Writer’s Block

There are a number of ways to get the creative juices flowing again and if it’s raining outside, don’t worry. The majority of these activities can be done indoors, sitting at your desk.

• Close your eyes for a few minutes and think about spring, what do you like doing, seeing, touching, tasting and hearing at that time of year? Imagine yourself in your favourite spot.  What are you doing?  Open your eyes and describe the scene.  This can also be done for Summer, Autumn and Winter.
•  Lists.  A list of items can tell us a lot about a person.  Empty your pockets or purse/bag if you carry one and list all the items in there.  What does this tell us about you?  You could ask family members to do the same for you or even think about a new character, what would they carry in their pockets or bag?  Why?
• Word Association.  This is a really good way to get the creative juices going, you have a blank page right?  Let’s fill it then.  I’m going to start you off with a word and you have to right down the first thing that comes to mind, once you have that word right down the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your word on the page.  Do this ten times.  Now you have ten words written on your page plus my original first word.  I want you to write a paragraph (that makes sense) by using all the words you have at lease once.  Here’s your first word: Death
• Portals.   Windows are like portals into another world, one which you can see but you aren’t quite part of.  Look out of the window in your room and describe the scene.
• Make a change.  Take one of your older characters that you know well enough and write a brief profile about them, once you have done this, re-write the profile as if the character is of the opposite gender.  You never know, maybe they have a long lost twin!
• Notebooks at the ready!  If you have a front garden and a chair in it from which you can watch the world go by, sit outside for a while (if its not raining and cold) and make some notes about the goings on you see.  It could be what you hear people talking about, the way they look (what they’re wearing etc) or even musings on where they’ve just been and where they’re going to.  If you’re unable to sit outside at the front (maybe you don’t have a garden) what about a walk to the park or a trip to the local shopping centre.  Remember to take your notepad though!

So as you can see, six easy ways to relieve you from writers block all can be completed in a short space of time and most can be done without you even moving from your seat!  I hope this helps you release your creative energy and gets you writing again soon.