Thursday, June 10, 2010

Writer's Block



It's been years since I wrote fiction. I used to write for and was part of the editorial staff of our school's literary journal when I was in college. I loved writing then whether it was for my own pleasure or for others. I wrote in English and amazingly, excelled in Filipino (I was recognized for my Filipino poetry). Unfortunately, that drive to write died down after I graduated from College. I do not write creatively anymore, instead, I keep this online journal which serves as an outlet for my happiness and frustrations. I don't know if it's considered creative writing as none of it is fiction but at least I get to practice putting words together.

My current job involves a lot of report writing--technical and formal writing at its very best. I have to basically unlearn writing creatively and keep my report emotionless so to speak (No "I"s, "we"s or "us"). I have to watch my words to ensure that I deliver my findings with no bias whatsoever. Basically, creating a document which would bore the hell out of a person. I would think that the more boring it is, the better the report will turn out to be.

I used to think that writers block only strike writers who have to come up with novels or stories or poems. I never thought that it would apply to report writing as well. I have a paper that I've been trying to finish today but I can't seem to find the right words to express the thoughts that are floating in my head. Everything is there--the summary of my findings and my recommendations--but I end up putting emotions in the words that it's so difficult to edit them out.

For the past hour, I've been pulling my hair or staring at the swimming pool view outside trying to clear my head so I can write properly. Every few minutes or so, I return to my document and try to add a few words but end up deleting them as they sound quite off. Hopefully, I'll be able to pull myself together so I can finish this. I am so way out of schedule already and I have a couple of reports still waiting to be written.

Photo from of memphismafia.wordpress.com

1 comment:

aschua said...

You can do it Sunshi!

Like one writing coach said, the process of creative writing is messy. You will make mistakes and you will create 'crap'. That's the way it's suppose to work.

But once you take that dive and create that shitty first draft, you are on the right road.