Get Rid of Writer’s Block Fast

Writer’s block can be a terrible thing. Some people suffer from writer’s block for five days, and some of us are over here in the year to five-year mark. Sometimes we just can’t shake it. Sometimes our own insecurities block us from writing. Sometimes the pressure is overwhelming. In honor of a previous online writing class of mine, How To Beat Writer’s Block, I came up with a short list of tips that might help you resolve your writer’s block issues.

TAKE OFF THE PRESSURE

When we feel pressure to perform, we fail. To lift some of this pressure. you have to start thinking about your normal routines in different ways. Don’t do the same thing every day. Move somewhere else. If you normally write at your computer, write by hand. If you normally write by hand, type on a typewriter. If you normally use the typewriter, write on the computer. Changing the way you write might help you begin to write. The pressure will be gone. You won’t be at your normal desk at the normal time with the familiar sensation that you have to write something immediately. This activity can be freeing.

DON’T THINK ABOUT WRITING

Sort of like the first exercise, this is an attempt to trick your brain. For a set period of time (one day, one week, etc.) don’t think about writing and don’t write. Don’t worry about the fact that you aren’t writing. Don’t worry about any previous goals that you had set for yourself. Just don’t write. Do something else. In this period, you should be reading and scouring magazines and going to museums and sitting outside and listening to people talk and staring at plants trying to decide what kind of plants they are. You want to come back to your writing desk with a wealth of information to start from.

WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING BORING

In an attempt to reduce the pressure and make it easier to write, you want to start with a topic you don’t care about or a topic you already know a lot about. What are you an expert in? It could be anything from sleeping to building toy cars, but you are an expert at something. Think about your expertise and write a timed 5-minute how-to article about your area. Try to be as clear and boring as possible. When you’re finished, you can take that information and change it to imperative mood. Or, if it’s already in imperative mood, switch it around and write in third person. Once you understand the basics of this activity, you can apply it to stories, poems, or essays that you’ve already written.

With these three tiny tips, you might be able to start making larger strides in writing. Writing can be hard when a million other things deserve our attention, but you have to decide what’s important and what’s necessary for you to live a full life. If that’s writing, then write! If that’s something else, then go do that.