The Block

We’ve all had writer’s block. We’ve thought and thought and thought, but nothing comes to mind. Our minds just feel empty.

The most common advice is to just put pen to paper. Force yourself to start writing, and eventually your mind will kick into gear. And it’s true.

Start with something you know you can talk about. Don’t start on a hard topic that you’ll be searching… searching… searching… for words. Just start with something easy.

What do you always have an opinion on? What do you always bring up from your past? What are you constantly thinking about for the future?

Start with what’s easy, so that you can move into what’s hard. The goal is to be the most productive with the most ease.

I did not want to write today. I was pumped to be productive, but then when I sat down at my computer, nothing. I was tired, unfocused. I tried to take a constructive break – which did help – but then I still sat down with nothing to say.

So, that’s where I took my own advice.

And honestly, it’s more interesting to hear someone talk about what they’re passionate about. I don’t need to listen to someone ramble about nothing. But I do want to hear about what keeps you up at night.

My acting teacher often says, “the key to good acting is to deeply care about what your character cares about.” It’s interesting to watch people care, to see someone care, to listen to someone care.

I think millennials have a problem with sharing emotion. We want to be cool and collected, detached, always the one to care the least… but how un-interesting is that? If we lived in a world where no one cared about anything, we would lead very empty lives.

I’m constantly pushing to allow myself to feel, to allow myself to show emotion, to allow myself to feel investment… otherwise, what are we fighting for?

If I didn’t care about my career, I could work a 9-5, make good money, have extra income to travel, hold a leadership position within a company…. But something inside me aches for more, and for me, fighting for that gut feeling gives me the most fulfillment.

I’d be ignoring a key part of myself, and we don’t have enough time on this earth to be anyone but ourselves…

So, what do you care about?

What gives you the most fulfillment?

What keeps you awake at night?

Start there.

I look forward to reading your work.