Struggling with Writer’s block

It’s a long time ago I wrote a post about “writing”. The last couple of weeks I was struggling with writer’s block.  I had so many ideas in my mind for the book that I am writing but I couldn’t write it down. I don’t know what happened. It’s one of the worst moments during the writing process. One of the causes can be that I was very busy with other things. SO I read about this famous writer’s block. What’s the really cause of a writer’s block?

Causes

There are many causes for writer’s block. Illness, worries or the feeling of pressure to produce work. Personally, I love deadlines but sometimes it can be overwhelming. I have one day off in the week and sometimes my head is still full of work and so that I am unable to concentrate. Honestly, the cause of writer’s block is very personal thing.

What to do

What should you do if you have to deal with this?  I sat at my desk, a little helplessly staring at the screen.  A white screen.   I stood up from my desk and walked to the window and overlooked the garden. Occasionally there was some movement to see: birds sat on my homemade birdhouse and ate the old bread. A white cat with brown spots wandered through the leaves and made his way through the deck to the neighbors. It was a cloudy and cold day. And my story would take place in the warmer and sunnier Provence. How could I empathize?

I walked away from the window and sat back down at my desk. My eye fell on a photo album from a holiday, many years ago. An holiday  in Provence. The colorful markets, the charming villages. We bought the fresh ingredients on the local market. Three kinds of lettuce. Tomatoes, so red, we had never seen them! The many strolls in the narrow cobblestoned streets with a lot of history.

My husband and I walked hand in hand through the narrow streets of the artists village of Saint Paul de Vence. The cicadas were tweeting all day. We smelled the scent of thyme and lavender and the fresh baguettes from the boulangerie at the corner of the street.

Would I get my inspiration back by viewing these pictures? Yes! For me, this helps really. I also get my inspiration from scrolling through photos on Pinterest or when I go for a walk to order my writing thoughts.

It is said that “free writing” is also a good remedy against writer’s block. Write down everything that comes to your mind. In this way it can happen that you suddenly come up with new ideas for your story!

What do you do when you struggle with writer’s block?

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