{"id":31558,"date":"2022-10-16T01:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-16T01:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=31558"},"modified":"2022-10-20T20:48:08","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T20:48:08","slug":"the-5000-year-history-of-writers-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/the-5000-year-history-of-writers-block\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5,000-year history of writer\u2019s\u00a0block"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Joyce Kinkead<\/a>, Utah State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Patchett, who has written eight novels and five books of nonfiction, says that when faced with writer\u2019s block, sometimes it seems that the muse has \u201cgone out back for a smoke<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re an award-winning novelist or a high schooler tasked with writing an essay for English class: The fear and frustration of writing doesn\u2019t discriminate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My most recent book, \u201cA Writing Studies Primer<\/a>,\u201d includes a chapter on gods, goddesses and patron saints of writing. When conducting research, I was struck by how writers have consistently sought divine inspiration and intercession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that frustrated writers who pine for a muse or help from above are adhering to a 5,000-year-old tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first writers look to the skies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first writing system, cuneiform<\/a>, arose in Sumer around 3200 BC to keep track of wheat, transactions, real estate and recipes. Scribes used clay tablets to record the information \u2013 think of them as early spreadsheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally the Sumerian goddess of grain, Nisaba<\/a> became associated with writing. She was depicted holding a gold stylus and clay tablet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it was common for people to adopt a god or goddess for their professions, a new class of scribes latched onto Nisaba. Practice tablets from schools that trained young scribes<\/a> invoke her name \u2013 \u201cPraise be to Nisaba!\u201d Poets trumpeted her influence and credited her for giving beautiful handwriting<\/a> to diligent students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Egyptian counterpart was Seshat<\/a>, whose name translates to<\/a> \u201cfemale scribe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stone
In Luxor, Egypt, there\u2019s an engraving of Seshat on a statue of Pharaoh Ramses II. Jon Bodsworth\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Identifiable by a stylized papyrus as her headdress and a stylus in her right hand, Seshat guided the reed pens of scribes as priests communicated with the divine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing was all about communicating with the gods, and the Greeks and Romans continued this tradition. They turned to the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, known collectively as the Muses<\/a>. Calliope stands out most notably, not only because a musical instrument was named after her, but also because she was considered the foremost of the sisters for her eloquence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Muses have since evolved<\/a> into one overarching \u201cmuse\u201d that serves as a source of inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global gods and goddesses of writing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gods and other legendary figures of writing are not limited to Western civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In China, the historian Cangjie, who lived in the 27th century B.C., is said to have created the characters of the Chinese language<\/a>. Legend has it that he was inspired by the pattern of veins on a turtle. (Back then, the Chinese often wrote on turtle shells<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A competing story<\/a> says that cultural folk hero Fuxi and his sister N\u00fcwa created the system of Chinese characters circa 2000 B.C. Yet it is Cangjie\u2019s name that lives on in the Cangjie Input Method, which refers to the system that allows Chinese characters to be typed using a standard QWERTY keyboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In India, writers still invoke the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha<\/a> before putting ink to paper<\/a>. Known as a remover of obstacles, Ganesha can be especially meaningful for those struggling with writer\u2019s block. There\u2019s also Saraswati<\/a>, the Hindu goddess of learning and the arts, who\u2019s renowned for her eloquence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mesoamerica, Mayan culture looked to Itzamn\u00e1<\/a> as the deity who provided the pillars of civilization: writing, calendars, medicine and worship rituals. His depiction as a toothless and wise old man signaled that he was not to be feared, an important characteristic for someone promoting an anxiety-inducing process like writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the patron saints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Christianity, patron saints<\/a> are exemplars or martyrs who serve as role models and heavenly advocates. Various groups \u2013 professions, people with a certain illness and even entire nations \u2013 will adopt a patron saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the Catholic Church, a range of patron saints can serve as inspiration for writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Brigid of Ireland<\/a>, who lived from 451 to 525, is the patron saint of printing presses and poets. A contemporary of the better-known St. Patrick<\/a>, St. Brigid established a monastery for women, which included a school of art that became famous for its handwritten, decorative manuscripts, particularly the Book of Kildare<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following St. Brigit in Ireland is St. Columba, who lived from 521 to 597 and founded the influential abbey at Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland. A renowned scholar, St. Columba transcribed over 300 books over the course of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The influence of patron saints dedicated to literacy \u2013 reading and writing \u2013 continued long after the Middle Ages. In 1912, the College of Saint Scholastica<\/a> was founded in Minnesota in tribute to Scholastica<\/a> (480-543), who with her twin brother, Benedict (died in 547), enjoyed discussing sacred texts. Both Italian patron saints came to be associated with books, reading and schooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objects charged with power<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some writers may think supernatural figures seem a bit too far removed from the physical world. Fear not \u2013 there are magical objects that they can touch for inspiration and help, such as talismans. Derived from the ancient Greek word telein, which means to \u201cfulfill,\u201d it was an object that \u2013 like an amulet \u2013 protected the bearer and facilitated good fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, you can buy talismans drawn on ancient Celtic symbols that purport to help with the writing process. One vendor promises<\/a> \u201cnatural inspiration and assist in all of your writing endeavors.\u201d Another supplier, Magickal Needs<\/a>, advertises a similar product that supposedly helps \u201cone find the right word at the most opportune moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others turn to crystals. A writer\u2019s block crystals gift set<\/a> available through Etsy offers agate, carnelian, tiger eye, citrine, amethyst and clear quartz crystals to help those struggling to formulate sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a writer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What drove the creation of divine beings and objects that can inspire and intercede on the behalf of writers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, it\u2019s no mystery why writers have sought divine intervention for 5,000 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, tallying counts of sheep or bushels of grain might seem like rote work. Yet early in the development of writing systems, the physical act of writing was exceedingly difficult \u2013 and one of the reasons schoolchildren prayed for help with their handwriting. Later, the act of creation \u2013 coming up with ideas, communicating them clearly and engaging readers \u2013 could make writing feel like a herculean task. Ironically, this complex skill does not necessarily get easier, even with lots of practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The romantic image of the writer in the garret<\/a> doesn\u2019t do justice to the tedious reality of churning out words, one after another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his memoir \u201cOn Writing<\/a>,\u201d Stephen King reflected, \u201cAmateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.\u201d At the suggestion of a friend, the writer Patchett attached a sign-in sheet to the door of her writing room<\/a> to ensure she wrote every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man
For novelist Stephen King, writing is a matter of discipline and routine. Richard Hartog\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No matter how accomplished a writer, he or she will inevitably struggle with writer\u2019s block. Pulitzer Prize\u2212winning author John McPhee, who began contributing to The New Yorker in 1963, details his writer\u2019s block in a 2013 article<\/a>: \u201cBlock. It puts some writers down for months. It puts some writers down for life.\u201d Another famous writer for The New Yorker, Joseph Mitchell, was struck by writer\u2019s block in 1964<\/a> and simply sat and stared at his typewriter for 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve even wrestled with this article, writing and rewriting it in my head a dozen times before actually typing the first word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poet and satirist Dorothy Parker once said<\/a>, \u201cI hate writing; I love having written.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You and me both, Dorothy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joyce Kinkead<\/a>, Distinguished Professor of English, Utah State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joyce Kinkead, Utah State University Ann Patchett, who has written eight novels and five books of nonfiction, says that when faced with writer\u2019s block, sometimes it seems that the muse has \u201cgone out back for a smoke.\u201d It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re an award-winning novelist or a high schooler tasked with writing an essay for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":31559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,36],"tags":[145,12091,12756,1222,8937,9197,12760,6610,12757,12759,3504],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31558"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31558"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31596,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31558\/revisions\/31596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}