“Back in the saddle” refers to a cowboy who returned to work after recovering from an injury. Gene Autry’s song made it a household phrase. Unfortunately, it also means the back part of a chicken, the part nearest its tail. Now I’m not saying that writer’s block turns us into chicken-livered, yellow-belly, word avoiders, but . . .
A seat implies that someone should be sitting on it. It’s found on everything from a donkey to a vehicle, like a bicycle, motorcycle or tractor. Some seats are more comfortable than others. Some seats travel faster than others. Unfortunately, our saddle, our computer chair, is firmly attached to a machine that may or may not move. No matter. SIT ON IT!
Now, let’s talk. If your daily bread depended on it, you would manage to write something, anything. Other people do it all the time. Just read the daily newspaper columns or devotionals, all written by people who have to put words on a page every day. Some of their offerings are better than others, but they always manage to get words on the page. We can too.
Today, I don’t feel like writing. A migraine gives me all sorts of side effects you don’t want to hear about, but I have a deadline. There will be words on my page! Anyway, some of my best writings surface through pain of one kind of another. The same is true for you.
Okay, now you are sitting in the chair. Breathe deeply. Hold for a count of ten. Repeat ten times. Now open a Word document. Type something, even if it’s only your name. There now, you are back to doing what you do best. Battle the words that tumble toward the exit door of your mind. Investigate prompt pages like http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts or http://creativewritingprompts.com Look for blogs like The Write Practice by Joe Bunting. Write anything you like, even if it is only a nasty letter to me.
Some days we plod along on the donkey’s saddle, slow and stubborn. Other days we peddle hard toward success. Sometimes, when we forget ourselves and remember who we write for, we haul words onto the page with tractor-like force. No writer motorcycles through life with words pelting him in the face every day. When that happens, it’s a bonus.
Stop entertaining writer’s block as if it is an incurable disease, which it can be if we entertain it. Refuse to feed it, encourage it, or let it linger. If we do, fear sets in and writer’s block moves in and everyone knows that both fish and company stink if they stay more than three days.
Gene Autry rode the range, toting his old .44, a reference to his gun. Put your weapons to work. After all, God says that for those who love his law, nothing shall offend them or make them stumble (Psalm 119:165 AMP).
Yee-haw!
Brenda J. Wood is a motivational speaker and author.
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