The Trendsetter

Do you believe in writer’s block?

I heard of a writer who after having the first novel published couldn’t write for years afterwards. No matter how hard the writer tried there was no second manuscript in sight.

If that is an accurate description of what writer’s block is about, then it’s pretty severe and scary thing for a budding writer like me to know.

Right now writing is not a problem for me at all.

But wait!

My big problem as a writer is I tend to get distracted with so many things that fascinate me. To make it worse, I’m not consistent at all when it comes to writing. Give me a well organized schedule to write; still I will never follow it. I always find myself straying…

And that was not the only problem I had. After I got published, in my previous life, I got sidetracked for several years, stopped writing and eventually settled in metro Boston. Then, I got the rash to write again. This time I wanted to write in English - my third language.

So, I set up my writing website, this website, The Trendsetter. The site was just there, empty and collecting dust for a year. I was not able to write what I wanted to write, in English.

Then I realized, oh no! Was I just hit by a writer’s block? When I looked for the reasons within myself, I felt disgusted.

I wasn’t able to write because I was afraid of making mistakes. After all, the writing here must be in the English language (I had no problem writing creative non-fiction in my second language, the Malay language). I didn’t want the world to read my creative non-fiction in run-down sentences.

And having a Caucasian dh hailing from Beantown (of all places) didn’t help to ease my fear either. It only worsened my inferiority complex. However, the itch to write was so unbearable, right or wrong, I plunged myself online with an open eyes – run-down sentences, bad grammar and all.

Ahh…finally I was set myself free from the blockage. Writing creative non-fiction content for my blog has launched me back to my fiction writing. And it’s getting better each day — the writing in English. At least I hope it is.

So, what can you learn from me? If you couldn’t write because the fear of being wrong or making mistakes, please don’t. As we all know, writing fiction involves feelings. And it means you must be comfortable baring your feelings. You need the excitement, the freedom to write what you want to write. Don’t let any negative feeling stop you. As what happened to me and I wasted a good solid year before I threw myself into the lion’s cage.

The urge to write did push me to write for my blog. It was actually not so bad. Now I don’t really care if my writing is bad, I just write. After all, this is my platform to improve my writing skill after having neglected it for a long time.

So, do I believe in writer’s block? Sure, if what I had experienced is considered as a writer’s block. I would like to say I don’t believe in it. I didn’t write because I was not competent enough in the language I chose to write in. Well, in reality, I had the fear of making mistakes. And fear was a part of what is called “perfectionism”, which is why a writer experiences writer’s block.