BY ROSA PRESTON

As I am writing this story, I am suffering from the dreaded writer’s block. What is writer’s block, you may ask? Well, according to Google, writer’s block is, “the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.” And it’s not just writers, but artists too. And if you’ve had it, I’m sure you’ll agree, IT FREAKING SUCKS!

I know I said it affects artists too, but I’m lazy so I’m just going to keep talking about writers. But I’m pretty sure some artists can relate to this. Having writer’s block is a big pain. Some people describe it as many different words,  “Weird, strange, annoying, and ugly,” an anonymous sophomore explained. While others describe it in a brief sentence, like Truman journalism teacher Garrett Gordon (who is currently helping me with my own writers block at the moment), who said, “It’s kind of like you have this fog over something you know how to do, and the fog just won’t lift and continues to exist until you just stop focusing on it.”

And if you thought it was bad enough, apparently there are multiple types of writers block. One of which is “no ideas” writer’s block, which is probably a very common one, and is the one I am currently suffering from. It sounds pretty self explanatory, and it can make it VERY hard to think of ideas or things to go with ideas that make sense. Luckily, my own issues created a decent enough story! We also have the “perfectionist” writers block. This basically means you want your story to be perfect the first time. But, as a lot of people know, nothing can be perfect on the first attempt.

Luckily, for those who are suffering from the dreaded writer’s block, there are a good portion of solutions. Personally, when I have writer’s block, I take a few days to think about it some more, or I just don’t title my stories. However, there are other ways. For example, you could ask for a little help or for ideas and inspiration from a friend. Or, you could get a little help from Mother Nature by taking a walk or going outside. But when all else fails, sleep on it. The idea will come in time. In the meantime, sweet dreams!