How To Get Over Writer's Block

Whether you're writing an article, a book, or a poem, even the best writer's face writers block from time to time. Here are my top five tips for beating the block and moving onward with your work.

1) COMMIT

Writing rarely comes naturally to anyone. It’s like going to the gym everyday and working out. If you don’t work with that muscle everyday, it’s going to get flabby and out of practice, no matter how much work you put into it before.

I used to only be able to write a few pages a day. Now I can write that in an hour. The only way you can get over your block is to write something down, no matter how garbage it is, and then rework it out later during editing. I don't edit an article or a book until I am finished writing the first draft. To do otherwise would slow me down.

If you want to be a writer for the long haul, the most important thing is to make a pact that you’re going to have a consistent word count five days out of every week, and map out a time for yourself to do it everyday. Consistency is the most important part.

I sit down to write every day, and don’t allow myself to do anything else until I’ve gotten some work in. How much I get done varies, but I at least aim for an hour of writing a day.

2) OUTLINE

I outline extensively. I know there are a lot of writers who just write what comes to them, but I can’t do that. I need to sit down and write out the basics of what’s going to happen in every chapter before I begin writing a book, a story, or even an article. I’ll go so far as to plotting out the exact day and time of that chapter, so I can align all parts of the book and make sure there’s no holes.

My last outline for a novel was twenty pages long. I finished the outline before I wrote the book. It’s so much easier to sit down, look at the outline and know what I'm writing today, rather than just guessing my way through the story.

Of course, if I get inspired, I’ll add things in at a whim. But it always has a connection to the story as a whole. By the time I’m a quarter of the way through the chapter, my creative juices have been flowing enough I get inspired again, and the writer’s block goes away. The key is to always have something to talk about.

3) GET INSPIRED

If I get super stuck I know I need to go on a walk and be in nature. I’m a clean freak, and if my apartment is a mess, writing is NOT HAPPENING. I am getting out that bleach and organizing things until my energy is clear and my creativity can flow freely.

I used to be able to really get my creativity flowing by working out, so if I'm super stuck, I try to get my body moving. You must do what works best for you by figuring out how you best get inspired, whether that be by hanging with your friends, visiting new places, looking at art, exercising, or even just by watching your favorite show. Everyone has a different process, and once you find your source of inspiration, you can go back to it again and again when creativity dries up. The key here is to find your source.

4) FIGHT THE BURNOUT AND GET A ROUTINE

I get burned out a lot. Everyone gets burned out for different reasons, and it's important to know your own. I get burned out when I have a lot of expectations put on me. I have a bad tendency to want to do everything at once, so I force myself to rely on a schedule.

My writing time is weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Once 5 p.m. hits, the computer goes off. Resting is very important in regards to writer's block. If you don't have any downtime, you can't regenerate and be creative. Even if you can only write for a half an hour a day at the same time, make sure to stick with it. Your body will eventually come to anticipate that time, and writing will be easier.

4) KNOW THYSELF

I had a terrible bout of writer's block in my early twenties.

I didn’t write anything for almost a year. I account this to a lack of knowing myself and what I really wanted out of life. I really wanted to be an author, but had a lack of self-confidence. This damaged my writing. I wasn’t able to climb over this hurdle until I made a commitment that this was my job, and I was going to stick with it. I surrounded myself with people who were determined to make writing work for their careers. I had to plug forward with the decision that no matter what people said or no matter how hard it got, I was sticking to it until something magical happened.

5) GIVE YOURSELF SOME CREDIT

If I REALLY don’t want to write, I don’t. I won’t force myself to write if I’m just not having it that day. I don't believe in pushing myself past my own limits, and because of it, I get more done.

If you've tried everything and writing just doesn't seem to work for you, set it down and pick it up again another day. At some point, you'll find your flow again.

In general, if you really want to get over writer's block, make sure to commit, get a writing routine, make an outline, figure out what gives you inspiration, and don’t quit. With these tips, the well of creativity should be flowing in no time.