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First Published: July 13, 2025 Paul W. Romero
Preface: This was originally written on June 18, 2022 at the start of my MFA Creative Writing program.
My daily struggles as a writer vary from personal to professional life. First and foremost, the dreaded all too common writer’s block. My issue is not so much about what to write but rather how to write it. First drafts should be the time to write everything no matter how bad it may be. Bad writing can be fixed later. That’s what editing is for. Another issue I have is the fact that I don’t read or write as much as I should. The only way to get better at anything is to practice, practice, practice. In his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King states, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot” (145).
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” – Stephen King
In her book, Novel Ideas, Dorothy Allison discusses some of the obstacles she faced as a writer including writer’s block which similarly wasn’t a result of not knowing what to write but rather how to write it. One of her main issues she described was ‘losing books’ if she didn’t make the time to explore the idea. Shoup and Denman interview Dorothy Allison who states, “If you don’t get enough of it down, you will lose it, or it will become something else. Then you lose what you were originally going to do and you have to make peace with what you wind up with” (74). Her issues came with not having the time and energy to finish her writings, but how to express her points of view. Once again it wasn’t so much what to write but rather how to write it.
Stephen King wasn’t immune to writer’s block either. He threw away the manuscript of his first published novel, Carrie, before his wife retrieved it from the garbage bin and told him to finish it. One of his longest books, The Stand, took him years to complete due to the vast world he struggled to create and connect. Although King didn’t have as many issues with time management, he had his fare of struggles. Instead of saying he didn’t have time to write, he made time to write.
If you want something bad enough then you’ll find a way. You must find a way to make time to write. You owe it to yourself as a writer.
A common element between King and Allison came from finding confidence in their craft through dedication, practice, hard work and of course trial and error. As they continued to write, they discovered what worked and what didn’t work for their writing and fine-tuned their material as they progressed. Eventually not only did they know what to write but how to write it as well. This is a common theme I dare say I struggle with as well: it’s not about what to write but how to write it.
Shoup and Denman interview Dorothy Allison who states, “But I’ve always been trying to find a bulletproof posture. I don’t like to hurt. I’m looking for a place to get safe; and like any hurting person would, I tried to construct a kind of safe territory for myself. But safe doesn’t happen. You have to go through the process” (81). King states, “Some people don’t want to hear the truth, of course, but that’s not your problem. What would be is wanting to be a writer without wanting to shoot straight” (189).
I’ve learned a few ways to overcome the obstacles I face including writer’s block and time management. From the various authors cited in the article, “The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers,” the key take away is to take the work serious. Like anything in life, a writer gets out of what they write by how much effort they give.
To overcome writer’s block, you must start somewhere.
Quit waiting for inspiration.
Quit waiting for the right time and right setting.
Quit expecting perfection. Just write.
James Clear quotes Jodi Picouli, “you can’t edit a blank page,” (Clear, “The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers”) and Khaled Hosseini as saying, “You have to write whether you feel like it or not” (Clear, “The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers”).
“You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picouli
To make time for my craft, I must establish a routine and stick to it. I must plan accordingly even if I must wake up a few hours earlier to write before work rather than wait until the late evening when I’m tired, then that is the routine I must create for myself. I must get rid of my inner critic and allow no room for excuses. Something I used to say in my old days, “if I want something bad enough, I’ll find time for it.” The key as the article discusses is to push myself, prioritize, and just do the work.
Write something. Write anything. Just write. The rest comes later.
Works Cited
Clear, James. “The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers.” James Clear, http://www.jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers. Accessed 18 June 2022.
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York, Scribner, 2000.
Shoup, Barbara, and Margaret-Love Denman. Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process. E-book, University of Georgia Press, 2009.
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