Writer's Block

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that
Have you ever had
Today I le
Writer's block is like hitting a brick wall. You're never qui

Writer's block is the bane of my life. That feeling of sitting down and staring at the last paragraph you wrote, trying to work out what you need to write next - well, it's almost as bad as forgetting your lines on stage. But there are two kinds of writer's block. The first is the one everyone complains about, where you're not sure where to go next or which phrasing will work best to describe what you want. This kind of block is annoying, yes, but I've always found that just by forcing myself to write something, even if I think it's awful, I can move on and come back to clean up the mess later.

The kind of writer's block I hate is the kind where you just can't find the motivation to actually write. I've had this for the last two days, barely typing a word until this morning, and I was starting to worry that I'd once again hit that point in a project where I just can't be bothered to write anymore, despite really wanting to finish. It's the desire for instant gratification, for reaching the end, that motivates a lot of us but in writing that kind of motivation is pointless. Writing isn't like a sprint, you don't get one quick high from it; it's a slow, long marathon. It take a lot of time to complete a story, especially one that is looking like it's going to be novel-length, and the kind of writer's block I get is where I worry that the length of time I'm spending is not going to be worth it in the end.

I think - or, at least, I hope - that this time I've found a way around this problem. I need to not hold out for the ending, but see each little day's worth of writing as a mini-goal in and of itself. And whilst it clearly doesn't have the same satisfaction as completing a whole story, writing just a couple of thousand words is something to be proud of in itself. I'm hoping this motivation, which I found worked for me today, will continue to keep me writing - and I know I always have you to spur me on if I start to slip up.

Your faithful student,
Quill Scratch