Writer’s Block
April 24, 2024
Writer: Mia Bronstein
Editor: Anna Pierson
In the weeks leading up to my final piece of the semester, I scoured every corner of the Earth for inspiration: friends, songs, my notes app, screenshots in my photo album, old niche movies, bad mainstream TV shows, and, dare I admit, online plot generators. A zoom into my brain would reveal nothing but two-and-a-half tumbleweeds and the extinct dodo bird. I was stuck in a creative rut. There is no worse feeling for someone who thrives on creative expression. Ironically but somewhat realistically, I pitched “Writer’s Block,” an explosive breaking news flash uncovering the world’s most extraordinary artistic exposé.
The rut feels like a curse. Whenever I have writer’s block, I experience dips in other facets of my life; actions feel repetitive, mundane, and meaningless. Hard work seems like a never-ending hamster wheel.
The peak of my problem was validated by a street psychic a few weeks later. I actively avoid anything that predicts my future because, with my luck, there will undoubtedly be a fantastic spread of challenges waiting for me. Humoring a woman on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, I paid $20 for her to solidify my struggles. In a folding chair across from the tarot reader, who was scarfing down her Sour Patch Watermelons, I shuffled over 300 pink cards, returned the deck, and picked three. Then, a gasp was heard around the world—the woman muttered I had picked the devil card. My friends surrounded me, laughing so hard there were rivers of tears. I was advised to “remember everything I do has an impact later on in my life, especially the negative things.” Funny enough, the next day, I tripped on the sidewalk and scraped my knee open while singing a song with my friends, on top of getting rejected from multiple internships for which I spent hours writing essays. However, the card reader had solidified one thing: I was in a hole and needed to get out. After further research, I learned that the devil card signifies a “sense of helplessness due to external forces” and serves as a reminder that “perceived constraints are often self-imposed.”
I realized my writer’s block was connected to more extensive feelings of stuckness. These moments coincide with feeling out of control and unable to lean on others for creative inspiration. I am immediately overwhelmed with doubt and hopelessness when thinking about my future. I put so much pressure on myself to produce the best work possible that I come up empty, with no idea of being good enough. Writer’s block isn’t a mindset or a chosen path but is often a reflection of having high, unrealistic self-expectations.
I cranked this piece out in about thirty minutes, a personal best for the year. The words flowed like never before while writing about having nothing to write about. I was pleasantly surprised and proud of myself for seeking inspiration from a place I didn’t know existed.
I wish there was a cure for writer’s block, and I could rig every tarot card reader to tell me I’m guaranteed a prosperous, joyous life. But if these few weeks taught me anything, inspiration doesn’t appear immediately but comes from patience, time, and sidewalk psychics. If anything, it further validated my confidence that I can draw inspiration from nothing and, more importantly, make things happen for myself. The best ideas don’t come easily and are certainly worth waiting for, just like waiting in a long line to have your tarot cards read.
