Top 10 Tips for Beating Writer’s Block

All writers whether published or unpublished will find themselves staring at an empty screen or a blank page not knowing where to start. Thankfully there are a range of tricks to get you writing again and here are ten of them:

Photographs and Images

Search the internet, look through a book or drag out some old family photographs and start to ask yourself some questions. Take the advice from Rudyard Kipling (see below) when you look at your chosen image or photograph, you never know what you’ll come up with.

“I keep six honest serving men
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who.”

Song Lyrics

Pull out an album, one that you haven’t listened for a while. Read the song titles and perhaps they’ll stir your imagination. Again keep Mr Kipling’s words in mind. If this doesn’t work then put the album on and listen to it. Is there a favourite line you can use as a story title? Listen to the story of the song; can you add to the story being told? Can you come up with an alternate ending?

Keep a Note Pad

Take a note pad with you wherever you go and if you hear a snippet of conversation that grabs your attention make a note of it. When you wake up and still have that dream floating in you mind, quickly write it down. Then when you need inspiration just flick through its pages.

Collect Clippings

If you’re in the habit of getting a newspaper each day or a monthly magazine then next time a piece makes you think “that would make a good feature or story,” cut it out and keep it. Then next time you’re stuck for an idea have a rummage and see what happens.     

Quote of the Day

There are a huge number of quote sites on the web, all of which are a great tool for the writer. Try:
Quotations Page
Brainy Quote
Quote of the Day
Verse of the Day

Anniversaries

The wonderful thing about anniversaries is there is one every day of the year. One of these is sure to spark the imagination. To start your search check out these sites:
Library Spot
The History Channel 
or simply put in your chosen search engine ‘this day in history.’

Read a Poem

Similar to songs and quotes use poems to spark your imagination. Either flip open a poetry book or check out one of these sites:
Poem Hunter
Poetry online
Cool Funny Poems

Read a Writing Magazine

There are a range of magazines that cater for writers and they’re filled with pearls of knowledge. They cover a range of topics and if you’re lucky will spark your imagination and improve your writing. Try:
Writing Magazine - UK
Writers Forum - UK
Writers Digest - USA
The Writer – USA

Look for a Writing Competition

Either browse the pages of a writing magazine or take a look on the web. There are many writing competitions they will not only get you over your writers block but hopefully give you the chance to get published.  

Link Three Things

Flick through a catalogue or a book with plenty of images and find three unrelated items and try to produce a short story linking each of them. It doesn’t matter how absurd the final outcome is, remember it’s a tool to get you filling that page.

Hopefully armed with these tips writers block will never be a problem again.