Ernest Hemingway: Image via Wikipedia

Writer’s block is what many writers dread the most. Famous novelist and adventurer Ernest Hemingway was once asked about the most frightening thing he had ever encountered as a writer and he replied: “A blank sheet of paper.” That unquestionably sums up that feeling of angst when it comes to ‘putting ink on paper.’ 

Just imagine you want to write and you are facing a blank PC screen. Would that be as scary as facing a blank sheet of paper?

Today, it’s so much easier to use a desktop computer or a laptop rather than an old beat-up typewriter to write.  If you type something you don’t like you can always delete the sentence and rewrite it on your computer. You don’t waste sheets of paper.

Across the blogging landscape, we have seen bloggers who used to post on a regular basis and then one day they started to slow down. If you have been looking around and visiting some of your friendly neighbourhood blogs you’ll notice that there’s a long period of inactivity on these blogs. 

And the first thing that comes to mind is…writer’s block. It’s the bane of folks who have overused their mental power and now are suffering from dysfunctional brain cells. Burnout.

For some bloggers (or every blogger and writer at one time or another), the ‘brick wall syndrome’ is just as much part and parcel of the malady all of us writers have to face sooner or later. Yes, you are encountering a writer’s block when you have overstretched yourself and feeling lost for ideas. 

How to get your creative juices flowing again? 

Perhaps, some good vintage wine will help you to clear the cobwebs inside there! Or it could be a spontaneous outburst of creativity after a cuppa hot stimulating java. Maybe, you need to do a quick exercise (warm-ups) or freewrites as I have done at the beginning of this article. 

There’s no one fix to get things going, it varies from one writer to another – different folks, different strokes.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to take a break, pick up your acoustic guitar and work out a song (okay, not everyone is a guitar freak). But you still can listen to music, take a walk, work on your tai chi or perform some other activities that could get your mojo working. 

Usually writers can’t get started because they try to concentrate too much on the introduction and that bogs them down.

Don’t worry too much – or just don’t be too fussy at the beginning – start at any point. Just write away in the middle and by the time you come back to the front, you will have a clearer picture of how the introduction will run.

So there. Just don’t feel anxious and frustrated. Throw out those negative feelings, be motivated and inspired by whatever that’s cooking on your mind. And right away…write!

Another little trick to start is to work on the title first. You can come up with several titles, decide which one can wow the reader and the rest of your writing will start to flow. Usually, a good title will sum up the direction you’re heading in your article. You can pick up some fine title ideas by studying those blurbs on magazine covers. So head over to your nearest magazine store and browse around.

Let’s look at it from another writer’s viewpoint about how to unlock that writer’s block. Jeffrey Deaver, the bestselling author of thrillers and mysteries and creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series, has this advice: “I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as writer’s block; the problem is idea block.”

Here’s another quote from one of the best-known among the few African-American women science fiction writers, the late Octavia Estelle Butler: “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

Octavia Estelle Butler: Image via Wikipedia

Finally, here’s a little gem of a tip from the late American author James Thurber who was also noted as a cartoonist and celebrated wit: “Don’t get it right, just get it written.”

Well, folks, that’s how you get around a sticky situation, do all the ‘crappy’ stuff first, then everything willl fall into place. There won’t be another brick on the wall ‘cos it’s tumbling down and you’ll be able to see the light on the other side. Write on!