Writer’s block, the bane of every aspiring and even established writer, has plagued writers since the dawn of writing. It’s even affected this writer on this article and made it a day later than I had planned to get it posted.
What is writer’s block?
Have you ever sat down to get started on a piece of writing and just had nothing come out? Or written a sentence and erased or deleted it over and over again? Writer’s block can last for 5 minutes or 5 years. I’m not joking. I, and many other avid fantasy book readers, have been waiting for the final installment in an amazing trilogy for the last 5 years. Our favorite author keeps pushing back the date every year.
Writer’s block also varies in other ways. For some, it’s complete blankness. For others, they have an abundance of ideas overflowing in their minds, but have difficulty in transferring them onto a written page.
If you’re experiencing this, then the tips in this article might help you break through the block and come up with the best work you’ve ever created. Or, you still might be blocked. In which case, good luck. Once you’re past your writer’s block, you can find out how you can optimize your content here.
Here are your tips:
- Read: Yes, you read that right. Read to break writer’s block. Read widely. Read blogs, newspapers, magazine articles, fantasy & fiction, non-fiction, if it’s written then read it. The more words you have running through your mind, the more likely it is that they’ll spill out onto your pages.
- Don’t leave your page blank: Yeah, I know obviously that’s what you’re trying to prevent. If you have a topic, then write an outline to give you a general idea of what you’ll need to fill in. If you don’t have any idea about what to write, then try freewriting. Jot down your feelings, what you did, what you ate, what you want to do, anything that will get you writing. It might put a crack in the dam.
- Get your blood flowing: Hit the gym for an intense workout or just do a few sit-ups and pushups and get your heart rate up. By getting your heart to pump harder, the odds are that the increased blood flow to the brain will change what your brain is focusing on and distract or destress you enough to get down to the business of the writing at hand.
- Have a beer: If physically altering your state of mind doesn’t help, try sipping on a beer or a glass of wine. Don’t down them and get wasted. Relaxing and depressing your brain with alcohol can lower stress and get your creative juices flowing.
- Procrastinate: What?! You think I’m joking? I don’t mean for you to leave it for a day or week. I mean find something that will distract you for 20 to 30 minutes. Reading something that you enjoy, not research, will take your focus away from the task at hand and in turn might unlock the door blocking you. The same can be done by watching a short TV show or a couple funny and entertaining videos on YouTube.
- Relax: How you do this is completely up to you. Take a nice long soothing bath, spend an hour or two in a spa, get a massage relaxing or excruciating, or even meditate! Relaxation helps increase attention span and aids decision making. It does this by calming your heart and breathing rate, decreasing blood pressure and muscle tension, and most importantly calms your brain right down.
- Listen to music: This is my personal favorite. It can’t be just any music. Personally, I avoid music with any lyrics or any recognizable tunes that might make you sing along. You don’t need words clashing with the words you want to write. Luckily there are plenty of YouTube channels that have put together playlists or 2 hour long videos with music that stimulates or calms the brain. When I’m not experiencing any block I tend to choose soft classical piano music to keep my hands flowing across the page or keyboard. If I feel mentally constipated I go with electronic music to keep me in the groove.
There is no right or wrong.
There are plenty of different ideas and tips out there for you to try, but the ones I’ve included here are the ones that I feel are guaranteed to change your life. Writing will never be the same. It’s not wrong for you to dance in your seat as your hands fly across the keyboard. It’s not wrong to take a break from it all with a beer or a bath. It’s not wrong to put it off for a short amount of time. Whatever works for you is the thing that is best for you. The most important thing is that you get rid of writer’s block and create a piece that you can be proud of.
Once you’ve gotten rid of your writer’s block, here are some tips to learn more about content marketing.