If you’ve been writing for long, you’ve likely experienced writer’s block. It’s that awful feeling of not being able to get the words onto the page. Often it seems it hits out of nowhere, leaving us confused and frustrated. For many of us, there’s only a limited amount of time in the day set aside for writing, so when the words don’t’ flow, we end up stressed out. Looming deadlines also don’t help when the writer in you is stuck. Let’s explore some of the reasons we get writer’s block and ways we can combat it.
7 Reasons for Writer’s Block
- Perfectionism – Expecting the story to unfold in an edited/revised version right from the start is not realistic. Worrying about correct word usage, punctuation or length of the piece doesn’t help. Remember, the editing can’t happen if you don’t finish the story.
- Your story is headed in the wrong direction – Often writer’s block happens because what you thought was the plan for your characters isn’t where they want to take the story.
- Not willing to be vulnerable – Sometimes when writing an emotional storyline, we resist delving in deep because it’s painful or we don’t feel we are expressing the emotions well. Letting go of those thoughts and allowing yourself to really feel the words will help get them on the page.
- Distractions – This is the biggest problem for many of us. Other things often pull our attention away from the time we need to write Family responsibilities, work, errands, social media, or a loud environment all contribute to the words staying locked in our minds.
- Imposter syndrome – Imposter syndrome is a mindset that one isn’t talented enough to accomplish what they are trying to accomplish. Feeling like a fraud is a common feeling with imposter syndrome. Comparing ourselves to other writers can suck all the joy out of writing and makes us wonder why we are even trying.
- Not enough ideas – Perhaps your story is very one-dimensional, and you struggle with how to move it along. This is when you need to spend time brainstorming ideas. Come up with a few and see where your thoughts take you.
- You are incorporating too many ideas in the story – Too many ideas for your story can just make it chaos to write. If you can’t follow it with clarity, neither can your readers.
7 Ways to Fight Writer’s Block
- Take a walk or engage in other physical activity – Movement will help your body and your brain. Physical activity combined with pondering your writing can yield great ideas. It’s like recess in elementary school. Running around and expending physical energy refreshes your brain too.
- Write in a new/different place – If you normally write at home in a home office or your dining table and the words are just stuck, try moving to another location. Sometimes the change of scenery can stimulate ideas. If your house is too noisy for you to think clearly, try writing at the library. Mix it up and see what helps get you out of the rut.
- Read more books – I could not be a writer without first being a reader. Reading exposes us not only to stories, but how stories are shaped, how they are structured and what makes them work. Reading can give us ideas of how to fix whatever is blocking the words from flowing.
- Search for inspiration in new settings – Explore similar settings as the ones in your story and take note of what you see, hear, feel, smell and/or taste. Use those sensations in your writing.
- Short writing periods – Instead of writing for 5 hours straight, try breaking your time into smaller increments. The more stuck you are in your writing, the shorter you should make the writing period. Try ten minutes to start. Take a break. If the ten minutes weren’t hard to get through, extend the next writing period to fifteen or twenty minutes. Expecting yourself to write for a long period of time can be too much of an expectation, resulting in a stressed-out writer.
- Don’t worry about meeting a word count goal – Word count goals can be great if your writing is coming easily. If you’re stuck, ditch the word count expectations and work more on getting the flow back instead.
- Just write anything – Set a timer, pick up your pen and paper and write as much as you can without worrying about spelling, punctuation, grammar. You just need words. Sometimes an exercise like this helps unlock the dam of words and get you going again.
Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to writer’s block. Each of us is different and is experiencing varied circumstances that can prevent the free flow of words that we all crave. Hopefully, these suggestions have sparked some ideas for you to try the next time you get stuck.
Good luck and happy writing!