I adore being a writer, but it has its challenging moments. That is…when WRITER’S Block happens!
The reasons for your block may vary, but Jeff Goins some common ones:
- Timing: It’s simply not the right time to write. Your ideas may need to stew a little longer before writing them down.
- Fear: Many writers struggle with being afraid, with putting their ideas (and themselves) out there for everyone to see and critique. Fear is a major reason some writers never become writers.
- Perfectionism: You want everything to be just right before you ever put pen to paper or touch a keyboard. You try to get it perfect in your head and never do, so you never begin. ~Jeff Goins
If fear is your main problem, check out BestSellerLabs for the low down on how to overcome it: On Writing and The Fear of Being Judged
How Can We Breakthrough Writer’s Block?
1.Go for a Walk
Why does this help?
Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, was known for his walking meetings. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has also been seen holding meetings on foot. And perhaps you’ve paced back and forth on occasion to drum up ideas.
A new study by Stanford researchers provides an explanation for this.
Creative thinking improves while a person is walking and shortly thereafter, according to a study co-authored by Marily Oppezzo, a Stanford doctoral graduate in educational psychology, and Daniel Schwartz, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education. Many people claim they do their best thinking while walking. A new study finds that walking indeed boosts creative inspiration. ~May Wong, Standford News
2. Eliminate Distractions
Eliminating distractions can take the form of everything from turning off social media notifications and working in a simple text editor to decluttering your area.
De-clutter your workspace: Although a lot of people manage to work quite comfortably in a cluttered environment, having a lot of “stuff” around you can be a problem when you’re trying to focus on your ideas. An uncluttered workspace doesn’t give your eyes (and mind) anything to “catch” on when your eyes stray from the screen or paper in front of you. It also eliminates at least one piece of major procrastination-bait — the sudden need to clean up. Keep your workspace uncluttered so you have no need to clean as a way of procrastinating. ~ LifeHack.org
3.Do Something Else, Go Play
Go sketch for a while. Work on another project. Write a poem. Knit a scarf. Paint a landscape. Take some photos. Play with Vine. Do something else creative and let your mind refocus. When you come back, you’ll have a fresh perspective. ~JustinMcLachlan
Allowing the time to play, and regroup, can do wonders for your psyche and help you break through a creative block in no time.
While play is crucial for a child’s development, it is also beneficial for people of all ages. Play can add joy to life, relieve stress, supercharge learning, and connect you to others and the world around you. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable. ~HelpGuide.org
4.Change Your Environment
When I am feeling blocked, or less than motivated, packing up and heading to the cafe does wonders. Parks can be a great option too. Wondering how you can go mobile with your work? Check out a recent post here on the blog called, Have Laptop Will Travel: The “How-To” of a Mobile Office.
Bon Jovi played in the background, insert “It’s My Life,” as the smell of vanilla and coffee beans hit my nose. There I was in a hip little cafe in Ecuador tapping away on the keys of my laptop. Content shooting over to my editors, soccer game on the TV, people chatting away in multiple languages…The Joys of a Mobile Office. Read More Here
5.Create a Consistent Routine
This can be whatever time of day works best for you, just stick with it when you can.
It’s a goal that many of us have, and it’s a worthy one: make writing a part of your daily routine. If you can do more than two hours, that’s wonderful, if you can only do less, that’s okay too. The trick is to write for the same amount of time every single day, and to be dogmatic and consistent about it. Another strategy that gets repeated a lot—even in fiction!—is to write five hundred words a day. See the writer-protagonist in Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair, who dutifully writes his “daily five hundred” for twenty years, uninterrupted by love or war. ~Chuck Sambuchino, Writer’s Digest
How do you breakthrough your creative blocks?
I experience writers block all the time! I sometimes send myself text messages whenever ideas come up because I know I will definitely forget them if I don’t jot them down immediately! Great tips! Thank you!
Text message reminders are a fabulous idea Natalie!