Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or the lack of writing skills.The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years. Writer's block is not solely measured by time passing without writing. It is measured by time passing without productivity in the task at hand.
Writing has a binary state. Either you’re writing, or you don’t. Lately the past few months I was not writing. At all. This created something I call “a lingering desire”. You know you want to do something you enjoy, but for “reasons” you cannot. And that only makes the lingering desire larger and larger. Up until the point where you’re agitated with the always rising list of things you get on your plate, solely for the reason that they do not permit any free time to allow you to do what you enjoy. Write! And when the time comes when you finally can sit and do some writing, you’re debating on what to actually write. Nothing comes out of your mind that will provide enough creative juice to allow your mind to untangle. Writer’s block. And then, there is no more free time – you’re back to the less exciting tasks at hand.
Fast forward to August 2022. Since March, when my writing started to slow down I was patiently waiting for this month. The month of Blaugust, Belgast’s monthlong celebration of blogging. I’ve been following this since the beginning, tracking down most of the blogs I enjoy even today. But this time it is different – I got my own blog up and running, something I was procrastinating for too long. I even have a “Badges” section ready on my blog for this! And with that, my chance to get some much-needed prompts and motivation to get me back on track!
What is Blaugust? You can find more info here, but if you want to read it from me, it is a month where fellow bloggers are challenged to post something new each day, usually springing lax bloggers back to the action! This year, Belghast even added achievements “Blaugchievements” for those that prefer a bit more gamified approach.
August seems to be perfect for this – besides the obvious, that “Blaugust” is the best sounding between the 12 (Blmarch? Blapril? nah!). As summer is in full swing, work usually slows down and there’s time usually scheduled for much-needed vacations! Not for me though – I avoid asking for or having vacations during August since most of the people are away on them anyway, I find the quieter premises much more enjoyable than the body-stacking that is August on vacations. June and July are for me better alternatives. And while everyone seems to be away, I find it much easier to tackle larger problems and cross out things on my to-do list.
So blogging. What am I expecting to do this month under the #blaugust2022 moniker? For starters, I have some game reviews in the pipeline scheduled for this month. Aside from that? Nothing solid but I will try to follow the #blaugust2022 schedule and see what I can come up with. But even if writer’s block creeps up again, I will surely enjoy reading the content all of this year’s participants will create!
See you there!
This post was first published on overage-gaming by static. If you like what you see here and want to see more, you can check me out on Twitter and YouTube as well.
Over the years I’ve found that Blaugust is excellent for revitalising my enthusiasm for writing. I hope it is for you. You’ll find no shortage of encouragement on our Discord server. Good luck.