Normalize Blank Page Syndrome
How to Talk to Students about the Anxiety of Getting Started
Not all students struggle getting started with a writing project, but enough of us suffer from blank page syndrome for me to develop a lesson around it. Naming a fear is a behavioral strategy called “affect labeling,” used to quiet an already bristling limbic system in the face of rising anxiety. In addition to helping students “put feelings into words,” sharing fears about writing allows a community of writers to grow closer, build trust, and develop empathy.
Expressing how the anxiety feels can help a student understand not only her emotions but her maladaptive thoughts around the act of writing as well. Hearing others share their story confirms that anxiety is a normal, perhaps even essential, part of the creative process. Talking and sharing thoughts about writing is also a way to recognize and amend distorted thinking, i.e., “I failed a writing assignment when I was in middle school, so I will always be a failure at writing.”
If a student experiences anxiety around writing and hears a dozen stories of the same from her peers and her teacher, her own emotional reaction comes more into perspective. It’s not the beastie in the grass, just a garden variety writing assignment. The goal is not to allow the anxiety of getting started to become entrenched and lead to avoidant behaviors such as procrastination or perfectionism which will further hamper the creative act.
How To:
Write the words “writer’s block,” “procrastination,” and “perfectionism” on individual pieces of butcher paper and hang these around the room.
Ask students to think about these words, and when they are ready to participate, give them a post note or a Sharpie to write on the paper.
They can write what these words remind them of or their experiences with these conditions or how these conditions make them feel.
After everyone has participated, ask anyone if they’d like to share a story about dealing with these issues.
After the class has had sufficient time to share, turn the papers over and ask students to brainstorm coping strategies they may have used in the past to overcome the same three conditions.
Once everyone has participated, discuss the strategies. Have students vote on the five most effective strategies from the list. Copy those on an anchor chart to use for the rest of the year.
An extension for this activity would be to create a smaller 8.5x11 chart of effective coping strategies for each condition to be typed up and laminated for future individual intervention.