Mantras from My Students

The following are mantras created a few years ago by students enrolled in my undergraduate Overcoming Writing Blocks course. I came across them the other day in my files & wanted to share these wise words with you. Which of these strikes you?

Don’t let audiences take the joy you make on your own.

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Higher standards do not necessarily produce better writing.

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Every thought should be written down because a person does not know which is better for their paper: ideas are always new and changing.

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Writing changes; don’t sweat it.

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Preparation and a state of groundlessness will help alleviate writing blocks.

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The writer is always the block.

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Writing blocks are like standing up against a brick wall because what you want is on the other side: ideas, flow.  I can either break through, go around, or climb over.

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Unconventional tactics to overcome writer’s block are a regular occurrence, whether we realize it or not.

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People get in the way of writing; the writer is a person.

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Watch the art, not the words.

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Writing is like time; it should be a constant flow of movement that never stops, never pauses, or never goes back.  It may be slow and grueling at times or so fast you wished it never stopped.  One thing is for sure: like time, writing is part of our nature, and it will always be with us.

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In order to go forward with writing, sometimes you need to take a step back.

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I’ve noticed that my writing becomes much stronger and more powerful when I don’t care about it, don’t think about it, and don’t go back and try to revise everything.

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Overcoming a writing block is something that won’t happen overnight; it takes a lot of practice and experience.

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An audience is not a block or deterrent but a tool for the individual to achieve a medium between a block and a product.

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Change is inevitable, but we have lost only when we cannot accept it.

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In understanding how to proceed, there must be delay.

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Once you realize that there is no ground for the writing block to sit on, you will soon realize it will not be blocking for much longer.

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By being aware of the constant changing of my mind that is groundlessness, I can better capture my ideas to the fullest by writing.

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Every audience is fake because the person is not physically writing their paper in front of anyone; the writer can start over or erase as he or she pleases.

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In the teaching of groundlessness, this sentence will be read differently by every other person: it will never be the same sentence.