A little corner for fresh ideas, college adventures, and the journey of finding your voice.
Meet our intern, Jen Jen, a college student with a growing love for words and stories. Here she’ll share her thoughts, discoveries, and experiences as she learns the ins and outs of writing and publishing. Every writer starts somewhere, and this is where her next chapter begins.
Writer’s Block
By: Jen Jen
As someone who has dreamed of being an author since she could learn to read and write, one thing that has always stopped me from finishing my story is the dreaded writer’s block. The moment my hands are on the keyboard and I see the cursor button on my fresh new document my brain suddenly forgets how to write. The story that is yearning to be told becomes a distant memory that I can’t quite reach. I feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I wish to have done. The hours that I do have however are spent doom scrolling or watching new movies on Netflix. When the day is busy all I want to do is lie on my bed under a blanket and mindlessly scroll.
How do I plan to fix my lack of motivation?
One thing I realized is that I don’t have to dedicate hours to my writing. If I set myself a goal to write 5,000 words or write an hour each day it doesn’t seem as daunting, and I can actually enjoy writing. I enjoy writing a little before bed. The atmosphere is dark and quiet. I usually have my best ideas at night. I do have to remind myself that my first draft does not have to be perfect or have perfect grammar. Many of us (myself included) are so caught up with having everything be perfect. But drafts are supposed to be messy. They are supposed to have plot holes or blank names. Not all writers have everything figured out. And quite often writers will change a whole scene or delete something they felt didn’t add to the story. It’s normal and it’s okay.
Whether I finish my first novel in a year or in ten years I will always be a writer who wants to share their story to the world. Don’t let a lack of motivation or writer’s block be what is stopping you from writing.
