OVERCOMING WRITER’S BLOCK

I think I’ve been experiencing writer’s block lately.  With having passed probation and working independently now as a public health nurse, I feel much less reflective while in high gear to accomplish all that I’m scheduled for each day.  On a recent flight from Barrow to Fairbanks, I felt fortunate to have been seated next to an Alaskan author, Nick Jans, whose published books and articles are well known to readers of Alaskan literature.  We talked for an hour and a half, from Barrow to Deadhorse and then on to Fairbanks. 

He shared many thoughts about writing, about the importance of not only sharing facts (he writes only non-fiction), but of writing to elicit an emotional response in your reader, to bring them into the experience you’re writing about and to hopefully offer inspiration.  He said to always write with clarity, correctness and grace, meaning that your writing should be uncomplicated and easy to understand, that grammatical, punctuation and spelling mistakes are often unforgivable by readers and that the element of grace allows one to see all sides of a person being described in your writing…that we all have redeeming qualities no matter what trouble we seem to be in or how many lives have been affected by the poor choices we’ve made.  I liked these perspectives and also found myself somewhat surprised when he shared that writing is sometimes very much a chore and difficult, and then not so surprised when he added that it’s pushing through those times and finishing a piece when the rewards come. 

He and a photographer from Anchorage were returning from collecting information on historic buildings in Point Lay and Barrow for an upcoming publication.  They along with two veterinarians, one from Barrow and one itinerating from Juneau, had been unable to fly out of Point Lay for several days because of fog so they all got to know each other there.  When talking with all of them the airport, they seemed very relieved to have returned and Nick sounded happy to returning to his wife and two dogs in Juneau on this flight. 

When I asked him more about his writing, he shared that except for assignments like the current one, it is all based on his experiences in Alaska.  He said that he’d come here when younger after doing much research on Alaska and settled in what he felt would be the most beautiful area, the Kobuk region.  He worked as a guide before returning to his profession as a teacher in the village of Ambler, for 19 years, I think he said, mostly middle and high school.  His articles are regularly published in Alaska Magazine and the Alaska Airlines Magazine.  The books he’s written so far are:  The Last Light Breaking (1993); A Place Beyond (1996); The Grizzly Maze (2005) and The Glacier Wolf (2008).  He mentioned working on a manuscript now that a major publishing house has accepted, looking happy as he talked about it.  I enjoyed talking with him very much, finding him very friendly, articulate, compassionate and willing to share his thoughts. 

I enjoy writing and sharing the experiences of living and working on the North Slope.   Talking with Nick Jans felt like an answer to the lack of inspiration I’ve had recently.  Am keeping in mind all that he shared and am looking forward to reading his books.  

Here's a link to information about the Kobuk region:

http://www.nana.com/regional/about-us/overview-of-region/kobuk/

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