Today I’m going to tell you about what I see as the biggest fraud of the writing journey. It is a conniving scheme that still exists, and no one bothers to stop it.
Not even the US’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. They are all oblivious!
It’s a hoax orchestrated by writers against writers, a devious scheme of the ages, and, sadly, many fall for it.
It’s the dangerous, cliched term: the notorious writer’s block.
When I hear this term, I cringe and sometimes even get heart palpitations.
Introducing the writer’s con
This treacherous term should be changed to the writers’ con and no by con; I don’t mean a short word for a fancy conference where you feast on shrimps and sip on Californian white wine as you pontificate about not having the time to write. No! I’m talking about an actual swindle here, so pay attention.
The writer’s block is even romanticized in movies and books, where we see writers struggle for years, and then just like a bolt of lighting, the inspiration strikes, and the writer types away all night until they finish the whole manuscript. What a bunch of baloney!
By endorsing this kind of narrative, we defraud writers by telling them that a block exists and that you can’t write until Ms. Muse, with all her might, shows up, a fantasy tale akin to waiting for Godot.
Those who believe in shameful writer’s block are conning writers by telling them that it’s okay to not show up to write every day.
They are telling them writing is not as important as an office job! No wonder there is no phrase called The office block. You go to the office rain or shine, even if you don’t feel like it.
Writers are being misled by being told is it okay to use excuses not to write.
Feeling stuck? Take a walk
You might object and say that sometimes you do feel stuck and don’t know what to write about.
I will offer you a compromise; show up and write whatever you can write, take a quick break by walking around the block (the actual block, not the fraudulent one), then come back and keep writing. This is how the magic happens. It’s not going to happen if you keep complaining about your damn writer’s block while waiting for that mystical bolt of lighting.
I’m not alone here, others have alluded to this con, but they might not have been as vocal.
Stephen King said: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work,” while author Dan Poynter said, “If you wait for inspiration to write, you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.”
Let’s eradicate the monster
So, I’m not going to keep complaining here. I’m going to take action. I’m going to go to the source and eradicate this monstrosity. I’m going to the dictionary.
I’m appealing to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary to remove this madness from their library and replace it with the writer’s con.
Here is how Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it:
Writer’s block: “A psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.”
My suggestion for the change is as follows:
Writer’s con (previously known as writer’s block): “A hoax orchestrated by disgruntled writers to stop people from writing.”
I’m planning to start a change.org campaign where I collect the signatures of all the writers who have been defrauded and lost motivation and their writing careers over this scheme.
The change.org petition will appeal to this American dictionary to stop this madness.
The campaign will document all these stories and present them to the world to see.
Who wants to join me? Get in touch with me, and let’s do this! Let’s stop the fraud from ruining more writing careers!
Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash