Writer's Block: Is it real? Or is it another word for fear?

Anyone who knows anything about writing has, at the very least, heard the term writer's block. It's a term we use when the path our ideas take from our brain to the page is blocked, as the name suggests. But what is writer's block? There are many interpretations, but it's not as complicated as it seems.

Writer's block is something that afflicts me from time to time, and it kept me from starting this page for quite some time. But writer's block isn't limited to the lack of ideas or inability to transfer ideas to the page. It is often caused by—and used as a scapegoat for—a lack of confidence in our writing. I'm guilty of it, and anyone who says they're not hasn't been writing long enough.

I suppose you could say a case of self-imposed writer's block is what eventually led to the creation of this page. I finally got tired of allowing myself to get in my own way when it came to my goals. This is the case with anything we are passionate about; we want to be the best we can be and find our self-imposed perfectionism gets in the way of actually doing what we want to do. With every word that falls on this page, I am attempting to shed the constant need for perfection. I'm slowly beginning to learn that I'm human, and regardless of our different backstories, we are imperfect creatures.

One of my favorite writing YouTube creators has a line he says in most of his videos that always intrigued me. I'm paraphrasing, but he implies that every writer has Stephen King-level talent that just needs to be unlocked. I mention that because, as a long-time fan of Mr. King's books, I found myself unfairly comparing my writing to his. This caused a long writing drought for me. At one point, I wasn't sure if I would ever write again. My love of the craft is what brought me back, and that's my advice to you: No matter how hard it may get, always follow your passions, and don't let your version of writer's block, whatever that may be, stand in your way.