Conquering Writer’s Block:

At some point in their creative journeys, every writer encounters the much-dreaded writer’s block. It may seem like an impossible hill to climb before reaching the promised land that is a well-crafted, well-considered manuscript over which publishers, filmmakers, and others will salivate. But fear not, many strategies exist to help successful authors overcome their creative roadblocks. Below are a few effective methods I’ve gathered to help surmount writer’s block and reignite creativity.

1. Change Your Writing Environment – Sometimes, a change of scenery is all one needs to spark inspiration. If you’re used to writing at a desk, try moving to a coffee shop, a park, or even a different room in your home. The novelty of a new environment can stimulate your creativity.

You may also want to make permanent changes to your normal writing environment too. Make sure your normal writing place affords you physical comfort and security you need to write, and perhaps include some things that inspire you—artwork, classical music, pleasant colors, inspiration quotes, pictures of people or places that motivate you.

2. Change Your Writing Routine – As with changing your writing environment, altering your writing routine can help you blow out staleness and tap into fresh mental states and creative energies. If you’re used to writing at a specific time, try mixing it up. Early morning, late at night, or during your lunch break. You may find the change in routine breeds different perspectives and carries a different feel.

3. Use Creative Writing Exercises – Creative writing classes and even therapeutic sessions use exercises as a way of opening the mind and making one more receptive to difficult or unpleasant tasks. Some that may be helpful include:

Writing Prompts – Writing prompts are short, open-ended phrases or ideas that can be a starting point for your writing. Even if they do not relate directly to the subject of your current project, they can stimulate thoughts, ideas, and techniques you may then use on your project.

Freewriting – Freewriting is a technique where you write without any specific purpose or structure. Just let your thoughts flow onto the page, even if it seems like gibberish at first.

Mind Mapping – Mind mapping is a visual technique where you jot down ideas, concepts, and connections on paper. Mind mapping helps organize your thoughts and discover new angles.

4. Take Breaks – Don’t force yourself to write continuously. Short breaks can be incredibly valuable. Use these moments to clear your mind, take a walk, or do something unrelated to writing. Often, your subconscious mind will continue to work on your creative problem. I have sometimes taken longer breaks to begin work on a different writing project from my Writing Ideas list. After a brief time, I set that aside and return to my original project refreshed and ready to go. I often found flaws and errors in parts of the work I forced myself to write, and I’ve also gotten a head-start on my next project.

5. Take Time to Read Others’ Work – Reading is a source of inspiration for many writers. This may be something to do during a time your take a break from your writing, whether the break is a few hours or days, or a few weeks, even months. Reading other peoples’ work—whether famous contemporary novels, one of the classics, a friend’s manuscript, or a grandparent’s old poetry—allows you to see how others express their ideas, and may expand your vocabulary or yield new ideas and writing styles that will influence your own writing experience. And exploring books, articles, or genres you wouldn’t normally read can really open new avenues of thought that may trigger your own creativity.

6. Talk About Your Work – Sometimes, verbalizing your challenges can help you see solutions more clearly and develop them into workable approaches more easily. Discussing your thoughts and ideas with a trusted friend, writing group, or mentor and soliciting their thoughts can spawn fresh perspectives and ideas that give you renewed vigor to get back into your work. That’s especially true if the person you talk with is a fan or your writing, your genre, or the subject-matter of your writing. I often did this with my young adult son, and sometimes my wife and daughter as well. I also consulted my writer’s group, several members of which were particularly helpful. Each time I used this tactic, I came away with good ideas to help surmount whatever challenge I may have had.

7. Embrace Imperfection – Understand that perfectionism can be a major contributor to writer’s block. First drafts don’t have to be flawless. Write freely, knowing that you can revise and refine at a later time. Sometimes, when I hit writer’s block, I simply write a bare-bones story just to get to the end of a section or indeed the entire story itself, using the main ideas I already have for the piece. This creates a general target at which my writing aims, and then go back and fill in the detail. When I go back to flesh out the story, I always end up substantially changing what I wrote just to get to the end, but that stuff was just a rough, imperfect roadmap to begin with. It was never intended to be the final product, so the—pardon my French—crappiness of what I wrote didn’t bother me.

Writer’s block is a common hurdle writers face, but it’s not a mountain you can’t climb. Using one or a combination of the strategies noted above and being persistent in your task, you can reignite your creativity and see your writing journey through to success, however you define it. Remember, writer’s block is a temporary setback, unless you let it stop you. With tenacity and creativity, you can overcome it, so, don’t give up. Now, one more piece of advice:

Get back to writing!