How to Get Past Writer’s Block

Every writer that has ever existed has gone through what I refer to as “mental constipation”.  It is the problem you face when you need to write but your brain will not cooperate with you.  The following are some tips on how to induce “mental diarrhea”.

Learn how to be an observer and explorer.  You should have an overwhelming curiosity of the world around you.  Listen to conversations around you when you are in public.  Ask yourself questions about what you see and why you are seeing it.  Learn how to be scientist of everyday life.  Learn how to look underneath the surface.

Invest in notebooks and pens.   Always carry these tools with you.  You will never know when an idea or a mere word will strike you.  And it would be absolutely shameful if it got away from you.  I have a folder full of thought and ideas that I have quickly jotted down on scraps of paper so I wouldn’t forget.  Every now and then I take them out and read them to get my imagination and pen flowing.

Have no fear and just start writing.  Write, even though you may not have anything specific in mind to write about.  The simple act of writing will spark your thoughts and imagination.  Force yourself to put pen to paper.  Just because you think of writing doesn’t mean it makes you an active writer.

To be an active writer you must be an active reader.  Submerse yourself in pages of verse.  Read from different authors with different styles about different subjects.  Teach yourself how words should flow together by reading from the great literary masters.  Writers should have a born love for reading.

Buy yourself a quality thesaurus and dictionary.  When you are sitting around with nothing else to do, then thumb through them.  Acquaint yourself with new words. Learn meanings and spellings.  Start making it a habit of using them when you write.

Always write, rewrite and rewrite again.  Yes I know your high school teacher terrorized you with this rule.  But there is some merit to this rule.  Not only do you catch your mistakes but it also evokes the writing god in you to insert more information and better words and phrases to use.

I believe no one will ever be the perfect writer.  You can always learn something new to improve your craft.  But one thing is for certain.  The more you write, the better you become at it.