Overcoming Writers Block in Four Easy Steps

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Everyone who has written anything for any length of time has experienced writer’s block. If it hasn’t happened to you yet don’t worry it will.

Writer’s block occurs when you hit a wall mentally and you simply cannot come up with fresh ideas or figure out how to write the ideas you may already have. It can be frustrating and discouraging when it happens but don’t fret. There are methods that you can use to help break the block of ice.

Stop Writing

This is the first and most crucial step. I know it sounds contradictory but face it, if the words aren’t coming to you or coming together for you there is nothing else you can do. Trying to write something just for the sake of writing something is a waste of time. Staring at an empty computer screen is not going to accomplish anything except to further frustrate you.

Quite simply, you probably have just run out of words or new thoughts. After you have written so much, you arrive at the place where you are all tapped out.

When the glass is emptied out it’s going to be empty until it is refilled.

Do Something Else

Do you have some laundry that you haven’t had time to do? Well now is a good time to do it. House cleaning that you have been putting off? Stop putting it off. Take your mind off of writing for a while and give that brain of yours time to rejunvenate itself. After all, you’ve been working it like a slave.

Get some exercise. Take a walk. Walk the dog. Let the dog walk you. Just do something else besides trying to write.

Watch Television or Read the Newspaper

After you are done walking the dog, letting the dog walk you, cleaning the house and doing your laundry reward yourself by sitting down to watch some television. You will be surprised at the amount of ideas that will come into your head by just watching the boob tube (not that kind of boob, dude).

Television is a great source of information that will certainly give you ideas on what to write about. Newscasts, talk shows and entertainment talk shows like Entertainment Tonight are great resources that should give you plenty of good ideas that you can use(that plug should be worth a few advertising dollars but I won’t hold my breath while I’m trying to collect from them).

Don’t just rely on your own brain to come up with writing ideas use everything. You may see a billboard on your way home from work that strikes a chord in your mind.

Use anything and everything you can. Don’t wear your brain out. You’re going to need it for a long time.

Get a Life

Yeah. You heard me. Get a life. Don’t wrap yourself so tightly around writing that you squeeze out everything else. You have heard the old saying “variety is the spice of life”, well variety is also the fuel of writing. If all you do is write, you are going to burn out fast.

Have other hobbies and interests. Some people still like to do jigsaw puzzles. Others collect stamps. Maybe you like antiques or restoring them. The point is do something else other than sit in front of the computer all day trying to come up with fresh ideas on a 24 hour basis. Your brain could use the rest and so could your computer.

That’s why the poor thing is running so slow. It’s tired.

I hope this has been helpful to you if not, I tried. Give me some feedback and let me know.

Until next time happy writing.