How to Overcome Writer’s Block
When You’re Stuck for the Right Words
Everyone goes through periods when the words just won’t come. You sit and stare at the page or the screen, and you can’t imagine what comes next, whether you’re working on a novel, a blog post or a letter to your brother in Raleigh.
Writer’s block. When it hits, it stops all your creative juices. You feel like a second-grader on the day of the spelling bee. You begin to wonder if you bit off more than you could chew by volunteering to write the invitation to your Labor Day party.
There’s Hope, Even for You
We are professional writers and editors here at Ray Access. We can’t afford to get stopped by writer’s block. Literally, we can’t afford it.
So we’ve developed a few simple tricks and tips to jump-start our creative juices when we need them right now. We’d like to share them with you, so you don’t fall victim to this productivity-stopper. Fear not; there is hope for you, not matter what your level of writing or the scope of your writing project.
Step 1: Acknowledge & Recover
Writer’s block happens; it’s not anything you did. Repeat this to yourself: “Writer’s block happens; it’s not my fault.” Accept it. You aren’t suffering writer’s block because you’re a crappy writer or because all your good ideas have dried up. Writer’s block happens to every writer at one time or another.
Once you can accept that, you can begin to recover from the initial shock of helplessness. And that’s what writer’s block feels like: helplessness, the inability to do work or be productive.
Step 2: Shake It Off
When you’re stuck, the best thing to do is to do something to clear your mind. Put aside your pen, stylus or keyboard. Get up from wherever you’re sitting. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, it’s definitely time for a break. Get a cup of coffee or tea. Stretch your muscles, take a walk, meditate, or go for a drive or bike ride. A change of scenery definitely helps recharge your batteries.
Another trick is to remember how good a writer you really are. It’s empowering to review your older work, even if it’s just past letters you wrote. If you wrote that, you can write anything. Trust yourself.
Step 3: Try Something Different
Allow yourself to look at your project from different perspectives or different angles — including from above and below. You might have missed something. When all else fails, put it aside and work on something else, like a timed writing exercise. Here are some tips:
Write for ten minutes about your favorite color, food or person. Here are the only rules:
- Write freehand, pen on paper, for the best results.
- Keep your hand moving.
- Don’t cross out.
- Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar.
- Lose control. The whole idea is to let go.
- Don’t think. Don’t plan. Don’t get logical.
- Go for the jugular. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.
Step 4: Look for Good Advice
Erica Jong, author of Fear of Flying and other books, believed that “all writing problems are psychological problems. Blocks usually stem from the fear of being judged. If you imagine the world listening, you’ll never write a line.”
For writer and poet Charles Bukowski, “Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all…”
Author Lili St. Crow summed up the feeling: “You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of [her].”
With that thought in mind, make your deal: “OK, Muse, you take care of the quality; I’ll take care of the quantity.” Then it’s just a matter of getting your butt back in the chair to write again. It works for us.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.