Friends,

Welcome to a new week and a new opportunity to work away on a project that perhaps you’ve been wanting to start or have been struggling to chip away. I had a rough work week over the past seven days, so I for one am taking advantage of this fresh new week to get to work on my projects. I hope you can do that too!

“Why was your work week rough?” you may ask? I’ll tell you why…

I believe that every great once in a while, a writer experiences something I call an “über-block.” Essentially, at least in my experience, an über-block is like writer’s block but a lot worse. I have seen some interesting articles that bring forth the notion that writer’s block is a myth, that it is merely an idea. Take this article I found, for example (link will open up a new tab), which comes from the Writers Store. The term “writer’s block” can mean different things for different people. So whether you’re a believer in it, or think it is something else, I think it is a valid point to consider.

Returning to the über-block idea, I would like to say that I don’t believe that writer’s block is a “disease” but rather a state of mind. So taking into account what “über” means (an outstanding or supreme example of something), you can probably guess that whatever kept me from writing was something significant. The reason for my lack of writing–whatever it was–was a rather “outstanding” or “supreme” reason. We all encounter hardship and tests in our lives, and the difficulty and tension springing from those situations often overflow into our work and leisure activities. 

Throughout the week, I found myself with little motivation, but also filled with the want to get things done. It was an odd mixture of feelings. I’m sure you or someone you know has experienced that at one time or another. At first only a little time had passed where I hadn’t accomplished much of anything, then it kept going for one, two, three, four, five days. That’s when it occurred to me that the writer’s block [insert your definition here] I was experiencing wasn’t a normal type of block, but rather an über-block, an outstanding version of the idea.

And so, I want to use this time now to offer my advice for this kind of situation. After reflecting on the past week, I have concluded that it was a point in my writing cycle that was a valley and not a peak. In the up-and-down cycle of writing, it was definitely a down time. Before you chalk it up as a reason to stop writing or to avoid it, take a moment to consider this illustrative analogy: you can’t enjoy the sunny days without some rainy ones.

What I mean by this is simple–you aren’t always going to have great writing sessions occur, spectacular ideas flow constantly, or fantastic book sales month in and month out. And on those down days, you must look at it as an opportunity to evaluate what you are doing and move forward from there. Maybe you’re not necessarily doing anything “wrong.” Maybe you just need to give your creative mind a break. Go ahead and do just that. It works wonders, believe me.

So to come full circle, let me say this…my upcoming book, Unguarded: Book Two in the “Faces of the War” Collection, hasn’t moved far from where I left it last week. But that isn’t a bad thing. My brain needed a recharging session instead of a writing session, and in the grand scheme of things, I’d rather do that than risk stale writing. So if you ever think you’re experiencing whatever represents writer’s block, or worse–über-block–to you, remember this blog and the fact that it’s okay to not always be moving forward with your work. Take it as an opportunity to regroup and prepare to start your next writing session by tackling whatever project is on your plate. For on that day, I am sure the sun will shine brighter than you thought it would!

Until next time,

-Eli