How to Overcome Writer’s Block

We’ve all been there. Staring at a blank screen, or a sheet of white paper, words escaping us. Maybe it’s a term paper due at midnight, or the first page of a novel we’ve waited ten years to write. Maybe it’s as simple as a text message that needs sending. It’s not you, it’s me? So cliché. We can do better.

And yet, we don’t. We stare and we stare and we stare, but nothing comes out.

Sweat starts to form under our arms. We reach for that third glass of [insert preferred beverage here] and check the time on our phone.

Two minutes. Two minutes have gone by.

Why is this so hard?

The blinking cursor starts to feel like an insult, a threat. You can’t do it, can you? And you call yourself a writer. Stop wasting my time. The screen goes dark, your computer falling asleep, again.

What do you do? Do you get up, take a walk around the block, then repeat the charade? Do you throw your computer out the window and decide college just isn’t for you? Do you sink onto your bed for yet another daytime nap?

If you can relate to any of this, then rest assured: you are not alone. Every single one of us has experienced, or will experience, the same struggle in our lifetimes. And unfortunately, every single one of us will most likely experience it more than once.

As you’ve probably figured out, the struggle I’m referring to is writer’s block.

The term alone can raise goosebumps on the arms of any aspiring author. But it doesn’t just affect wannabe writers; every individual on earth can become inflicted with the dreaded curse of writer’s block.

For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, writer’s block is the inability to form words on the page. It can be short-lived, or long-lasting. In severe cases, writer’s block can drag on for years and years. There is no telling when or who it will strike, or for how long.

Do I have your attention now?

Good, because I’m going to give you three tools that you can use to combat writer’s block the next time it comes knocking at your door.

For starters, let’s talk a little about why we get writer’s block. Writer’s block occurs when something is interfering with our ability to think, and write, creatively. Although there can be many causes for writer’s block, the three most common are:

1. Fatigue
2. Disinterest
3. Worry

Let’s break each of these down.

1. Fatigue

Picture yourself as a junior in high school. You’re taking three AP classes, attending daily soccer practices after school, and babysitting your younger brother on the weekends. Due to your busy schedule, you often stay up into the wee hours of the morning finishing the piles and piles of homework your tyrannical teachers have imposed upon you. As you sit down to write your college essay at 2 a.m. on a Thursday, you find yourself struggling to think of a topic. The only thing you can think of to write about, the only thing you want to write about, is the one thing you can’t seem to get enough of: sleep.

This is where fatigue comes into play. Our brains require a tremendous amount of energy in order to operate. If we’re not feeding our brains with the two basic needs – nutrition and sleep – then how can we expect them to perform properly?

Of course, there are some people who will disagree with me on this theory. Some artists, and writers, create their best work under less-than-desirable conditions: a sleepless night, an illegal drug, a heartbreaking loss, a strict deadline, just to name a few. But if we put pressure on our brains to perform in negative climates on a consistent basis, they’re eventually going to tell us to go **** ourselves. They, and we, will shut down.

So how do you prevent fatigue from interfering with your writing?

Solution: Take time, then make time.

First, take time. Give your body the rest and healing that it needs. Sleep in. Skip that pre-breakfast jog. Take a sick day if you must (your boss will thank you later), and then – and only then – come at your project full-force. Let your rejuvenated brain do what it does best, and create.

2. Disinterest

We’ve all been handed that one assignment that we’re really not thrilled about. Maybe your boss has asked you to report on the election results, only you can’t stand politics. Or politicians. Maybe your teacher has asked you to write a paper on War and Peace, but after the first 1,000 pages, you completely lost track of what the book was even about. (For Tolstoy fans out there, I apologize. I’ve never actually read the entire book cover to cover, so consider my assessment a weak attempt at comic relief and feel free to pick another analogy.)

When we don’t care about the topic we’re writing about, how can we be expected to muster the creative energy to produce something Pulitzer Prize-worthy?

The solution: Figure out how to care.

You must have something in your life that matters to you. Maybe it’s your beat-up old car, or your 90-year-old grandma, or your 90-year-old grandma’s car. Whatever it is, if you can connect with someone or something, then you can find a way to connect with your topic.

Here are a few methods that you can use to emotionally invest in your story:

• Put yourself in your main character’s shoes: Imagine what life would be like, down to the last detail. Make yourself a part of that world. Just as we all love to talk about ourselves, we also love to write about ourselves. When you can connect with the person you’re writing about as if they were you, you’ll have a much easier time getting going.
• Reward yourself: Buy yourself a bag of your favorite sweets, and then celebrate each completed page with a Skittle or a Snickers bar. By the time you’re done, not only will you be proud of your accomplishments, but you also won’t need to waste time cooking dinner! (Just kidding, tiger moms.) In all seriousness, though, positive reinforcement works. So find out what you want – what you really want – and then make yourself work for it. Maybe it’s an hour of TV, or a trip to the Bahamas. Pick your holy grail and let it fuel your fire.
• Create a kick-ass playlist: This one’s a favorite go-to of mine. I know some people can’t write to music, but I find that nothing motivates me more than a driving bass and a killer guitar solo. Choose a bunch of songs that fit the mood and tone of your piece, and play them quietly in the background while you work. Helpful tip: Select instrumental songs only; lyrics will only distract you. I find that movie soundtracks work best, because you can find one for almost any occasion and it most likely won’t include your favorite song, forcing you to bust out your mad Karaoke skills rather than complete your assignment.

3. Worry 

Whether you’re a Type A or Type B personality, you’ve probably worried once or twice in your life. If you’re like me, you probably worry once or twice an hour. Worry sucks; no, it literally sucks. Like a parasite, it steals all of our creativity and replaces it with endless worst-case scenarios, like what if I’m a terrible writer? What if I fail out of college? What if we’re all living in some real-life version of the Matrix and the only path to survival is producing the best paper in the history of the species?

This kind of worry creates pressure. A lot of it. It consumes our every thought, leaving no room for the sparks of genius that all of us are capable of.

The solution: Take a chill pill.

This paper, this book, is not going to make or break you. And even if it does, do you really think worrying about every syllable is going to make your writing any better?

The answer, my friends, is no.

Take it from someone who has spent years battling anxiety. Worry has stolen a lot from me. It’s stolen my creativity, my courage, my precious moments, even my health. I’ve been physically ill and unable to get out of bed, all because of worry.

If you take anything away from this blog post, let it be this. Worry is useless. And it is harmful, to you and your writing.

Once you eliminate the stress and pressure of worry, you’ll find that the words flow out of you much more naturally.

But what if they don’t?

On those occasions, I like to revert to a tried-and-true method called stream of consciousness writing. This is when you put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and let anything and everything out. Give your brain permission to run free. Write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s utter nonsense. Because guess what?

No one is going to see this except you.

If this practice doesn’t come naturally to you, or you find yourself still inhibited, here are a few alternatives to true stream-of-consciousness writing:

• Begin a conversation with yourself on paper: Focus on your topic and write out the questions you’re toying with in your head. Then, write out some solutions. This method is similar to stream-of-consciousness writing, only it allows you to focus on your topic while still maintaining a sense of liberation.
• Begin a conversation with yourself out loud: Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but this WORKS. Writers often live pretty solitary lives, and sometimes we are our own best friends. So why not strike up a chat with you? The next time you don’t know how to end a chapter, try asking good old you. You just might have the answer. And if not, at least you’ll have a good laugh – which might be just what you need to loosen up and get those creative juices flowing.
• Begin a conversation with a trusted friend: Friends love helping friends. Next time you and a friend get together, strike up a dialogue about that book you’re struggling with. Your friend just might have some fresh ideas that you never thought of before. But please, do not try to make money off their ideas without giving them credit, or in some cases, a share of the pie. That is the surest way to end a friendship.

That’s it! If you still have questions, or want some personal advice targeted at your specific circumstance, feel free to send me a message using the contact page located in the header of the website. And if any of these tools help you the next time you experience writer’s block, please let me know! Finally, if you have another suggestion for how to overcome writer’s block that isn’t listed above, comment below and let us all in on the secret.

Thanks for reading! Tune in next month for an all-new tip, brought to you by Fine Tuned Editing.