Writer's Block

I knew this would be a problem eventually, it’s plagued writers everywhere since the dawn of time afterall. After three months of writing, posting once, then twice, finally three times a week, I’ve been hit with writer's block. 

Writer’s block is commonly described as being unable to begin or continue writing for reasons other than motivation or skill. While not inaccurate, it doesn’t entirely describe what I’ve been wrestling with. If I can zero in on a topic that I think is worth writing about, the words usually pour out of me until I reach a conclusion. 

Now, whether these words are good or not is a different story, but I have no problems just typing words until I run out of things to say. My problem lately has been, what do I write about? I originally planned to write about my experience here in Japan, my travels, and the culture, those kinds of things. That worked great while I was taking trips, like my Tokyo trip or my New Year’s adventure. Now, I’ve fallen into a routine here in Japan, and there aren’t any pressing trips I’m dying to go on. 

I also wanted to write about games, technology, or anime, and I’ve really enjoyed carving out the Otaku’s Oasis section of my blog. I thought about writing more articles there, maybe posting two articles there and one article on my main blog, Musings, and alternating each week. It’s a totally separate pool of ideas, and writing about games past or present seems to be brimming with possibilities. 

While I certainly enjoy those topics, and don’t plan to give them up anytime soon, there’s a noticeable difference in my readership. I always figured games and anime, while certainly popular, are a bit of a niche audience. Most of my friends and family would probably be more willing to read about my adventures than my thoughts on the latest game or anime. 

I’m generally happy with whatever readership I have, and am certainly grateful for anyone who reads my articles. I probably pay too much attention to analytics or user data, but my inner gammer wants to see those numbers rise and my humble blog grow. So if that means sticking to more universal topics, I don’t think that’s really the end of the world.

The catch is, what exactly are those universal topics? In just three months, I feel like I’ve explored many different areas of my life. I mean how many times can I write about feeling lonely as a foreigner in Japan before it starts to get redundant? There might be a few more topics rattling around in my brain, but I’ve been trying to keep this blog away from some more, possibly controversial topics.

I originally hoped to get other teachers, or even students reading this blog, hence the whole “Mr. Hunter” writing persona. That was also why I tried writing each article at two levels, so people with limited English skills could still read the articles. Eventually, seeing no signs of interest from teachers or students, and realizing how much more work that was, I abandoned the idea.  

Though, I still do almost all of my writing at my desk across various schools, so I feel some obligation to avoid certain topics. I try to keep my adventures in Japan’s nightlife more vague, and hesitate to dive into topics like gender or sexuality. At some point, maybe closer to the end of my contract here in Japan, I may care a little less and write about whatever I damn well please. For now though, I don’t want to make any waves. 

Writing a whole article about not being able to write an article feels rather emblematic. I have plenty to say, the problem is I just don’t always know what to talk about. Or sometimes if the same thing is weighing on my mind, I don’t know how to talk about it in new or novel ways. I guess what I’m getting at here, is asking you, the audience, what would you like me to talk about? 

Do you have questions about Japan or its culture that you’ve always wanted to know? Are you wondering what things I’m missing about Canada or life back home? Are you worried that I had to learn to drive on the left side of the road? I’m sure any of these I could write a few pages about, but lately I seem paralyzed by an inability to decide. 

I started this blog for myself, but I’m not the only person who engages with it. Really, anyone who reads my writing are the only people who interact with my work the way I intend it. Reading my own writing I’m more looking for flaws, or poor turns of phrase that need fixing. When I read my own work I’m not affected by the emotions I might be trying to incite in readers, or the knowledge I’m trying to impart, all I can remember is how I felt when I was writing. 

So please, let me know, what articles really resonated with you? What topics do you want to hear more about, or less about! This blog isn’t meant to be a one way format, I don’t just publish things on a whim, I want to write about things I care about, and things you may be interested in. 

I’ve really been enjoying this journey of starting a blog, and thank you again for joining me and indulging me and my writing. Feel free to offer up some feedback, article suggestions, and more! Every bit helps guide this blog into something I hope we can all enjoy for a long while to come.