How To Overcome Writer’s Block

How To Overcome Writer’s Block

Writer’s Block can be one of the most frustrating things a writer can experience. It’s already hard enough to be a writer, but when you are totally devoid of ideas and completely stuck in a bad case of writer’s block it can almost feel hopeless. I’ve been there which is exactly why I am sharing my detailed methods on how to overcome writer’s block.

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In this post, I share my favorite advice to get you writing again when you are deep into a tough bout writer’s block with no apparent hope of getting started again. This advice, if employed, can help jumpstart you out of the doldrums and get you back in the fast lane again. 

Jeremy is a frequent business traveler who spends more nights on a hotel bed than he does his own bed. His business travel blog, the CBoardingGroup.com highlights the daily grind of the work traveler with business travel tips & hacks, humor and travel gear reviews. As a writer, he’s experienced his share of writer’s block. Here’s how he gets over writer’s block!

What Is Writer’s Block?

typewriter

According to Wikipedia.com, writer’s block is “a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges in difficulty from coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce work for years. Throughout history, writer’s block has been a documented problem.”

Or in other words…you are stuck. You’ve got nothin’ to say. No breakthroughs. Just a big fat case of nothing.

As a fellow writer, I’ve been affected by writer’s block many times. It’s incredibly frustrating. Discouraging, really. All writers experience it at some point – even the greats! For example, in Daniel Kolitz’s “10 Cases of Extreme Writer’s Block” he describes the ineffable Truman Capote  as having “…spent the last ten years of his life pretending to write a novel that was never there.”

No matter your writing pedigree, or medium (be it a book, blog, or other means), writer’s block can suck the life out of a writer.

What Causes Writer’s Block?

 

frustrated writerWriter’s block can be caused by a number of factors including loss of passion, burnout, health issues, depression or even too many distractions. 

What causes your particular case of writer’s block will be unique to you and your writing situation, but likely culprits include the list above. Identifying the potential sources of your paralysis can be a good start on the journey to bursting through the block.

If you are stuck, consider your health, your mental state, how fatigued you are, your diet or the busyness of your schedule. Systematically target these areas and see if it helps. It may or may not, but when attempting to overcome writer’s block these are important self-diagnostic steps. 

In addition to removing or addressing some of the potential causes of writer’s block, there are a few additional things writers can do to jump-start their progress. We tackle these in the next section.

Writer’s Block Cures – the 2 Most Important Things you can use to overcome Writer’s Block

While stuck at the bottom of the writer’s block pit of despair it can seem like there’s no hope. That you will never write again. But, don’t despair. There is hope. It’s been my personal experience that there are 2 primary cures to writer’s block:

  • Read More
  • Start Writing

In the next few sections I dig into these simple, but profound tips, to overcome writer’s block

Writer’s Block Cure #1: Read More

The first writer’s block cure is deceptively simple but incredibly powerful. Start reading.

Yes, that’s it. Start reading.

When I am stuck, I start to read.

As a business traveler and blogger I have lots of downtime on the road (sometimes too much alone time). I like to fill that time with blogging (instead of just laying on the bed in the hotel binge-watching HBO), but when I am stuck I turn to reading.

I will consume incredible amounts of text. From magazines to blogs, to books, you name it. Fiction, non-fiction, and more. Things in my topic area (business travel) and outside of my niche.

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Get your hands on everything you can

While reading content in your particular genre, don’t be afraid to expand your interests. For example, in my favorite book series of all time, The Lord of Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien …guess what the main characters do? They travel

They stay in inns, they camp. They have travel problems and more. All fodder for more articles in my genre. All kinds of inspiration there. It’s funny how the brain works, and by simply reading you activate your imagination.

Of course, reading your competitors is great too. If you run a travel adventure blog (I don’t, btw), then find someone like Nomadic Matt (a famous travel blogger) and see what and how he does what he does. Inspiration will start to creep in.

If you run a mommy blog, go check out famous mommy blogger’s like Scary Mommy…and start to get inspired.

From a purely blogging perspective, there’s a side benefit to researching and reading your competitors. One of the key blog tips experts often espouse is to find something your competitor did…and do it better or offer a new take on it.

My mom writes children’s books and at her house, you will find stacks and stacks of children’s books she has checked out from the library. She’s doing research. Getting the idea mill churning.

So…the single most important writer’s block cure is that simple…start reading.

Writer’s Block Cure #2: Start Writing

The 2nd most important writer’s block cure is far more daunting because it’s the thing that you are blocked from doing. Starttowrite.

Wait, what??

Think about it. You are not blocked from actually, physically writing. . You just don’t have any good ideas. Or you can’t figure out where to take your piece – at the moment

Immediately on the heels of the first tip (reading), I will start to write. Whatever comes to mind.

It’s usually shite…but that’s ok. I am just writing. I am physically starting the process. I May not get far, I may ultimately toss it, but I am doing it.

Take a break, read some more, then start back at it again. Keep writing. Push the keyboard keys, or make your wrist tired with your inkwell.

Pro Tip: Try to write about something outside of your core niche or genre. Maybe try your hand at poetry. You see the trick here is to kick start that artistic inspirational lever in your brain. Then, once it’s started, swing it back over to your preferred niche. 

Soon, the combination of reading more and starting to write will gel. You will have a breakthrough. Something will come.

It may not be the next Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Capote, again), but it could be enough to get you to the NEXT thing.

So…start writing.

Additional Writer’s Block Cures

Ok, let’s lay out a few more writer’s block cures for you. If you are still stuck and reading and actually writing still aren’t getting it done, here are a few more cures to writer’s block you might find helpful:

  • Get a health check-up. As noted earlier, one of the causes of writer’s block could be medical. Maybe it’s depression or something worse. If you are in the deepest of the deep pits of blockage go see a medical professional. 
  • Go search for some memes related to your genre. Humor is a big source of inspiration and memes are instantly related to pop culture connections between the universe and your pain. For example, I often create travel memes and blog memes, both of which share the funny agony of life on the road and the life of a blogger, both of which are far less glamorous than I’d like. Go find some memes…or maybe create some!
  • Write about your writer’s block. Lean into that pain, man! Like a journal almost, put your pain on paper and memorialize it. Who knows…you may even get inspired to write an article about writer’s block. Ahem… 😉
  • Exercise – I personally do not find this helpful (as a writer’s block cure), but many others report that it can be helpful in stimulating the brain which can help you access the creative nerve center you are trying to find.
  • Fire up your Music. I personally DO find this cure helpful. Again, it’s about accessing the artistic parts of your brain and then harnessing them towards your niche. Music can be powerful and evoke memories, inspire, and more. So go crank up your favorite Metallica album (my fav…nothing like a little death metal to get you ready to write an article about Kid’s Travel Tips) or some Stevie Wonder.
  • Smoke some… never mind. 🙂
  • Go hang out with a buddy – especially someone who gets your niche. I once had a friend who was as weird as I was. We’d stay up late in the night drinking coffee, smoking, and talking about philosophy. It was incredibly inspirational.

Final Thoughts on Writer’s Block Cures

If you were suffering from a major bout of writer’s blockage before you started this article I hope you now see a glimmer of hope. I have no doubt you will get through this if you employ the writer’s block cures I’ve laid out here. Good luck…and go pick up a book! Turn on your computer and start pushing those keys. 

Bio: Jeremy is a frequent business traveler who spends more nights in hotel beds than he does his own bed. His business travel blog, the CBoardingGroup.com highlights the daily grind of the work traveler with business travel tips & hacks, humor and travel gear reviews. Business travel has taken him all over the globe...on the company dime, of course...and he can’t complain one bit (although he still does). 

How To Overcome Writer's Block

Author: Jasmine

SAHM to one little boy, and wife to a former member of the USMC. I blog about parenting, relationships, brands I love, and product reviews!

9 thoughts on “How To Overcome Writer’s Block

  1. These are great tips! I agree about just writing – I like to do some creative writing when I have a writer’s block. And dance parties always help! Loved these suggestions.

  2. I definitely go through writer’s block, but it is usually more about burnout and I just need to take a short break. I get tired of being glued to my computer all the time.

  3. Writer’s block is the worst. I was experiencing it earlier this week. I just started doing research on the topic I wanted to write about, wrote my outline and it finally starting coming to me.

  4. Thanks for giving me permission to read more!!!! Really though- I think that is great advice, to read beyond your niche. You never know what will spark your imagination!

  5. I often get stuck trying to figure out what to write about, so your tips about reading everything I can get my hands on are super helpful. Once I have a topic the writing usually flows, as long as I don’t get too hung up on making it perfect! 😂

  6. I’m definitely going to keep these tips in my back pocket for next time I hit a writers block! Thanks!

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