Ignoring those 'censors' in our heads

“Many times, what people call 'writer's block' is the confusion that happens when a writer has a great idea, but their writing skill is not up to the task of putting that idea down on paper. I think that learning the craft of writing is critical. – Pearl Cleage

Cleage, who I’ve written about before in this blog, is an African-American author whose work, both fiction and non-fiction, has been widely recognized. Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day was a Oprah Book Club selection, and while she seems to write almost effortlessly, she said that like all writers she sometimes struggles with how to get the creative juices flowing.

“One of the things that writers and creative artists                      

 generally have to deal with is the censors that we have in our heads, the voices that we have that say ‘you better not tell that and don't tell that, and people will think you're not a good girl, and your grandmother's going to be mad at you and all of those things.’  Ignore them.”

Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.