Two words that should never be put together: Writer and Block. But, when they are all you can think of is… nothing.
You sit and stare at your paper, typewriter, or computer for maybe even hours until you finally give up and eat dinner or take the trash out. But, you just can't get over the fact that nothing's coming to you - you have no idea how to make Carol suddenly mad at Bob, or how to kill John. What do you do??
This has happened to me countless of times and here are what I think are the ten best ways of destroying Writer's Block!
(This is in no specific order, as everyone is different and may find one way to be better than another person might)
- Take a shower : it soothes your body and you'll less likely feel pressured to think so hard - this way the ideas will come much easier and less forced. (This also helps when you're having a rough day, the steam and water will relax you)
- Write on paper instead of typing : (if you usually type). Strangely, it helps a lot! I do this whenever I have Writer's Block and it's a lot of help.
- Read : if you take a break to read a few chapters of a book, chances are you'll be inspired and think up some ideas for your own novel or short story.
- Write in crayon : Many of my writing friends say that this helps them out a great deal, I don't konw if it's because of the vibrant colors or the feeling of being a little kid again, but I've found it to be very helpful.
- Just keep chugging along : Even if it hurts, sometimes you just gotta keep writing until something is produced. Even if whatever you write makes absolutely no sense or is just plain stupid, keep going until you beat that Writer's Block. Then, go back later and edit the nonsense.
- Write something else : Try writing a journal entry or a few sentences of a short story. It'll get your mind off of the block and when you're ready you'll be able to beat the block.
- Take a break : Sometimes the writing section of your brain just gets exhausted and just completely shuts down. Try taking a break for as long as you need: an hour, a day, a week. Just try not to take a break for too long or that's just not good.
- Look at pictures : Whenever I get stuck, I go to Google Images and look up pictures that might inspire me. Say I'm writing a fantasy novel and I look up “fairy” and I find a picture of a beautiful fairy sitting on a rock by a stream and an enormous tree, just by looking at this picture I feel like writing about it.
- Listen to music : It's a great source of inspiration - especially when the lyrics have a lot of meaning to them. If you listen to the right tone of music it can really help you get a feeling of the emotion in your writing: for example if you're writing about a fight scene, I'd suggest listening to music that sounds angry and is choppy and fierce. Also, you don't have to listen to music with lyrics, whatever helps best.
- Don't edit : A lot of times, I don't feel like writing because I know that I'll constantly have to go back and fix a sentence. So, instead, try to just let the words fly - don't worry about spelling and punctuation errors. Don't let yourself edit, force yourself to keep moving forward.
Hopefully this helped you and I wish you many ideas and a great writing career!
