How many times do you find yourself having trouble finding words? Writer’s block is something most people who write will have experience with at some point. Is it doubt? Fear? Lack of inspiration? I came across a poet doing a TedX talk who said writer’s block was none of these things, but was a surplus of judgement.

This made a lot of sense to me. I grew up with a very judgmental parent. It does create a lot of self doubt. But it also makes you very aware of judgement from other people, whether it is real or perceived. Being afraid of that judgement can paralyze you. So how do you fight it?

Write anyway. Keep repeating to yourself, “Who cares what anybody thinks? These are MY words.” But Becca, we’re writing to sell books, you say. Very true. But if you don’t believe in your own words, why should your readers?

When the words hit the page, do they have emotion? Do your characters speak? Do they sing at full voice? Will your readers feel the emotions of your characters? Do you feel them when you write them? If you answer no to any of these questions, you may want to do some editing.

Readers read to connect with something different from their everyday world. They want to feel another person’s emotions. They want the distraction, the thrill of living another person’s life for a few hours. If you don’t give them any emotional connection, they won’t read.

Writers usually don’t write just to be seeing words fill a page. We write for the same reasons readers read. We want to live those other lives for a while. That means we need to be aware of all the emotions of our characters. We need to put all of our emotions into them. Leave it all on the page. If you find yourself stuck or having trouble getting started, try listening to some spoken poetry or slam poetry. That’s where I found the TedX with Slam Poetry Champion Pages Matam. Or try copying down your favorite poems and use them as a jumping off point. Song lyrics are a good idea, also. Anything that helps you start putting your own words on the page is a good thing.