What do you do when that blog post or chapter or poem just won’t COME OUT of your head?! Writer’s block hits anyone who writes, whether for their own amusement or for more serious reasons. But what do you do?
- Talk to someone about it. Call them up or have a meeting, whatever gets it done. You can talk to another writer, your Mom, or your favorite Sci-fi nerd. Whoever you think knows something to help get you started. There are even message boards online to talk about writing.
- Take a break. Sometimes you just need a little time and perspective to figure out what to write next. Hopefully you don’t have an immediate deadline. Don’t agonize over your issue the whole time, either. Get completely away from it. You’ll find that sometimes your subconscious can accomplish things your conscious mind can’t manage. My breaks from my writing sometimes take weeks or months. Then suddenly I have the answer and my writing continues.
- Blow something up! Not for real. I mean with your writing. This can mean literally including an explosion in your story or just resorting to something outrageous to spice things up in your project.
- Input. I simply can’t write anything unless I have an “input”. It doesn’t even have to be the same genre as what I’m writing. I just need to read what others write to fuel my own inspiration. Sometimes a really good movie, television show, or even a song will also inspire me in my writing. Try being the audience for a while so you can continue to be the storyteller.
- Clear Distractions. Maybe your workspace is too chaotic for you to think well. I know that is frequently my problem with three active kids in the house. If you can block those out, you may be able to get the inspiration you need to going. Your computer can be a distraction, as you know. Pull out a pad and paper (old-fashioned, I know) or try a plain-text editor like JDarkRoom http://www.codealchemists.com/jdarkroom/
- Make it challenging. Sometimes it’s not the chaos that gets you but the tranquility. Plan some events, start another project, or something…and squeeze that writing out of yourself with pressure! That’s how I usually do it, so you can tell it works.
- Set goals. Sometimes a goal, especially one you’ve shared with someone else, can help you get going. You know what’s reasonable! Set a goal and keep yourself accountable to reach it!
Do you have any other ideas for beating writer’s block?
These bloggers do!
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingroadblocks/tp/block.htm
http://storytellingnomad.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/top-10-writing-distractions/
http://www.webook.com/911writersblock A fun tool to help you get past it! Dial your solution.
**What did you think about the GIFs? Annoying? Fun? It was fun to make but I don’t want to give you seizures.
Kate Policani 