Sarai Sepulveda 1

Sarai Sepulveda

Professor McCann

English 1301.127

27 September 2021

Investigating the Issue of Writing

One may believe that the process of writing is difficult for one has to refer, remember,

think, and invent all in one moment to initiate the flow of ideas that will soon lead to the

inevitable: writing. It can be greatly argued, however, that the task of simply sitting down to

begin thinking is the most strenuous of them all. The reason why has been pondered throughout,

ironically, many essays and articles that attempt to get to the bottom of the writer’s actions and

why they function the way they do. In “Critic's Notebook; Struggling to Crack Writer's Block”

by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, he discusses the varied ways writers will prolong the

commencement of their writing and whether if this is done to warm up the mind for the

upcoming assignment or if it is to avoid the assignment as much as possible. As writers, we each

develop our own rituals of procrastination that can be altered to inspire and have rituals that will

actually have us get started on writing.

The subconscious mind has a funny way of working for one can preach that writing is

their passion and yet still somehow delay the literal writing process because they forgot they had

to buy more trash bags. Most people have their own methods of procrastination when it comes to

working on something they are talented at it but simply cannot fathom even beginning to work.

From a personal standpoint, I am well aware that I acquire my own rituals of procrastination that

often activate before any important assignment. To illustrate, I tend to wander around my house

or focus my attention on anything other than my laptop whose keyboard only grows frustrated by
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the second. Just yesterday, I performed a whole manicure on my hand and painted my nails some

fun colors. While it was enjoyable and resulted in quite decorated nails, the nagging thought that

I should have been writing never left my mind. To justify my actions, I say that it was to give my

brain a rest and disconnect for a bit before I lunge into my work. But the brain can only rest for

so much. I believe that through slight alterations and concentrating on certain practices, these

methods of procrastination can truly help me bring forth my muse. Similar to the authors

Lehmann-Haupt included throughout his article, I can use my wanderings in a more sophisticated

manner. For example, I can go outside and play with my dog, sit on my porch, or sit and listen to

music. All of these would leave my mind with sufficient space to start thinking about my writing,

as opposed to the other rituals of procrastination where I indulge in one thing and let my mind

focus on it, preventing it from thinking about anything else. Hopefully, making these changes

will help inspire my thoughts and allow me to reach my laptop with a prepared mind.

Procrastination is of human nature but with the right mindset, the avoidance of work can easily

turn into a session of subconscious brainstorming.

The same way singers will perform vocal warmups before they head in and do the actual

performance, many writers will have rituals that help them get started on their writing. There are

the few who get the mind fired up through a good game of Pac-Man or Space Invaders and then

there are the few who simply sit and start. Surprisingly, I fall among the latter group. From what

I can recall, there has never been an instance where I practice some sort of ritual before writing, I

simply dive right in. This is because I have grown accustomed to sitting in front of the blank

screen, alone with my thoughts, and waiting to hear the right idea. Admittedly, there has to be

another form of practice that will make the process of brainstorming a bit easier. For instance, I

can learn from those who play games and complete a quick word search. There is also the option
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of reading or listening to something motivational that will hopefully urge the mind to let the

ideas free sooner rather than later. Those two are some of the rituals I believe could potentially

help me get started in my writing. The majority of writers will suggest sticking to what works

best for one as a writer but attempting something new can possibly have a great writing

revelation waiting to be dawned upon.

To conclude, writers have rituals of procrastination that can be seen as rituals of

inspiration and also have rituals to help them get started on their writing. Every writer is unique

in their own ways, and how each comes about their writing is one of them. There are those who

will go out of their way and complete a whole shopping spree before they finally sit down to

write and there are those who impressively sit down and start. With time will come experience,

so one can hope that as we progress our writers, our strategies will also improve and benefit our

writing. Sometimes, the hardest is part really is sitting down.

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Work Cited

Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. “Struggling To Crack Writer's Block.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 3 Nov. 1983, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/03/arts/critic-s-

notebook-strugglnig-to-crack-writer-s-block.html.