Writer's block: The “foul word” of the literary world. Unfortunately, it's one of those diehards that are bound to show up in the process of a writer's life. Kinda like taxes only... personal. Since this black spot is inevitable, we as writers must strategize ways to eliminate it when it comes.
Below you will find one such strategy for overcoming writer's block. As my previous article, Three Simple Keys for Writing Believable Dialogue, this article will be brief and to the point, making it easy for you to get the tools you need to write without the blockage, and use them as soon as possible.
Step One: Have Fun!
Remember why you first started writing; what hooked you on the craft? Whatever the reason was, it probably hasn't left you. You can still feel it. I hear people in relationships using the phrase “keep the love alive”. That's what writers have to do as well. We have to fall in love with writing as many times as possible in order to insure that our writing will posses the highest quality we can give it. I'm not saying obsess over it, but maybe reward yourself for writing with a nice savory cup of tea, or by enjoying your favorite pastime after you write.
If it's hard to start writing, use the cup of tea or the pastime as incentive. Once you begin to write, enjoy it. Have fun with it. This first step will put you on track to writing. The next steps will put you in a position to be inspired so that you can keep writing.
Step Two: Playtime!
This could also be titled, take a break. Schedule in time to relax and enjoy yourself. Choose an activity like people watching; the activity must be low stress, and require little work or thought to do. Below I've included a list of activities that would be perfect for this:
- Visit a museum
- Walk through a zoo with throwaway camera in tow
- Visit an aquarium
- Listen to music (wordless)
- Paint an abstract picture
- Take a ride on the bus or metro and watch the scenery go by
- Enjoy a bubble bath
The key is to thoroughly enjoy yourself. These activities will not only give you some much needed rest an relaxation, but they will also help you to slow down and notice the little things in life, like the small stone on the steps leading up to your apartment building, or the direction of the clouds blowing by overhead.
Step Three: Refuel
It's time to create. The art you will create is not going to be perfect. It's not supposed to be unless you eat, drink, and breathe the craft and even then, the art you create will still be flawed. The point I'm trying to make is that this is still about fun. Try to push all thoughts of perfection out of your head.
Now remember: perfection is having fun with what you do while simultaneously doing your best. Gather a bunch of your favorite craft materials and make something you've always wanted to make. For example you could make jewelry, decorate a basket, build a model plane, create a beautiful floral arrangement, mold something out of clay (or silly putty!) etc. Push all thoughts of work out of your mind and throw your whole heart into your creation. Try not to stress about anything at all, and most of all, you probably know what I'm going to say, Have Fun!
Conclusion: Now Is The Write Time
By the time you finish refueling on inspiration, you will be itching to write more. You've given your writer's block a run for its money. The next step is easy: write. Write little things, and big things. Write serious things and silly things. Write what you love, write what inspires you, write from the heart.
Whatever you do, enjoy the experience; whether you type at a computer or scrawl in a journal, savor the feeling of you fingertips on the keys or the paper on the side of your hand as you write. Try to keep that in mind as you do the activities. I wish you the best!
