MANAGING WRITER’S BLOCK | SAMUEL AYOADE

To excel in writing, get the skills and get the craze

– Ayoola Goodness paraphrased
.

Good day, my name is Samuel Amazing Ayoade, for those of you who didn’t know, Amazing is my Birth name and not a nick. That was how I worked in a place sometimes ago and this particular man would call me Amechi instead of Amazing. How dem con resemble na? Abeg, I no be Amechi o, no kari EFCC con meet me o…
Now to business. What the hell on earth is this Writer-s block being rant about?
A state in a writing career when your muse seems to desert you, when no inspiration comes. When the harder you try to write, the more you end up making no sense. When you feel you have lost your gift, you are helpless, none around you understands, the environment has stopped communicating with you. There you are, you gat it. Writer-s Block.

But do you know that you can come to subdue this demon under your feet throughout your writing career? How? By prayer and fasting. LOL. I forgot I am not here to preach the Gospel of repentance, but of career excellence. Although, the place of God cannot be neglected in man-s endeavours.
Back on point, my point is, Writer-s Block on its own does not exist, it abstract, it’s not real. Did I write It’s not real? It’s real because we make it real. It is a feeling brought about by mental fatigue from over-consistency and inferiority complex. You will notice that it occurs mostly after along period of consistent writing. Is that correct? Okay. That means it is a sign that you are expelling more than you are taking in. The craze goes, the muse dies, because you stopped feeding it.
What kills a Writer the most is staying off reading. Your muse is strengthened when you read and gather new ideas.

Sometimes ago when I had this experience, I wrote a poem titled I HAVE STOPPED WRITING. This is another way to manage Writer-s Block. Put it to shame by writing about it. It’s experimentally proven that when you openly confess a sin, you don’t tend to fall into it. It appears like am preaching again, sweet Jesus! Consider this piece:

caught up
hanging between branches
with toes stretching to tread the future
but there is no future
in this picture….

It looks more like portraying an empty idea. At the same time , it the same time it’s obvious that the Writer is in a state of confusion. You can write further:

yet
in this mystery
is a ministry of hope
redefined, that dawn will break
when the tangles of this night are broken
Weeping, may endure, but a night
joy breaks the dawn.

I have successfully communicated hope to the hopeless while writing about my own worry of being blocked. Keep writing about it daily and you’ll be surprised that soon, other ideas to write about will flow in.

Another thing that gives you Writer-s … whatever, is this:
At times when I read some folk-s work, I feel humiliated. I mentioned inferiority complex up there. Yes, low self-esteem. But I don’t allow that to get me down, I rather work to improve on myself. I read wild and study new styles of writing. I forgot to mention that you should now stick to a particular style of writing. It’s good to give your work a,distinct voice, but explore other styles too, that’s how to keep being relevant, and not to go dry.

On the last note today. When I read Ayoola Goodness, I feel lifted, so I look out for his works to read. His style used to be clearly different from mine, but over time, I got to begin to connect to his spirits. Look out for Writers you cherish, explore their style. If you have their spirit, you’ll connect. Learn wild… Why am I even telling you this, continue enjoying Writer-s Holiday jare. And, if I see you write like me, I will…

Talk to you later.
c. 30 Nov. 2016

Samuel Amazing Ayoade BlazingPen
President, Chrysolite Writers.

Originally posted 2016-11-30 20:44:23.