How Do You Flourish Anyway When the Words Won't Come?
For whatever reason, writer’s block has never felt like a real thing to me. Whenever it comes up in conversation with my writer friends I usually just listen to what others have to say about it and my mention that I don’t really believe in it because of my personal experiences.
If I feel creative resistance, I don’t view it as a block. I view it as an opportunity to be curious about why I’m having resistance.
To increase my creative energy, I return to my nourishing rhythms (read, write/journal, walk, pray, put myself in the way of art) so I can return to my full self and the spiritual and imaginative practices that help me be the person and writer I prefer to be.
I may re-read an essay I’ve written in the past year and think about how I’d change it. I may do actual revisions or freewrite about a tiny mention from the piece and how it could be expanded into something new. I may watch an episode of Gossip Girl or have a full album listening session with Lemonade.
Without fail, any creative resistance I felt melts away when I do the things I know I need to do to nourish my writerly body, mind, and soul.
A couple of days ago, while watching Audrey Hobert’s Live from Cherry Lane Theatre performance from last September, I was pleased to hear her take on writer’s block. And it made me see that maybe it’s not true that I don’t believe in writer’s block. Maybe I’m just really good at avoiding it.
Here’s a clip of her take on how to cure writer’s block.
And here’s the Instagram caption I shared along with the clip:
I didn’t think I believed in writer’s block until I heard Audrey Hobert talk about it.
Maybe what’s happening is I’m always curing my writer’s block, so I don’t have to deal with it.
Also I believe all of life is the writing life.
Which is pretty much a narrative that protects me from thinking I can ever have writer’s block.
But I like this narrative. I’m keeping it.
We’re always being formed to do the writing we’ll do when it’s time to write again.
We’re always being formed to be the people we will be when it’s time to write again.
So we don’t need to get too worried if we go a few days or a few weeks without writing because the not writing matters too.
If I go more than a few weeks without writing, it may be time for me to reflect on why that is and what I’ve been doing instead. I may need to adjust some things or be more intentional with my time and energy. (Please note: you may need or want to implement a different plan when you go for what feels like too long without writing.)
We can view not writing as an opportunity to be curious about why we’re not writing instead of obsessing over it or freaking out about it.
So, if you struggle with writer’s block, try this advice from Audrey Hobert.
Or, try embracing the idea that all of life is the writing life.
Or do both!
May we all inhabit perpetual writer’s block cure mode, keep living our lives, and continue becoming who we will be until it’s time to put some more words on the page.
💚Charlotte
P.S. You should definitely watch the recording of Audrey Hobert’s Live from Cherry Lane Theatre performance one day soon when it’s time to not write again.
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Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work centers on helping people explore themes of belonging, artful encounters, spiritual growth, and how to Flourish Anyway®, even when life is full, busy, or chaotic. Her work has woven together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration for more than 25 years. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing (2015-2018) and a certificate in spiritual direction (2018-2020), Charlotte guides writers and other creative souls in developing sanctuaries of acceptance and connection.
A Christian in the Episcopal church who believes the tenets of the Nicene Creed, Charlotte employs a universal framework of belonging and connection in her spiritual direction work. She fosters meaningful, soulful conversations and gatherings that are welcoming to all—regardless of faith tradition or spiritual inclinations.
In 2020, Broadleaf Books published Charlotte's first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is slated for release by Here Below Books in September 2026. Three volumes of Charlotte's "Guidebooks for the Soul"—Take More Retreats, The Great Belonging Project, and Belonging Through Art—will also be published in 2026.
As the founder of several initiatives, Charlotte has established herself as a thought leader and an authentic presence at the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Her essays have been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, and The Millions, among others. A new essay about art conservation, Joan Mitchell, and mystery is forthcoming with Image journal.
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