“Every writer I know has trouble writing.”
– Joseph Heller (author of Catch-22)
We’ve now entered the time in the semester when papers are beginning to stack up. Staring at a blank screen, listening to the clock tick, each second can feel like the countdown clock to Dooms Day. The good news is that you are in very good company with your struggle to get words on the page.
Take, for instance, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Coates is the author of Between the World and Me, winner of the 2015 National Book Award. He spent years writing for The Atlantic as well. Coates is undeniably a talented writer, but even he struggles to get words on paper sometimes. In an interview (below) with The Atlantic, he talks about the struggles he faced breaking through the writer’s block and completing his pieces. He states that writing is not mystical – there’s no magic formula to completing a manuscript, paper draft, or article. Instead, it takes perseverance and the courage to continue to succeed in writing. The same could be said for any creative, entrepreneurial, or academic endeavor. The more you practice your craft – whether it’s writing, playing an instrument or starting up your own company – the better you will get.
