Universally, all writers battle with the same frustrations. The struggles of writing do not discriminate by genre, and though all writers have their own, unique style with individual obstacles, the writing world has undeniable, ever-present hindrances. Dozens of components add up to create a specific writing style from word choice, sentence structure, repetition, alliteration, imagery, punctuation, and so on and so forth. However, even with all of those variables, every author still faces the daunting question of “How do I title this?” Coming up with a title for a poem proves just as perplexing as titling an autobiography. Should the title force the reader to speculate or should the title come across straightforward? Should the writer title the piece what they want or what the reader wants? What does the reader even want? All writers differ, however, they all face similar questions and complications when it comes to writing.
Writers’ block, the kryptonite of the writing world, does not spare anyone. Whether you hate writing and only pick up a pen when instructed, or you write as a profession, you have struggled with writers’ block before. Words do not flow from a pen on command like a fountain. Occasionally you just stare at an empty screen attempting to write the same sentence a dozen contrasting ways, but it always turns out sounding just as ridiculous as the first attempt. And then you wonder, does it actually sound ridiculous or have you just been playing with the same sentence for so long you can no longer determine if it flows? Similarly, deadlines either make or break writers’ block. For some people, the ticking clock adds motivation and words appear out of thin air, or the countdown sounds like a bomb and the writer becomes paralyzed with anxiety. Either way, sometimes the words for a piece just refuse to form in your mind or flow on the page, even if you have an idea or a concept.
In all reality, writing is not just stringing words together in a coherent order. Writing is an art, and therefore knowing what you want to say and actually saying it are two vastly different things. Creating a mental image and then bringing that image to life depends on more variables than just using words that make sense. Writing, especially poetry and fiction pieces, revolves around taking the world in your head and putting it on a page for someone else to explore. Word choice, figurative language, and sentence length all change the overall picture and feeling of the piece, which can alter the writer’s world. “The wind blew the leaves off the tree,” contrasts majorly from “Crisp leaves, coaxed by the gentle, whistling wind, slowly fluttered to the barren ground below the oak tree.” Quite often writers have this brilliant idea for a piece, and as they type the article they practice their acceptance speech for the Pulitzer Prize, but then they reread the piece and wonder what elementary school child altered their award winning article. So even when a writer breaks through the block, they still face the difficulties of transferring the idea in their head to a piece of paper in a way that accurately conveys their world to their readers.
Seemingly minor components of writing also challenge authors. To use the Oxford comma or not? Does this sentence need a semicolon or a colon? Are there too many preposition phrases in this sentence? Does this repetition make my piece sound artistic or too repetitive? Writing exists in a world that is not black or white: the colors blend to create a gray that the writer/reader has to interpret for themselves. While grammar has definite rules (most the time), a majority of writing deals with the individual and preference, such as figurative language. Metaphors do not come naturally to everyone and metaphors do not always convey the intended image. The line between accurately creating emphasis and beating a dead horse is paper thin. Then determining whether or not your phrases sound too cliché or unoriginal comes as another challenge. Though you want your article to come to life, you do not want to overuse outdated sayings. Humor and sarcasm also do not come across easily in written work since they depend heavily on the individual. Pace can also puzzle authors. An article flows too sporadically sometimes, while other times the writer lingers on irrelevant details. And while grammar does hinder plenty of writers, there are definite rules and guidelines that make grammar manageable. However, the gray area of writing presents challenges that only the individual can answer.
Ultimately, one of the greatest challenges an author must overcome involves the reader. Do you write for the reader or for yourself? Or both? And if both, what do you compromise? Each writer has to answer this question for themselves, and then it alters the way they write. If you write for an audience, you might change the paper into something unrecognizable. If you write solely for yourself, you might write a paper no one wants to read. And that also haunts writers: does anyone read your work or do you publish to an audience of none? And then another daunting question comes into play: does what you write actually matter, or are you just writing to write? The relationship between a reader and a writer is mutualistic and therefore complex. The reader holds power over the author and the author must determine if that power will change them. Who you write for dictates the way you write.
All authors bond over the mutual pain of writing. Creating worlds is beautiful, but also stressful and frustrating. Our words do not always come across the way we intend, and sometimes we cannot even find words. And then the individual preferences of writing overwhelm. How many adverbs? Does this figurative language work? Is this too long or too short of a paragraph? And of course, conclusions should inspire you to mic drop, but too often they sound like broken records. How do you restate the entire article without sounding redundant? You must find refreshing, captivating ways to reiterate your points and tie everything together without boring the reader. Writers are afflicted with beautiful, indescribable universes in their minds that only they can visualize. Their job is to bring that universe to life, but forming something out of nothing does not come easily.
