Writer’s block is a demon that plagues us all. Coming up with weekly articles for the Odyssey and having my voice heard is an amazing opportunity, but actually writing the articles can be a challenge in and of itself. And don’t even get me started on when I try and write my novel. It feels like every other word I experience some sort of block and have to stop for at least 20 minutes. Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, I’m sure you’ve experienced some difficulty writing a paper for class before or something along those lines. No matter what the purpose of your writing is, if you have writer’s block it ends the same way--with frustration.
Below are 7 tips and tricks that I always use to help beat my own writer’s block. Of course, they won’t work for everyone, but they’ll definitely at least give you some ideas as to how to move forward!
1. Listen to music
This one’s an obvious one, but it’s definitely the most effective for me personally. Music has been medically proven to improve your focus and your creativity. Individuals vary with this, of course, because different music inspires different things in different people. My advice? Make a playlist of songs that get you feeling motivated and inspired! I know I personally usually use a lot of instrumental songs or even movie scores, otherwise I know that I will be doing more singing along than actual writing.
2. Read a book
A lot of my inspiration as a writer comes from other authors. Every time that I finish a new book, I feel absolutely inspired to create something myself. It can even influence my own writing style and make me a better writer once I return to my work. Sometimes it’s just best to take a step away from what you’re doing and gain a new perspective rather than continue to frustrate yourself.
3. Go to a new environment
Speaking of new perspectives, sometimes to gain one, it’s best to simply change your location. Go to your local coffee shop, sit in the quad for a few hours, utilize the quiet floor of the library if the space you’re in isn’t working out. Don’t let your writing become a victim to your uninspiring surroundings.
4. Try writing prompts, or freewrite
One thing that I’ve learned as a writer is that when you have writer’s block, the only true way to get past it is to just write. It can be as long as you want, about literally anything. The key is just to keep motivating yourself to write. What I usually use are writing prompts to get my creativity flowing a little better. I find all of the ones that I use on Pinterest. There’s thousands on the internet, though, so find one that inspires you and just write!
5. Outline
If you’re anything like me, whether it be for writing a paper for class or writing creatively, I never outline until I absolutely need to (which is often after I start writing something). It’s one of my fatal flaws as a writer. But what I have learned is that outlining can be a great technique to beat writer’s block! It forces you to sit down, analyze what it is you’re trying to write, and organize it the way that makes the most sense. It also gives you the opportunity to ask yourself “What is it exactly that I’m trying to say?” and work from there. You don’t just see the one small section that’s troubling you of what you’re writing, but instead you see the big picture.
6. Work on character development
This one is moreso for my fellow creative writers working on novels and short stories. Whenever I feel myself losing inspiration to write a scene, I try to switch focus onto my characters and flesh them out as much as possible. This can be done in so many ways--creating a character playlist or finding a character development sheet on the internet and filling it out. Anything that makes you really focus on and break down a character, their past, and the reasons behind their actions.
7. Get rid of distractions
I know we live in a world where social media is most prominent, and distractions are so incredibly easy to come by, but believe it or not, there are ways to avoid them! Popular apps and add-ons like StayFocused and Anti-Social help to block or limit your time on social media and keep you on track with your writing. Don’t want a new app? Give your phone to a close friend or roommate for safekeeping and set a word count goal for yourself! Until you hit that goal, they hold onto your phone (trust me, it’s as motivating as it is frustrating).
Writer’s block is annoying to an insane degree, but it doesn’t mean the end for your writing career, I promise. Try these techniques or different ones, find out what works for you, gain a fresh point of view, and most importantly--just keep writing. Eventually, your writer’s block will be a thing of the past.