Who doesn’t hate writer’s blocks? Some writers think they are cursed, while others feel like diseased when they find themselves unable to produce creative work. Almost every single writer has been in such situation – the masterpiece is halfway done, but he keeps looking at a blank screen for days and nothing happens.
It’s not possible to deal with a writer’s block on your own. This is the perfect moment to look for a boost from the outside. In the continuation, you will find tips that have helped many writers surpass these moments of difficulty and get their creativity back on track.
Read a masterpiece or two
You can’t write? Then it’s time to read! This doesn’t mean you should give up on the project you’re creating and devote endless hours to reading. You can explore other writers’ masterpieces without sacrificing your own work. Turn reading into a 30-minute daily routine!
Don’t waste your time on bestsellers; choose timeless pieces of literature that will change your point of view. Although you understand how a perfect narrative should look like, your favorite books will remind you what writing is all about. The important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t lose yourself in a book for entire days; make it a daily habit that won’t get into the way of your job.
Take notes anytime, anywhere
It would be great if you could plan when to get your creative juices flowing. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) that’s not the case. You usually get your best ideas when you least expect them, so you should always be prepared to note them.
There are great smartphone apps that help you take notes on the go, but don’t forget to place notebooks on strategic positions all around your house: next to your bed, in the bathroom, living room, kitchen, and any other place you think of.
Try freewriting
Freewriting is a technique that can train your mind to think creatively. Place a notebook next to your bed and write one page in a stream of consciousness each morning. When you turn this practice into a daily routine, you will prepare your mind for the work waiting to be done.
A single page of freewriting won’t take much time, but don’t limit yourself in minutes. No matter how much time it takes, you should do it regularly. Your inner editor won’t let you work freely at the beginning, but eventually you’ll reveal your creative side in its full glory and allow it to express itself without any limitation. You’ll find some brilliant ideas when you go through that notebook later on.
Brainstorm under a stopwatch
No matter how you perceive deadlines, they can make you more productive. Set a harmless deadline of 5 minutes and don’t stress about it; write whatever you can think of over that time. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling and punctuation; just follow the stream of your thoughts and capture the ideas quickly. Hopefully, you’ll end up with enough information that you can elaborate when you get back to work.
Imposing your own deadlines is a great way to get creatively challenged.
Prompts are everywhere around you. Capture them!
You don’t have to sneak up on people to overhear their conversations, but don’t be too polite when you can easily hear people talk. The conversations in a mall, coffee shop, furniture store or a bookstore can serve as great writing prompts. Note some of these interactions in your journal and try to build a story around them.
This practice will keep your work realistic.
Get inspired by new words
You are a writer; you should always look for exceptional words. Expand your vocabulary and incorporate the new words into a story, blog post, article, or anything else you are working on. A writer’s block can easily result by overusing the same expressions intuitively. Write down the words that inspire you and create sentences around them. This practice can easily turn into a daily routine.
The world around you is your greatest inspiration!
Observe the people, nature, buildings, and animals around you. Capture the small pieces that create the whole and try to incorporate them into your back stories and character descriptions. You notice a woman with magnetic personality? Observe how she behaves, how she talks and what she wears. Does she touch the hand of the person she is talking to? Is her style chic or urban? Is her hair natural or dyed? Try to guess where she comes from and what her home would look like. What kind of story would you put her in?
You can easily get inspired if you boost your observational skills. The information you get from people’s behavior can be the foundation of your next project.
Rewrite your own work
Who knows how many times Tolstoy rewrote War and Peace. No matter how talented and diligent you are, you cannot create a masterpiece in one attempt. The first draft has its own value, but it requires tons of work and rewriting if you want to turn it into an impressive piece of literature.
Benjamin Franklin had an interesting productivity technique: he spent years reading and studying the work of famous journalists and authors, and then rewriting in his own words. If you don’t want to deal with your own work in times of blockage, then you can take parts of your favorite novel and rewrite them.
Giving up is out of the question!
You can’t expect things to go smoothly when you start a writing project. Writer’s blocks will inevitably come, but you should remember that there are tons of ways to surpass them. The above-listed techniques can help you develop a routine that will maintain a constant flow of creative thoughts. You need to nurture your talent if you want to be productive.
It doesn’t matter how many days you’ve spent without writing a single sentence; the thought of giving up shouldn’t even cross your mind.
Melinda Osteen is a writer and an editor who features the latest writing trends in her articles and intends to share her skills with young specialists. She works as a writing expert and an editor at Papersgear writing service.
