As a writer for a corporation, I sometimes encounter creative blocks in my writing, especially when under pressure to get something done within a short deadline.
A few days ago, I was assigned to write a corporate email to a Minister of State on behalf of the top management to give an account of the events that took place during her visit to our country. It was evening, and I was expected to finish the writing on the same day so the mail can be sent out first thing in the next morning.
After three hours of struggle, I managed to complete the draft, which I deem as not exactly up to standard. What I was unable to achieve in three hours that evening, however, I was able to complete within half hour early the next morning, entirely re-written and with the needed punch.
This is, of course, not without struggles, for I have prayed to God on that particular morning while on the way to work in public transport to grant me a second chance at my writing and for a more creative mind. What I did next was to work at my thoughts as I type out in the electronic notepad of my mobile phone the words that come to mind, and upon reaching my workplace, quickly transfer the text to my computer's word processing software. With that and the outline of the email completed, I took the final step of browsing the Internet for a good closing statement, modify it, and added it into the draft email.
All these simply shows the effectiveness of writing with needed rest, the importance of clarity of mind, and the need for God granted creativity. Most writers, by the end of a day, would have been too tired to think, and when pressured to come up with something within a short time, the written work will never be as good as when it is written with a clear mind. Much can be achieved with better results when a writer is given the needed rest and a fresh mind on another day. However, such luxury is usually hard to come by, therefore, alternatives such as a break in routine can help.
