50 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block

If you write, you have experienced “writer’s block.” There are many definitions for writer’s block, and frankly, they all amount to the same thing – you are not writing. Whether you have too much anxiety, you feel paralyzed, you don’t know what to write next, you can’t decide which project to focus on next, or _________ (fill in the blank), the point is the same – you are not writing. I have created a list of activities that you might employ in order to get your writing creativity flowing again. Here are fifty ways to overcome writer’s block:

1. Go for a walk. A change in scenery can get your mind thinking, and your body ticking again.

2. Brainstorm. Try to connect the dots in your writing. This may come in the form or word association, or linear thinking.

3. Research your topic. Sometimes you get stuck in your writing because there is a gaping hole in your plot (or something else) and you can’t move on until you fill it. Researching your writing can help.

4. Draw. By expressing yourself creatively in other ways, you may get your writing creativity flowing again as well. Draw – better yet, draw something about your story.

5. Do relaxation exercises. Sometimes you can’t write because you are tense. So, release the tension.

6. Create a writing ritual. Read the first page of the newspaper before you start writing, eat toast with strawberry jam as you start – it doesn’t matter. By creating a ritual, you train yourself to start being creative at that time.

7. Free write. Just sit down, and start writing about anything. Don’t critique, just write. You might stop writing because you don’t like what you are writing. Don’t worry about that, just write.

8. Take a break. Don’t expect to get different results from doing the same thing. Leave, and come back.

9. Exercise. With exercise, not only will your metabolism improve, but you will get your blood flowing again. Exercise can get your creativity flowing again.

10. Meditate. Get peaceful. Get quiet. Forward looking thoughts can come to you while meditating.

11. Write standing up. Let’s face it; we have all fallen asleep at the laptop before. If you stand up, you can stay alert, and have an incentive to finish (so you can sit down).

12. Write under an alias. Many times writers are their own worst critic, and tend to overly criticize if we aren’t careful. Its guilt free to critique another writer though

13. Start with a word, an event, a character, or _________ (fill in the blank) and mind map. Associate these things with whatever applicable story factor that comes to mind.

14. Plot your story. Sometimes you get hung up because you don’t know where to go.

15. Outline. Outlining is similar to plot, but it’s not the same. Outline to get yourself going again.

16. Read as many books as you can. Read also for the purpose of studying the writing craft. Learn how it’s done.

17. Watch a movie with paper and a pencil. Write what moved you, and how it was accomplished.

18. Just write. Force yourself to do it. Just write.

19. Remove distractions. I can be hard to get into a writing groove if everything around you is distracting you. Noise, games, children, even the internet can be distractions. Discipline yourself, and remove the distractions.

20. Draw the blinds. Sometimes you will find that you will look at anything going on outside rather than write. It’s just another distraction.

21. Eliminate the anxiety. You might have anxiety in your day for any number of reasons. Try to do what you have to do to have harmony in your day.

22. List the ideas driving your story, and write about them from a high level. Drill down to the details as you get into the writing groove.

23. Ask questions about your story, and then answer them. This is a critical writing exercise. If you don’t know the answers to your story, then it will be hard to write about them. Pick holes in your story by asking questions – your reader will.

24. Use a plot template like The Hero’s Journey, or Three Acts. This may help you get your story off the ground, or help you pick it back up again.

25. Stretch. This changes your activity, and gets the blood flowing again.

26. Create a writing schedule. If you always sit down to write at a particular time you are training yourself to be creative during those times. Think of Pavlov’s dog.

27. Talk with a friend, mentor, or tutor. Better yet, talk to your target audience or demographic. Conversation can stimulate ideas and action. Knowing what your readers want doesn’t hurt either.

28. Story board your ideas. Sometimes seeing your scenes drawn out like a comic can help you write them better.

29. Change your point of view. Tell the story from another character’s eyes. They will perceive events differently, and perhaps that’s just what your story needs.

30. Listen to inspiring music. It’s better if there are no lyrics as you will want to sing along if there are.

31. Come to understand what is clogging your progress, and then fix it. Sometimes you subconsciously know that there is something about your writing and you just can’t move on until you fix it. Trust your instincts.

32. Study writing as a craft. Stephen King uses the analogy of having the proper tools in your tool chest. If you have the tools to fix something when it’s broken, you are more likely to address the issue right then and there, instead of putting it off (writer’s block).

33. Join a writer’s chat room, or forum. No one will have better ideas about how to address Writer’s Block then those who have been there.

34. Change WHEN you write. Perhaps you are trying to write when you get home from work, and that just isn’t when your creative juices are flowing. So, write another time and see what happens.

35. Change WHERE you write. The configuration of your writing space is a critical factor to your writing. Sometimes a change in scenery can help.

36. Make goals. You have to have goals. Write them down, and tell people about them. Check your progress against your writing goals often.

37. Have a deadline. Some people work better under pressure, and you might be one of them.

38. Use an egg timer. If you are using Window’s Vista you can leverage some of the Window’s sidebar gadgets that are out there. It’s like having a ticking bomb involved in your writing. Wait… that sounds like a plot technique…

39. Don’t criticize yourself in the initial stages of writing. Most good writing starts out bad, and it is edited to be better.

40. Don’t get caught in the perpetual planning stage. Make a decision and move forward. You can always change it later. (Don’t get stuck in the mire).

41. Work on more than one writing project at a time. If you get stumped on one thing, you can always work on another. Sometimes working on something else allows your brain to make connections that it wouldn’t have otherwise.

42. Leverage writing exercises. Many websites have created writing challenges or writing exercises that you can do to jump start your creativity. Try them and see if they work for you.

43. Reconsider why you started your writing project in the first place. It’s likely that in thinking about that you will find what you were excited about writing in the first place, and you will get excited again.

44. Don’t take on too many activities. Stressing yourself out wont help you write better.

45. Have a writing war. Time yourself against other writers and report word count progress.

46. Start with your strengths. If you are good at dialogue, start by writing some good conversations between your characters. If are good at description, start there. It will often help you get off to the right start, and you will feel more success to drive you forward.

47. Face away from any doorways or windows. If you are watching high traffic areas, you won’t be writing.

48. Write the scenes of your book in order of greatest passion. If you are just really excited to write the ending of your novel, start there. There is no hard fast rule that says you must write in chronological order.

49. Try doing mind benders or brain teasers. They can get you to think about puzzles and situation differently, and this can help you write from another angle.

50. Use word clusters. Cluster common words or themes to help you organize your thoughts, and then write them.

51. Carry a writer’s notebook with you always. You never know when good ideas are going to fall from the sky, and you have to be ready to write them down when they do.

52. Tell someone your writing. It holds you accountable because they will ask about your writing next time they see you.

53. Use a random line/though/plot generator. There are many of them on the Internet. While you will probably not use anything from one of these generators, they may actually get you thinking.

Writer’s block is something that frustrates us all. Hopefully this list was helpful to you. If it was, leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Did I miss something in this list? Let us know. We could all use it to help us finish our writing.