Talking about it helps -Nikki Ahrens

I recall several moments in my college experience when I’ve had writer’s block– especially at the beginning, when I had a paper assigned and I didn’t know where to begin.  What was I going to write about?  Where was I going to get my information?  I was a “bleeder.”  I had a habit of getting right into writing my paper– no outline, just start at the beginning and keep writing until I got to a “stuck” point, read what I’ve written, hate it, throw it away and start over.  I would sometimes pick my first “draft” out of the garbage, de-crumple it, use a sentence or phrase from it in my next version and move on.  As my number of “drafts” increased, so did the complexity of this process, because my trash can got fuller of these crumpled up rejects, each having more words on it than the one before.

Finally a point would come when one of my friends would call or come by out of concern because I looked like shit and may or may not have gone outside, eaten or showered in a few days.  He or she would ask me what was wrong and I would break it down all sweaty and salivating and crying going “I have this crazy paper due in two days and I am more confused about it than I was when I started blah, blah blah!”  And then…..  After about fifteen minutes of complaining like it was the end of the world I would magically see through the pile of muck I had created.  I just had to hear myself talk about my paper.

I know that as a tutor in the ESL center my job will involve more than just sitting and listening to students complain about how writing “is the worst!” but I know I will be able to relate in some ways to how they might feel.  I think one of the biggest contributors to my writer’s block has always been that I make things too complicated.  It really is no big deal.  It’s about putting thoughts into words that are written on paper.  That’s a process.  Those thoughts may have to be transformed into something else before they are written down.  For me, a lot of times they become hand gestures first.  Sometimes they become feelings, memories, connections, pictures or something else.  But a great tool for transforming thoughts into written words is speaking.  Writers can come into the ESL center and talk about their papers.  I’m no expert at writing, but I’m pretty sure I can help them talk it out.