Ask the Author: Natalie Essary
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Natalie Essary
For at least 20 years, I mistakenly believed that writer's block involved the torturous act of staring at a blank page, blinking cursor, humming typewriter, or some such like and having nothing to say. As if the ability to string words together had merely abandoned the author. I foolishly claimed I never suffered this calamity.
I have since come to realize, writer's block has many flavors. For me, the only time I am unable to write is when I "just don't feel like it." I know exactly where my project is headed, but the idea of sitting down and valiantly attempting to fall into "the zone" exhausts me completely before I can even open a document.
Bottom line, my flavor of writer's block is a wake up call. I simply adore cooking, and if I don't feel like it, something is up. Likewise, if I don't feel like writing or reading, something is definitely wrong. Stress, sadness, fear, depression, anxiety, guilt-- These beasts are rarely conducive to the type of uplifting writing I aspire to release into the world. But they can be. After years of struggling, I've decided that the hurtful stuff can save you and your writing if your goal is to heal.
If you take one thing from this monologue, entertain the possibility that "writer's block" can be defined differently for each individual writer, so don't give up. Since my epiphany and the acceptance of it, I have cultivated many exercises that have a high success rating. (Again, this is personal and merely suggestions.)
Read something outside your comfort zone.
Meditate.
Try Yoga.
Take a walk with a notebook and turn off your damn phone.
In fact, take a notebook everywhere you go--It is possible to finish a novel one snippet at a time, and writing a paragraph a day is better than nothing.
I know admitting that you've fallen prey to this malady carries a bit of a stigma. It shouldn't. We all have different processes that are magical and inspiring and beautiful and completely validated. You simply have to allow yourself to laugh about it as opposed to beating yourself up. Even if you can't work on your current "Baby," write something. ANYTHING. You never know when a muse is hanging around looking for something or someone to do...
Happy writing, my sweets! Try dusting off some of your favorite old classics that made you want to rip your own heart out and smash it between the pages in the first place.
I have since come to realize, writer's block has many flavors. For me, the only time I am unable to write is when I "just don't feel like it." I know exactly where my project is headed, but the idea of sitting down and valiantly attempting to fall into "the zone" exhausts me completely before I can even open a document.
Bottom line, my flavor of writer's block is a wake up call. I simply adore cooking, and if I don't feel like it, something is up. Likewise, if I don't feel like writing or reading, something is definitely wrong. Stress, sadness, fear, depression, anxiety, guilt-- These beasts are rarely conducive to the type of uplifting writing I aspire to release into the world. But they can be. After years of struggling, I've decided that the hurtful stuff can save you and your writing if your goal is to heal.
If you take one thing from this monologue, entertain the possibility that "writer's block" can be defined differently for each individual writer, so don't give up. Since my epiphany and the acceptance of it, I have cultivated many exercises that have a high success rating. (Again, this is personal and merely suggestions.)
Read something outside your comfort zone.
Meditate.
Try Yoga.
Take a walk with a notebook and turn off your damn phone.
In fact, take a notebook everywhere you go--It is possible to finish a novel one snippet at a time, and writing a paragraph a day is better than nothing.
I know admitting that you've fallen prey to this malady carries a bit of a stigma. It shouldn't. We all have different processes that are magical and inspiring and beautiful and completely validated. You simply have to allow yourself to laugh about it as opposed to beating yourself up. Even if you can't work on your current "Baby," write something. ANYTHING. You never know when a muse is hanging around looking for something or someone to do...
Happy writing, my sweets! Try dusting off some of your favorite old classics that made you want to rip your own heart out and smash it between the pages in the first place.
Natalie Essary
The idea for my most recent book, StreetHearts, came from my seven-year-old son.
A couple of years ago, he started obsessing about seeing hearts in unusual places and photographing them. We shared our findings on Facebook just to have something positive to post, but before long, hearts started finding their way to us from family and friends, and our collection was huge. So for Valentine's Day 2015, I decided to surprise my son with a full-color, 8x10 picture book that not only included the photos and stories he would remember, but new ones from loved ones, as well.
I might have given my son a fantastic present, but he gives me the gift of presence every day.
A couple of years ago, he started obsessing about seeing hearts in unusual places and photographing them. We shared our findings on Facebook just to have something positive to post, but before long, hearts started finding their way to us from family and friends, and our collection was huge. So for Valentine's Day 2015, I decided to surprise my son with a full-color, 8x10 picture book that not only included the photos and stories he would remember, but new ones from loved ones, as well.
I might have given my son a fantastic present, but he gives me the gift of presence every day.
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