Writer's Block and it's 57 Names - 2

Part 2 -When you can't continue writing

Welcome to Part 2 of the list of bizarre thoughts that form writer’s block. For Part 1 - When you can’t start writing, click here.

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Writer's Block and it's 57 Names - 2

31. the [I’ve to read 99 books on writing well before I write my book] block

32. the [I’ve not forgiven myself yet for not writing the last month, so I won’t write for another month] block

33. the [I must open 42 tabs to research this topic] block

34. the [now I can’t focus on the 43rd Google Docs tab] block

    

35. the [I wish I had cool artist friends who would encourage me and give me shoulder massages as I write] block

36. the [only if I get an MFA degree in writing under the hot poet professor I stalk on twitter will I ever be a true poet] block

37. the [I want my next piece to be liked by my parents, mentors, therapists, neighbours, comrades, and random strangers on the internet at the same time] block

    

38. the [nobody can criticise a perfectly blank page so I will keep it that way] block

39. the [I’ll always be misunderstood so why bother] block

40. the [let me cancel others but please don’t cancel me okay] block

41. the [I secretly judge people who appreciate my writing for their poor taste LOL] block

42. the [I will replay that one negative comment over and over again in my mind] block

    

43. the [fancy editors of literary magazines will never like my work I promise] block

44. the [men don’t care if my essays and poems are my real curvy assets] block

45. the [all these published writers have ‘connections’ and have figured out everything] block

    

46. the [hey! I had that idea before! everyone steals my ideas] block

47. the [I can no longer apply for Toto Awards for Creative Writing because I am over 29] block

48. the [I wish I had an agent or a manager who would push and promote my writing] block

49. the [if I can’t be as prolific as Neil Gaiman or Joyce Carol Oates, what is even the point of writing?] block

50. the [chhee I don’t want to be like Chetan Bhagat] block

51. the [because I can’t write a bestselling novel, I won’t even write a letter to a friend] block

    

52. the [I wanna try writing short stories but that’s my friend Anjali’s thing how can I steal it] block

53. the [sometimes I fantasize - what if my parents were intellectuals and I read all the classics as a child and I got widely published as a teenager…] block

54. the [I’m jealous of writers from bigger cities or developed countries] block

55. the [I will not acknowledge my current privilege] block

    

56. the [nobody is on substack who will read me] block

57. the [everybody is on substack who will read me] block

Epilogue

Why am I making this list instead of providing an inspirational story of how I overcame my writer’s block? Why am I unleashing my cynical, almost shameful thoughts instead of generating a list of solutions? Well, hundreds of books exist on unblocking creativity and how to make art despite fear. I love some of them. But right now, my intuition pushed me to first observe the block, each of its components, watch the thoughts as we do in meditation, and recall how the ego mind has always frantically tried to protect me from getting hurt. The fear, the resentment, the envy, the not-enoughness. I’m going to give this part of me some love. You tell me if any of this resonates.