Three Months of Silence - The Reality of Writer's Block

We don't talk enough about 'writer's block'.

In an industry that demands 'content' and constant output, admitting that you've been quiet for three months feels like a confession. But I want to be totally real with you: I've been struggling. This creative block isn't just a 'phase' - it's a wall that feels ten feet thick and a mile high.

The Rent-Free Hurdle

So, what is this thing? Why does it show up when we have the most to say, yet suddenly, the lack of vocabulary to say it? Why does it live rent-free in our brains?

We get caught in this cycle of 'the next'. We want the next song to be the one. We want the next blog to be a success. We want the next TikTok to go viral. We're so busy chasing the 'next' that we've forgotten to sit in the 'now'.

I've battled this hurdle my entire life. I suspect I always will, but I've also learnt that it's okay to be a beat behind. Sometimes the silence gives you space while the next big idea catches its breath.

Why does it appear when we least want it?

Unfortunately, the more you need to write, the harder it becomes. Creativity requires a level of 'play', and you can't play when you're stressed. At a point, we stop being musicians and writers and start being critics.

Finding the way back

I wish I could break the wall down or push the hurdle over; however, it's not possible. If there were a solution, nobody would ever struggle. But I'm learning that you don't knock the wall down with a sledgehammer; you pick at it, bit by bit.

Sometimes the brain needs to process life before we can turn it into art. So if you're stuck in silence right now, know that you haven't failed, you're just human.