The Cure for Writer's Block

In the past several weeks  I have occasionally sat down to "blog", but felt a strong case of writer's block.  I stare at my screen, blank-faced and defeated.  I feel annoyed for my lack of creativity and frustrated that the Holy Spirit is not inspiring me!  I love Defining Beauty, and I have been disappointed for feeling like I have nothing to say...

I am not a writer, though I obviously enjoy pretending.  I do remember however, some writing advice from a past English class.  "If you have writer's block, just start writing".  My teacher told us to start with a thought, a journal entry, or anything to help us get started.  If that still did not work, she suggested we start copying the line "I do not know what to write..." until something came up.  And most often, something eventually came up and I started to write.

Another area in life where I often get "writer's block" is prayer.  Sometimes I feel discouraged that God is not listening, or I simply get so busy that I do not make time for prayer.  I get in the habit of not praying, and suddenly, it is like I do not know where to start, and do not know what to pray about.  It is like meeting an old acquaintance for coffee, and falling into an awkward silence because we just realized that we hardly know each other anymore.  I fall into the trap of wondering whether God even wants to hear from me anymore!

I think that in this case, the best advice one could give would be to "just start praying".  Turn off the distractions and close the door.  Go to adoration.  Don't know what to say?  Use a prayer written by a saint, or somebody else.  Go to mass.  Say a rosary.  Read a spiritual book.  Just start praying!  It may feel as though you are starting small, but it is a starting point, and most often, we eventually start to pray...

Now, hopefully this post will be just the muse I need to help me fight my case of writer's block.