Is it a mere fear that every hopeful author carries in a corner of his mind?
Is it a lack of thought and creativity?
Perhaps it is yet another manifestation of the fear of man disguised as an oppressive state of the self.
Or, . . . Is it the fate of a new direction trying to pass?
We all know that this hurdle is not just something in one's imagination. Anyone who has attempted to write, paint, or enable any of the creative arts knows that this is a very real obstacle we all reach at one point or another.
Is it a mere fear that every hopeful author carries in a corner of his mind?
YHVH O'saynu, the LORD our maker (Ps 95,6) lives WITHIN us.
Elohim, creator (Gen 1,1; 17, 7) promised that His kingdom, everlasting, is in ME!
What is my point with all the Hebrew references? God is creative and not only is HIS creativity within me, but HE is within me. Therefore, is it really practical to think that writer's block is one's inability to contrive and forge? I don't think so.
Is it a lack of thought and creativity?
"...I know, was spurred by the fear of men..." Jason Gray comments on his own writer's block seated prior to the making of his latest album release. You can find his full article at
The Rabbit Room. I appreciate Mr. Gray's vulnerability on the topic. We are all, of course, created to worship and the creative arts are all a facet of the expression of obedient worship we each carry in our hearts. However, we don't always acknowledge the Trinity to be our only audience members. More often than not, we consider the greater population (our churches, The Church, the World) our audience. "What will they think? Is it easy to read and understand? Can they sing along? Can they see what I see? What if it is too dark? What if the chords aren't so pleasing? The melody and lyrics don't quite match. The clay cracked. The paint dripped." We carry on about how "perfect" our creation must be to the eyes of man. We lose track of the purpose of the creative arts. We get wrapped into the realms of this dreaded paradigm called " the fear of man".
Perhaps it is yet another manifestation of the fear of man disguised as an oppressive state of the self.
A personal testimony:
In older blogs, I've written about my past as a writer. I am a writer. I always have been and I always will be. I write short stories, poetry, lyrics, music, nonfiction, parables, and all the likes. Until the last few years. Some time during my years at UNL, I stopped writing. Writing became such an effort that I associated with the classroom. It wasn't a joy any longer. It was what I had to do for all of my classes. So, I stopped writing for pleasure, with intent for creative worship.
You know what I am NOT good at? Art. Drawing and painting are two of my absolute weaknesses. And you know what I've been longing to do the last couple of months? Paint. I don't know anything about painting. Brush, paint, paper, canvas.. okay, I know four things about painting. During our summer camp, I was attending a writing workshop and when it came time for our free-write... I had no words, but pictures and colors. So, what did I do? Paint. *rolls eyes*
My implication is not that every occurrence of no ink means we should try another manifestation of our creative gifts. My suggestion is that perhaps there IS a change of direction. Maybe not so drastic as becoming a painter instead of writer, but maybe if you mostly write one genre or style, it is time to write in a new way. The Holy Spirit is bringing forth a season of something NEW. It is a new life in which we live. It could very well be that you don't have writer's block, it's just that the Holy Spirit is trying to take you into a new direction.
Is it the fate of a new direction trying to pass?
Determining the source of writer's block doesn't speak of overcoming it.
Resting. Relaxing. Acknowledging the presence of Yeshua. Surrender. Stillness. Waiting. Asking. Worship in the contemporary form with music. Reading the Word.
These are my best solutions for defeating writer's block.
