 30 before I read these tips, I began to follow a few of the points.  I began to write daily something I have gotten away from.  I started to write using pen and paper rather than my laptop.  I started to read more beginning with the news and now novels.  I started writing first thing in the morning again.  These simple acts got the ‘juices flowing’ again.  

Writer’s block sounds so… dull.  I never liked the term and thus would never admit I ever had one.  Maybe there are cooler phrasings in other languages.  In German, writer’s block is Schreibblockade.  Well, that is too clinical and too, um, German.  In Spanish, it is bloqueo de escritor which is basically the same thing.  French?  Syndrome de la page blanche.  I can relate to this because I often talk about staring at the blank page or fingers frozen above the keyboard. I also like that they call it a syndrome.  Portuguese? Bloqueio criativo.  This is also nice.  It is creative block, a creative logjam, a creative drought, and… well, you get the picture. I like the French or Portuguese phrases; they sound much suave than the pedestrian writer’s block.  The French version is exactly what I have… er… had.