Writer’s Block (Part 7 of 16)

"I don't have anything to say," a would-be writer told me at a conference. "I want to write, but there's nothing there." That certainly made her different from the hundreds of people who truly have nothing to say but want to tell the whole world.

After she admitted she came to the conference to learn to open up, I said, "Obviously you must have something or you wouldn't waste your time and money."

"I feel paralyzed when I try to write," she said. She went on to say, "I'm 42 years old, married with two children, and I never went to college and have no credentials. Who wants to read anything I have to say?"

We talked for several minutes and I don't know if I helped, but I told her that she had lived 42 years. Life experiences count—in fact, in many cases, they count more than the diplomas we hang on our walls.

Writer's block in the form of fear tells us that we have nothing to say. If we stand up to that false charge, we can become writers.