How To Overcome Writer's Block

Just about everyone who has ever called themselves a writer has experienced writer’s block at some point in their life. You might be working on a piece for your own pleasure, for work, or have a grand idea for a novel in the works. No matter what, know that writer’s block is real and that addressing it head on is the best way to get yourself back on track and back at the keyboard. It can be annoying when someone accuses you of simply being lazy, or declaring that writing is an easy job. Those of us who sit down to spin our stories every day know that that is simply not true!

Here are some easy tricks and tools you can use to overcome the obstacles between you and your writing, so that you can get your best work down on the page. Let’s get started!

1. Accept that Writer’s Block Exists

You are not being lazy! You are in charge of your own writing, and sometimes you’ve hit a stimulus block, your creative juices aren’t flowing, you need to rework. Writer’s Block is a thing, and trying to sit down and write when the joy and creativity simply isn’t there isn’t going to help you. Step one is to simply accept that you’ve encountered a bit of a block in your writing. Accept that, at least temporarily, you are a little stuck. More importantly though, it is temporary, you are not done! A block doesn’t have to be the end of what you are writing, it is a little pause, and you can follow along this list to gain additional ways to press play again and get back to the task at hand.

2. Keep Notes!

All throughout high school I was the kind of writer that never wrote anything down. I was a good writer and a fast one, I never thought I needed notes or an outline, I just sat down and whipped everything out in one sitting. That might work when you’ve got a couple thousand words of essay to cram for the next morning, but for those writing longer articles or novels, that’s just not gonna cut it!

So, keep notes! Don’t just write notes on what you’re writing or make an outline, although those are great ideas. Carry a notebook with you whenever you can. We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting, on public transit, at doctor’s offices, waiting to pick kids up from school. Wherever you are, you never know when a little idea is going to pop up. When you have an idea, write it down! Write everything down! All the time! You might think the idea is silly at the moment, but you never know when you’re going to look back over your notes and get inspired. It happens to me all the time.

3. Be Open-Minded

Your writing is your own. Everything that you write belongs to you. Until it is out in the big wide open, don’t worry about how your ideas sound. Don’t worry if your idea is perfect, or if it will be the next big thing. Just write! Write as much as you can and don’t be afraid to trust a few friends with your next thing. Letting other people in for a little peek can be a great way to gain feedback. Just remember not to be mad about what people say, take it to heart, but don’t be insulted if your work isn’t always well received. Just wait for the one that makes people laugh, or scream or cry!

So write as much as you can, no harm was ever caused trying to work through an idea. Every day countless great ideas are discounted because no one decided to put them to paper!

4. Take a Break

This one might seem obvious, but you have no idea how many hours I’ve spent staring at a screen only to realize a few hours went by and I haven’t moved an inch. Sometimes it’s just not coming, so take a break. Get up out of your chair or off your couch, make tea or coffee. Do some yoga or meditate, go for a walk and get some fresh air. Do anything that gets your mind moving and thinking. Get your mind off of what you’re working on, or put on some music while you walk and turn your idea over in your head until it makes sense. It really is a wonder what getting your body moving can do for your brain!

5. Live for Inspiration

Inspiration can really be anywhere, long as you look for it. Look back on your own life, on what’s happening around you. Seek out your favorite memories, your best friends, what makes them tick? What makes you smile and how does that translate to the page. Anything can be a source of inspiration or a starting point for making the next thing. If you write articles, make notes of the things people talk about, what is getting people into a heated debate that you might be able to step in and write about. You never know where the next big idea is going to come from!

6. Edit!!!

I don’t always suggest this, and do your best not to edit what you’re writing at the moment as it can lead to you going backwards instead of forwards. But, that doesn’t stop you from editing another piece, it can even be an old piece that’s already published. Editing helps you think of mechanics, read over other stories, it can even help you find your own voice if you feel like you’ve forgotten who you are when you write!

7. Try Another Section

If you have a great idea, you don’t have to write chronologically. If you’re stuck on a scene in your novel, or don’t know how to write out that specific part of your article... move on to what you do know how to write and focus on writing. Sometimes simply getting back into the flow can get you moving forward and the ideas will spring out of you when you go back to the part that you were stuck on!

8. Search for Unrelated Ideas

Pick up a new book to read for a little while in order to take a break from your own writing. Sit back and look at Instagram or use Pinterest to find writing prompts that inspire you. Read a little fanfiction of your favorite author. Find something entirely unrelated to preoccupy your mind for 20 minutes, that gets your ideas flowing, and then come back to what you were writing and try again. Sometimes getting in touch with your own inspiration can help you come back to falling in love with writing all over again.

If you’ve managed to get this far and nothing has solved your writer’s block, if you feel like it’s just not worth it anymore...don’t give up. Close your laptop or put away your notebook for a little while. An inspirational drought won’t stop you forever as long as you keep putting yourself out there. Take a day or two and then come back with a vengeance. The most important and productive advice I can ever give you though is to trust your own writing, and write like you're running out of time to say the things you want to say. Once you get the ball rolling sometimes it’s hard not to keep typing!

Believe in your own work, confidence is key in writing as much as it is anything else!

Good luck fellow writers!