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rainwatersparkOftentimes, aspiring or novice writers ask more established writers for tips for overcoming writer's block. Sometimes those established writers will offer helpful advice, sometimes they'll admit they have no idea how to beat the block either...and, once in a while, you get discouraging and harsh "advice" along the lines of "writer's block is just an excuse, if you're a 'real' writer you'll just sit your butt down and power through the block to produce, otherwise you're just a failed wannabe."
There's a time and a place for giving "drill sergeant" advice, and I do believe that if being a writer is something someone really wants to be, they have to be willing to take the plunge, do the work, and go for it. (In fact, my grumpy personal opinion is that more writers need to work harder to produce better pieces of writing.) But to act like no one could possibly ever have a legitimate reason for not being able to produce is pretty condescending.
Writing is a craft. To act like there's no significant mental capital required in order to produce a good story/good piece of writing is somewhat deluded. To act like people have infinite mental capital is also unrealistic. If an aspiring writer is a full-time student, or juggling multiple jobs, etc., even if that person is awake enough to spend an hour or so sitting in front of a computer during their free time, they may well be too mentally exhausted to do much. For me, law school so completely exhausts me that after a full day of classes, by nighttime when I finally have some "free" time, I can pull up my draft but end up just staring blankly at my computer screen.
And that's not even getting into the added stresses of being neurodivergent. Depression will kill your ability to do any sort of creative work (since it tends to kill your brain functions, period). Even low-key depression hinders the creative process, because when you're unable to feel joy or pleasure, you tend not to be motivated to do much. And/or, if you're autistic, you might have low spoons (energy) due to other things going on in your life, since, y'know, the world is generally not friendly to autistic people.
There's a difference between saying "If you want to be a writer, you have to be willing to work hard for it" vs. shaming people who may have legitimate reasons for being unable to produce. People who, for example, may be neurodivergent. (Because it's not like the "lazy disabled person" is a harmful stereotype at all. /sarcasm)
Even if the aspiring writer is neurotypical, I'd argue that it's better to show compassion, because writing is hard. Let's not pretend that showing weakness is occasion for ridicule (another cultural tendency that especially harms disabled people).
There's a time and a place for giving "drill sergeant" advice, and I do believe that if being a writer is something someone really wants to be, they have to be willing to take the plunge, do the work, and go for it. (In fact, my grumpy personal opinion is that more writers need to work harder to produce better pieces of writing.) But to act like no one could possibly ever have a legitimate reason for not being able to produce is pretty condescending.
Writing is a craft. To act like there's no significant mental capital required in order to produce a good story/good piece of writing is somewhat deluded. To act like people have infinite mental capital is also unrealistic. If an aspiring writer is a full-time student, or juggling multiple jobs, etc., even if that person is awake enough to spend an hour or so sitting in front of a computer during their free time, they may well be too mentally exhausted to do much. For me, law school so completely exhausts me that after a full day of classes, by nighttime when I finally have some "free" time, I can pull up my draft but end up just staring blankly at my computer screen.
And that's not even getting into the added stresses of being neurodivergent. Depression will kill your ability to do any sort of creative work (since it tends to kill your brain functions, period). Even low-key depression hinders the creative process, because when you're unable to feel joy or pleasure, you tend not to be motivated to do much. And/or, if you're autistic, you might have low spoons (energy) due to other things going on in your life, since, y'know, the world is generally not friendly to autistic people.
There's a difference between saying "If you want to be a writer, you have to be willing to work hard for it" vs. shaming people who may have legitimate reasons for being unable to produce. People who, for example, may be neurodivergent. (Because it's not like the "lazy disabled person" is a harmful stereotype at all. /sarcasm)
Even if the aspiring writer is neurotypical, I'd argue that it's better to show compassion, because writing is hard. Let's not pretend that showing weakness is occasion for ridicule (another cultural tendency that especially harms disabled people).
