Writer's Block

Today's post is brought to you by Writer's Block. This semester, I only experienced it once (thank heavens!) but it was bad. I needed to write an essay, but couldn't come up with something that wasn't cliche or already done a thousand times. This is what I ended up with.

What to Write?

            So, I decided to try to write a lyrical essay. We talked about them in class, about how the language was supposed to be eloquent and flowery. The format was different too. Overall I was pretty sure I could do it. Poems weren’t really my thing, but writing was like breathing. I was sure it couldn’t be incredibly hard. My laptop battery overcharged, an entirely new John Mayer album playing through my headphones and a Diet Coke by my side; I felt ready to write my masterpiece.

                Then my mental light bulb burned out. Horrifically, I realized I didn’t have a clue what to write about. Nothing exciting happened to me. Being a college student, the only thing I knew was being poor, being cold and being heartbroken. The only one that even sort of appealed to me was heartbreak, it being so recent and all. Yet a broken heart is like a broken record. Everyone has one and passes it around like celebrity gossip. I didn’t want to write that sad tale. It would take more than my 750 word limit. A mature decision maybe, but choosing not to air my dirty laundry meant I had nothing to write.

            Usually when the bully called writer’s block reared his ugly head, a small break would help send him packing. It was worth a shot, so I closed my word document. Four hours later I was fully caught up on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and the latest episodes of New Girl, but I still had no idea what to write. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places for inspiration, I thought to myself. I powered down my laptop and pulled my kitten from his hiding spot under my bed. The only thing I gained from him were a few fresh, red scratches on my arms and a fully pissed off cat.

            “Can you hang out?” The text message from my best friend read. I glanced at my computer screen and the lackluster word count. I silently groaned and typed a quick message back. “Maybe…I have to finish an essay, but I want to hang out. Check with me in an hour?” I hit send and turned my attention back to the blinking cursor. The invitation was like a message from above. What I really needed to get my essay done was a deadline and I finally had one. Seeing my friends that I hadn’t seen in weeks since I was at Utah State doing school and they were still in Syracuse, Utah was what I really wanted to do. The only way my homework would get done was if I did it before I went out though. I had myself a deadline. One hour to write a 750 word essay about something….anything.

            Knowing the clock was ticking against me, my brain exploded with an epiphany. I could write my essay about not knowing what to write! Unceremoniously, I jammed my headphones into my ears, turned the sound up on the John Mayer album I had no idea why I was listening to, and placed my fingers on the keyboard. My chipped nail polish covered fingers danced over the keys as the words flowed from some unknown place. I had never actually written about not being able to write, but it seemed like a logical idea. “When you don’t have an idea, write about not knowing. See where it takes you,” my ninth grade creative writing teacher chorused every day during class free write time. It seemed like a ridiculous idea, but it was working. My word count multiplied like the American debt ratio and before I knew it, my essay was finished. I clicked “save” about a million times just to make sure my effort wasn’t wasted, before I turned the computer off. Homework complete, I called a quick goodbye to my parents and rushed outside to meet my waiting friends.