Every writer experiences the pain of writers block sometime in their life. There is tons of reasons this could happen, from lack of sleep, stress, or for any other in a list of hundreds of reasons. It is practically impossible to track it down to one reason, so beating writers block can be quite the challenge. Here are some ways you can put into your daily routine, that helps block out writers block.
1. Write every day, as much as possible. This can cure even the most challenging time of writers block. Always have a notebook at your side, and write about what you do, as you do it. Write down the little details. Also be sure to write down ideas for writing whenever you get them, so you don’t forget on your way home.
2. Kill stress. If you are having a hard time at work, find some way to make it easier. Bouts of stress are one of the biggest causes of writers block, and can be really hard to fix. Meditate if you need to. Clear your head. Take a nap. Heck, even take a day off if you need to.
3. Don’t force yourself to write. You don’t have to write the next 2 chapters right now. Take a break from writing. Go on a walk. Leave it until the next day. If you have a deadline, extend it a day or two. Even something as simple as a coffee break can recharge your energy and relax you, so you can finish up that paper you have to write.
4. Read, read, read. Picking up a book and sitting down to read for a good hour can really give you a lot of good ideas on how to finish up your book. Even if you do something as simple as reading one of your old writings, or reading the last chapter you wrote, you can definitely get out of writers block.
5. Change location. Changing your scenery can change the way you are thinking, and easily knock you out of writers block. Go to a cafe. Watch animals at the zoo. Even just sitting on a bench in a park can have an amazing effect on your writing.
6. Shut the world up. Any sound can make it really hard to think, and keeps the ideas from churning up. If it’s your family making a racket, invest $2 into ear plugs. If it’s traffic outside, change your location. Nice quiet cafes work wonders.
7. Go to a writers workshop. Refreshing your writing skills is an amazing cure for the worst blocks. There is many one day workshops that only cost $20 to enter, for all levels of writing skill. I remember that once I was writing a short 30-page story, and on page 15 I ran out of ideas. I went to a workshop, and that day I finished up my rough copy.
No matter what trick you use, writers block is still dreadfully difficult to cure. Some writers go months at a time without a single idea. Sometimes we mistake writers block for an inability to make decisions while writing, and rely on others to tell us what to do. That is never a good idea, as it mixes up different story’s into one blob of a bad book. Just sit down, and think through what you have written. If it is an information article, go and research some more. If it’s a story, think: ‘What would the character do?’ If you just plain can’t come up with an idea, write about what you did that day.
- Justin
