Salaam Reader,

I've been struggling with my writing lately, as have many writers I'm working with.

We’ve all been feeling burdened by responsibilities, feeling guilty for not making time for our writing, or feeling stuck when we do sit down to write and nothing meaningful comes out.

Most people would describe this as writer’s block. Here's the thing though. I don’t actually believe in writer’s block.

It feeds into the myth that stories are born whole and complete and simply pour out of us onto the page, dazzling us with their beauty and brilliance. And when that muse abandons us, we’ve got… writer’s block!

Of course, that’s not how writing works. But I still use the term writer’s block because it’s familiar terminology. When I use it, I’m simply referring to the feeling of being stuck in your writing and being unable to write.

Last week, I had a really illuminating discussion with my Grounded Writers group on the topic. We began the session with a journaling exercise using prompts that I came up with to guide the discussion. It helped us uncover so many layers of what was really happening in our writing and why we were struggling to write.

If you’ve been experiencing writer’s block, try these prompts as a starting point to get to the root of what’s behind your writing struggles:

• What does writer’s block look like for you? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
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• What is your writer’s block trying to tell you about your writing and/or the project you’re working on?
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• What is your writer’s block trying to teach you?

For myself, I uncovered something really strange when I used those prompts in our session. I realized I was struggling to write because I felt like until my short story collection got published (which I finished last year, Alhamdulillah), I couldn't write anything else.

I had to now prove to myself (and others) that I was a 'real' writer and get my book published. The fact that this is what came up for me is so bizarre because I'm a writing coach and these are the very things that I help writers get unstuck about!

So I don't actually have 'writer's block.' I have subconscious expectations of what a real writer looks like and what should happen next in my writing journey.

What really bothers me about this concept of 'writer's block' and the way we talk about it generally is that it assumes we have no control over our writing. We just have to sit and wait for writing to flow out of us once again.

But when you know the real reasons why you’re struggling to write, you can work through those issues and writing can become easy and joyful once again.

That's why I love journaling. You'll come away with insights that can surprise you and shake your beliefs about yourself.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I've shared here. And if you try the prompts, please let me know how the exercise went for you!

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With best wishes for your writing,

Hajera Khaja Writer + Creative Writing Teacher & Coach

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