Every writer who has ever put pen to paper has no doubt suffered from “writers block”; a silent, unseen enemy that attacks without warning and undermines the self-confidence, whether that writer is a novice, a hard-nosed media journalist, published poet or a well-known novelist often seen in the bestseller lists…no-one is immune!

As every creative writers knows, there is nothing more soul-destroying than sitting at a desk staring at a blank sheet of dazzling white paper, or at that intimidating cursor blinking on a computer screen wondering, “whatever happened to those great ideas I had last night, just before I fell asleep?”

If the following phrases sound even remotely familiar…’where do I begin?’…’I can’t think of a single thing to write’ or, “I haven”t a clue how to approach this scene’ – the answer is at your fingertips. An easy one-word technique that will “bust-through-the-block” and move the writer forward…the use of a single KEYWORD.

Using of one or two words, in no particular order of importance, to record or create a scene which, at a later date can be added to or removed from the list as required, the writer will be able to recall with clarity the relevant scene as he saw or imagined it.

To illustrate this simple and effective technique, using 3 easy stages, let us assume that a Saturday market in a town is to form the basis of a poem, a non-fiction article, short story or part of the next chapter of a novel. By writing down as many keywords as possible relating to the piece of work, separated by dashes, the scene will be sketched out covering all the basic points.

Stage 1:

TOWN – AREA – WEATHER – STALLS – SHOPPERS – CROWDS – COLOURS – SMELLS – SOUNDS – CANOPIES – CRAFTS – BOOKS – HISTORY – etc. etc.

By reaching this point writers block has been banished, and several useful ideas may already be starting to form.

Stage 2:

The second stage is to expand the selected keywords.

Bearing in mind that at this point nothing is set in stone and can be altered at any time, and that it is not important which keyword has been chosen to be developed; by writing as much as possible for each keyword – remembering that the aim is not to attempt to write a complete story, merely to play with ideas, possible scene-sketches for a novel/short story, poem or the angle/theme for an article – the ideas will soon begin to flow!

Town:

The large town had begun to fill with people from the outlying villages early in the day.

Buses are full with “standing-room only”.

Cars come into town from all directions.

Congested roads look like London in the “rush-hour”. Etc.

AREA:

By nine o’clock in the morning the whole area around the market was bustling with busy people.

People are walking, chatting; pushing young children in buggies.

Young people riding or pushed bicycles.

Women carrying rolled up shopping bags, spill onto the pavement from the buses that have stopped close by.

The nearby car parks were almost full, as were the surrounding streets that had a few parking places on offer. Etc.

Weather:

The weather was fine and dry.

A blue sky, punctuated with white fluffy clouds and only a slight breeze blowing, promised an enjoyable day for everyone.

Women dressed in summer dresses, men in t-shirts. Etc.

Stage 3:

At this final stage all that remains is to put all of those ideas together.  All the relevant points have been covered and expanded sufficiently, and the writer will have a more positive idea of how the finished piece of work will look.

That dreaded “writers block” has vanished!

It would be wrong to suggest that this technique alone will produce a permanent cure from the curse of writers block, for no such cure exists. However, one thing is certain; by employing the use of “keywords” in your writing regime you will never again be in the position of saying to yourself…’what on earth can I write about?’

Further articles by Charles Moorhen:

The Grisly Murder of Sweet Fanny Adams

Britain’s First Railway Murder

Superstitions Surrounding Babies

London’s Unique Funeral Railway

Smith’s Crisps and the Little Blue Salt Bag.

Santa Claus Is Hiding Behind The Curtain.

15 Fascinating Historical Railway Facts You Probably Never Knew.

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