Conquering Writer's Block

Writer’s block. An enemy to all writers. Even the most creative minds get stuck from time to time.

I like to think that I am a pretty creative person. Not even just in writing, but in anything that I do. I go all in at all times and strive to do the best that I can. Go big or go home as they say. And even though I am still young, only turning 23 this year, there is no saying how many different things I’ve tried in my life to express my creativity. However, these days I find myself writing. A lot. And I can honestly say, I’ve had enough writer's block to put well established writers and authors to shame.

Now, I am in no way a professional writer by any means. But I do consider myself a writer in general. I love what I do, and I do it with the utmost passion. But there are even days when I find myself absolutely stuck in the middle of writing something. Even the greatest minds have a time where they have a brain fart and just don’t know what to do with all that creativity. It can last hours, days, weeks, and months. Even years. Just to get their point across. And I know that too well.

So, I’ve strived to figure out a way to conquer writer’s block. It all started with me noticing a pattern that was really an eye opener for me.

Whenever I was having a hard time writing it was one of these four reasons;

1. Lack of motivation
2. Having trouble with the plot
3. Self-doubting myself, and last but certainly not least
4. The ‘What Ifs’

In order for me to conquer writer's block, I had to conquer 1 of 4 of those dilemmas every single time. And sometimes more than one of them at a time. Everyone has different reasons for writer's block, but these are just mine.

If I'm being quite honest, I had writer's block for almost two weeks before I could even get this far. I had the idea, but the motivation wasn’t there and the ‘what ifs’ came creeping in. However, I just knew it was time to get back to work. You know maybe someone else is having writer's block like myself. So, maybe I can give someone else a push in a good direction.

So, without further ado, here is a short guide on ‘How to Conquer Writer’s Block’.

Problem 1: Lack of Motivation

Solution: Find Inspiration

In many cases, many many cases, I just wasn’t motivated to finish writing what I had already started. Even if I had an extremely cool idea for a story, I just couldn’t find it in myself to finish writing. Whether I was too tired, or suddenly bored of it there was always a reason. I just didn’t feel motivated. So, instead of trying to force myself to finish I’d go find some inspiration! If I was too tired, I’d go outside for a walk and get some fresh air. Take a little walk and see if something could flick a switch for me. If I was bored, I’d go watch some tv or listen to music to see if anything cool would catch my eye, or ear, and maybe I could recreate it. No matter how you do it, find some inspiration! A little inspiration can give you a lot of motivation. A pretty simple solution.

Problem 2: Having trouble with plot

Solution: Improvise?

Another thing I noticed was, a lot of the time when I get stuck writing usually, I don’t know where I want my story to go. And if I must confess, even though 90% of the time I do have a plot line, I totally end up improvising most of the time.

One of the many things you learn to do in English class is write. You have grammar, and proper spelling and punctuation. You know the basics. Then you move on to things like the different types of poetry. And let's not forget our favorite; writing essays. But the most important thing we learned was; a plot line. It helps you map out how the story would go. From what I experienced, however, is that sometimes your mind changes and you don't want your story to end that way anymore. Or you don’t want a certain character to do something anymore. So, improvise! It is your story after all, and no one knows what will happen next except you. Improvise and go with the flow, even some of my best writing came from improvising!

Problem 3: Self-Doubt

Solution: Remind yourself of who you are, and why you do what you do! In other words, SELF REFLECT.

That's a pretty lengthy solution, but a much needed one. I came across another ‘there’s always next time’ scenario in writing recently. I got really good feedback on some work I’ve done, and then the next piece not so much. It made me question for a split second, “Why am I even writing?”. A bit dramatic after I reflected on it, but nevertheless I stopped writing for a couple of weeks. All because I felt like I wasn’t a good enough writer. But once I did a little reflecting and gave myself a hefty pep talk, I was right back to it. Sometimes I get in my head and forget that I’m writing because I enjoy it. Because it makes me happy and it’s a free way to express my thoughts and creativity. Once I reminded myself that this isn’t something I should ruin for myself, I felt better about doing some writing. Self-reflecting is healthy, and good way to clear any self-doubt. Even outside of writing.

Now this last problem that I’m giving a solution to is one that causes me great anxiety. So, I apologize in advance.

Problem 4: The ‘What Ifs’

Solution: Stop thinking so hard!

The ‘what ifs'. I think they make me an enemy to myself. Those ‘what ifs’ usually come when I’m almost done writing a piece. Even if I was writing in full confidence the whole time, it was still possible.

What if the readers don’t like this story line? What if it’s too long? What if the story is too short? What if they don’t understand the concept? What if no one even reads it? What if this isn’t something people are interested in?

These are the most common questions I bombard myself with almost every other writing I finish. It’s quite exhausting to even ask myself that many questions, but it also leads to pure chaos. Because, eventually, I start to go over my piece and then next thing you know I’m pretty much re-writing the whole storyline that sometimes took me hours! So, the only piece of advice I had for myself was...

STOP THINKING SO HARD!

I love what I do and take pride in my work. And honestly, I’m usually writing for myself. Although, I do enjoy it when others enjoy my work too! So, when I start overthinking it, it becomes really upsetting. But I nor anyone else, should ever be disappointed in work we created with love and passion. So, stop thinking so hard. At the end of the day if you love it, and are proud of it, someone will recognize it. Even if it’s one person!

Well, that concludes the short guide on “How to Conquer Writer's Block’! For the most part anyway. Again, anyone who experiences writer’s block, may have totally different reasons as to why they do. However, I felt like sharing my experience can help someone just like me.

All writers are bound to experience writer's block at least once in their life. I believe so anyway. I mean all creative masterminds should at some point. Who can filter out all of their creativity while writing and NOT get stuck at some point? Because I know it’s a struggle for me time and time again.

But I’m still learning. And writing is truly a passion of mine. I have no problem admitting that even I, a creative through and through, gets stuck sometime. I live in my truth.

If all great minds think alike as they say, or something like that, take a page from this or paragraph and do what you must. There are readers out there waiting on us!