How Do You Cure Writer's Block - by Emmanuel Daniji

There are many diseases in this life. Malaria.Typhoid.Network fluctuation.And the most dangerous of them all… Writer’s Block. It caught Emmanuel Daniji on a Thursday evening. The kind of Thursday that looks innocent. Moon out. Birds chirping. Data subscription active. Coffee hot. Everything was set. Laptop open.Cursor blinking.Mind… empty. Not empty like “let me think.”Empty like “Nepaaaaa just took light.” Emmanuel stared at the screen. The screen stared back. They had a silent argument. He typed: <blockquote>“Once upon a…”</blockquote> He paused. Deleted it. Typed again: <blockquote>“In a world where…”</blockquote> Deleted. He leaned back dramatically like a Nollywood actor who just discovered his best friend is the villain. “Holy Spirit, this is not funny again o.” Nothing. Only the sound of his neighbor pounding yam like they were fighting destiny. --- <h3>Phase 1: The Motivational Quotes Stage</h3> Emmanuel decided to inspire himself. Cyrus opened the TwoCents Giveaway Group. Emmanuel asked. “How do you cure a writer's block?.” Responses poured in. Thanks Faye, Cyrus and everyone. Dolapo had me laughing though... Back to reality! Opened blank document. Cursor blinked again. Mocking him. Blink.Blink.Blink. “Are you blinking at me?” he asked the laptop. The laptop blinked harder. --- <h3>Phase 2: The Fake Productivity Stage</h3> He rearranged his table. Adjusted the laptop angle. Adjusted his chair height. Adjusted his life choices. Still nothing. He googled: “How to cure a writer’s block.” The internet replied confidently: <ul><li>Take a walk.</li><li>Drink water.</li><li>Free write.</li><li>Change environment.</li></ul> He read it like someone reading instructions for assembling a wardrobe. “Take a walk.” He stepped outside. Walked five minutes. Came back with suya and no ideas. --- <h3>Phase 3: Spiritual Warfare</h3> Now it became serious. He declared a mini fasting. “Writer’s Block, today you must leave!” He played worship songs. Closed his eyes. Lifted his hands. Saw one powerful story idea forming in his spirit. He rushed to the laptop. Sat down. Opened document. Idea vanished. Gone. Raptured. He gasped. “This is not ordinary again.” --- <h3>Phase 4: The Overthinking Trap</h3> Suddenly every idea looked foolish. “What if it’s not deep enough?”“What if people don’t laugh?”“What if they say I’ve lost my touch?” Ah. Now we are getting somewhere. Because Writer’s Block rarely comes alone. It comes with its cousin: Fear of Not Being Brilliant. Emmanuel realized something. He wasn’t blank. He was scared. Scared it wouldn’t be perfect. Scared it wouldn’t trend. Scared someone somewhere would say,“Hmm. His old works were better.” So his brain decided: “If it can’t be perfect, we won’t start.” <h3>---</h3><h3> Then It Happened.</h3> His little niece walked into the room. “Uncle, what are you doing?” “I’m writing.” She looked at the empty screen. “Where?” He coughed. “It’s… loading.” She grabbed a notepad and scribbled nonsense. “Look! I wrote a story!” “What story?” “It’s about a flying goat that eats homework.” He burst out laughing. And something unlocked. There it was. The cure. --- <h3>The Truth About Writer’s Block</h3> Writer’s Block is not the absence of ideas. It is the presence of pressure. Pressure to be amazing.Pressure to be profound.Pressure to impress invisible critics. The cure? Write badly. Yes. Write nonsense. Write like nobody is grading you. Write like that flying goat exists. Because once you start moving, creativity follows motion. Ideas don’t visit people waiting with folded arms. They visit people already typing rubbish. --- <h3>Emmanuel’s Breakthrough</h3> He opened a new document. And instead of trying to be brilliant, he wrote: <blockquote>“There are many diseases in this life…”</blockquote> And just like that… The story began writing itself. The cursor stopped blinking like a villain. The words started flowing like Lagos traffic when LASTMA is not around. He laughed while typing. He stopped trying to impress. He started trying to express. And that was the difference. --- <h3>Final TwoCents</h3> If you ever catch Writer’s Block, don’t panic. Don’t over-spiritualize it.Don’t over-intellectualize it.Don’t over-perfectionize it. Just start. Write nonsense.Write freely.Write ugly first drafts. Because clarity comes while moving. And sometimes, the only thing standing between you and brilliance… …is the courage to be imperfect for five minutes. Now excuse Emmanuel Daniji. He has just discovered that Writer’s Block is not a demon. It is simply creativity waiting for permission to be messy. And today? Permission granted.

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