How I won my battle with writer's block

A situation where a person becomes speechless and unable to describe his condition, which he deals with recklessly at first, then with a slight anxiety that grows stronger over time, then by lying to oneself, then immobility that resembles the stiffness of a corpse, then death and surrender to that death after all attempts to break this block or overcome it have failed.

The symptoms of this block are not limited to young writers, as was the case with my Wajdy, and how it affected me one day when I was a young writer 30 years ago.

They also affect great writers who have been writing their whole lives and suddenly stopped. It's like a train that travels through the wild indifferently, proud of its strength and endurance, and suddenly breaks down, rendering it useless.

If help doesn't arrive within a few hours, the passengers will start to become restless and then experience strange psychological distress, of which they know neither the cause nor remedy. In an effort to save their lives, they will turn into monsters.

It is difficult to count all those affected by this block, but dozens of writers face this problem in all its forms and manifestations, and some of them stopped writing altogether; the reasons given in their cases are merely speculations, expectations and inadequate judgments to diagnose their cases.

Among some famous writers plagued by this disease is the great American writer J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), whose 1951 novel "The Catcher in the Rye" brought him great literary acclaim and fame. After that, he published three novels and short stories, then stopped publishing altogether in 1965, choosing a life of total isolation, which he strongly defended.

We also recall the great German writer Günter Grass (1927-2015), who stopped writing many times, returning to painting and sculpture as his primary speciality. Still, he always came back with an important novel. Eventually, he decided to stop writing because he fell ill and died.

If we were to count the instances of creators hit by temporary and permanent writer's block, we would never stop. Because I think it affects everyone related to the writing profession and we cannot count its causes or treatments.

Psychological disorder

Psychiatrists view this condition as a temporary or permanent psychological disorder that affects creators in general, not just writers.

They cast a larger net and talk about the painter's, photographer's and artist's block in general. They provide treatment assistance in the manner in which they approach other psychological crises related to the pressures of work.

They offer suggestions such as relaxation, getting away from sources of noise, swimming and jogging, walks in a forest and countless general prescriptions suitable for all diseases.

These treatments are ineffective in my opinion as a former patient because each writer's diagnosis is unique, and as a result, each writer's treatment is determined by the writer himself. It's a creativity problem, not a technical one.

Some writers were able to heal themselves and come back stronger, turning adversity into an opportunity to reflect on their achievements. Some writers came back with subpar works not worthy of their reputation or talent, while others stopped writing altogether.

I will share my experience with this awful disease that I am still afraid of as I write these lines, so I view writing as a finite ability that can end at any moment.

"The writer who was abandoned by writing turns into an abandoned well, the bottom of which cracked and became infested with snakes and worms. It became a source of unpleasant odours that must be plugged up with earth."

This is how I explained in my book "An Eagle on the Next Table", which was published last year.

I remember writing my novel "The Gypsy Notebooks" in 1994. My living conditions were very bad. I lived in my family's house in Aleppo and wrote in my room from 11 in the evening until seven in the morning.

Suddenly, in the third chapter, everything stopped, like the train I mentioned at the beginning of the article. Every night I sat at my desk for eight hours without writing a single letter. It was my first encounter with the writer's block.

In the first week, I started to feel dizzy, scared and had terrible nightmares. I followed all the teachers' recommendations who advised me to work daily and not to get up from the desk, but in vain.

A teacher's advice

Dark thoughts came over me and I even contemplated suicide. Twenty-nine days later I asked for help from my teacher, the novelist Abd al-Rahman Munif (1933-2004). He had just celebrated his 90th birthday which Google commemorated with a doodle, in a nod to his illustrious career and literary contribution.

We had a great relationship. He made an appointment for me at his home at nine in the morning, and by the time I got to Damascus from Aleppo, I was exhausted from the long and disturbing night journey. The scheduled hour to have morning coffee with him turned into a long conversation that lasted more than five hours.

I explained my condition to him. The pain felt by patients who usually suffer from this condition was clearly visible on my face.

I explained that after writing 20 pages there would be a big and important event for the protagonist Abu al-Hayem that could reopen the story. But I was afraid to rely on lazy solutions and leave blank pages when problems arise.

He smiled with a kindness that gave me confidence and told me that whoever sits at a desk for a month without writing and doesn't give up despite being imprisoned is already a winner.

He added that if we could open the blocked pipes of narration the solution I suggested would be acceptable because your friend Abd al-Rahman Munif, referring to himself, and your friends and teachers William Faulkner and Gabriel García Márquez, have no other solution.

I returned to Aleppo with great enthusiasm and after one night I opened the blocked narration pipes. The words flowed out and hope returned to me. Until now I am still grateful for the presence of the wonderful novelist and human being Abd al-Rahman Munif in our life and our country's life.