Co-written by: Colson Verheul

Us Odyssey writers are mystical creatures of art. Sometime between dawn and dusk, we gather up a sprinkle of madness hidden deep within the catacombs of our brains, and bring fingers to keyboard to present you with lovely weekly doses of articles and writing that make hearts ache as our viewers read them, sometime between dawn and dusk...

Okay. Let's be real here.

If it was that easy every week, well, who needs deadlines? US. WE NEED THEM.

Because sometimes it takes three jelly-filled donuts to churn out those cutesy little articles of ours you love so much. Plus a coffee. Plus a midnight chai...

So like any other writer, we thought, why not write about the struggle?

So here it is! Today, I'm joining a fellow Odyssey CC to bring you ten things that happen when the gears in our minds refuse to churn creatively. (But I hope yours do while you read! :D)

1. We want to throw up...on paper.

As someone who absolutely loves writing to the point of getting a major in it, writer's block makes me queasy. Literally. Like I've got all these ideas...but I don't? Oh wait, they're at the pit of my stomach...and they're surfacing...

NOW! (Or not, because I have writer's block, but I've got all these ideas...the cycle goes on and on pls help)

2. WHO REALLY NEEDS THESE ARTICLES ANYWAY AMIRITE?

*ignores the knot of guilt in your stomach when your editor and audience and your own mind hounds you for your newest content*

*chuckles nervously* "SO YOU SEE--"

3. I should be writing so why am I eating?!

"Brb I'm going to turn my writer's block into an arterial block after all the McDonald's I eat hehe I kill me"

(Imma be real, though. Potato chips have inspired countless numbers of articles so maybe this isn't the worst coping method? S O S )

4. "Mom, what should I write about?"

When has motherly advice ever failed you? My mom is personally a MAJOR fan of my articles and having her two cents regarding article topics never fails to goad me into writing greatness :) *wholesome*

5. "Ugh I guess this gif works"

When you finally muster up the creativity to begin focusing on even the smallest idea, unsuccessfully finding the right gif to use is a sure-fire guarantee to instill that level of hopelessness once again. It's a lose-lose situation, though.

Finding the right gif just proves the passion fueling the spirit of journalism has been replaced with whatever ADD laziness is happening today. The gif-heavy nature of today's writing is a step backward and--oh dear God I am part of the problem. Culture is dead and it's my fault...

6.Paranoid breakdowns

I tell people I'm a journalist because my friends are successful, pregnant, getting married, and starting their own businesses. In reality, I just write things that don't even garner the attention from my friends. I'm a fraud. I have nothing. Is anybody reading this now? I'm screaming out into oblivion and nobody cares. I am trapped forever, doomed to live the lie I've set up.

7. The walls are closing in.

Humanity is dead. We killed it. Time is just an illusion. 50% of marriages end in divorce. Children in Africa will go to bed hungry tonight. The only thing more inevitable than our own demise is how alone we will be.

I sit here staring at my keyboard, reminiscing of times when I still had control over my life. My worst enemies are reading this, proudly cackling over how much better they're doing in life than I am. I cannot even produce weekly opinions on the world I live in consistently growing, evolving, devolving, changing, and expanding. I am a disappointment. No wonder my parents don't love me :')

8. Like everything else in my life, I guess I'll settle.

The deadline to submit my "work" is approaching which means the time to settle for mediocrity is upon me. As I scour the internet searching for anything to help enhance my piece, I realize that the conclusion to my week of paranoid agony is almost over. Maybe I can make it through this. Maybe.

9. The article has been sent to the editor in charge.

With a deep breath and a quick click of "publish & share" it's over. The pain is finally over. I will live to see one more day after all. A subtle sense of warmth envelops me as I begin to smile for the first time in a week. I am free of the pressures this burden had weighed upon me.

I wipe away a stray tear as I log off of my browser and proceed into a new world--a better world. A world I've long since forgotten, blinded by the horrors of my own computer.

10. My work is finally published. I feel safe again.

When I'm notified of my rising view count and share totals for my recently published work, I feel safe once more. My words are out there for anyone to enjoy... and it feels pretty good. The support of family and friends holds me gently. Maybe the paranoid stress was worth it for this feeling. I am free. Free to live the life I've always wanted. The life I've always dreamed of. Nothing can hold me down! I am invincible!

And after are beautiful work is out there, we pretty much are just that: invincible.

That is, until next week...