You’re up against deadline. Maybe it’s a five-page research paper on pre-colonial America. Maybe it’s an essay on a scholarship application. Maybe it’s a short article for a student magazine that you put off writing until the day it’s due because it must have slipped your mind in between work and socializing, and by God those long shifts at the warehouse are tiring enough without having to think of an interesting topic to write about once you clock off. Point being, you’ve got some writing to do and you’ve got no idea to where to begin. We’ve all been there. J.K. Rowling, Ernest Hemingway, that annoying kid in your stats lecture who always tries to argue with the professor; anyone who has ever put pen to paper knows the feeling of writer’s block. It’s no fun, but it’s something you have to learn to deal with.
I remember reading a piece by some author in some magazine somewhere that said the worst thing you can do as a writer is to sit in front of a blank page without any idea of how to start off. I know that I’ve spent many the frustrated hour staring at a new Word document just waiting for inspiration to strike. The best thing you can do when you find yourself in that situation is to take a step back and do something else. It sounds counter-productive, especially when you’ve got a due date breathing down your neck, but it helps. Read a book, watch some Netflix, do anything to take your mind off of your writing. You’re not going to do yourself any favors beating your brain up for some spark of creativity. Before you even sit down to write, try to have an idea of where you’re going to begin. I’m not one to create elaborate pre-writing outlines, but even just knowing what your first sentence or two is going to look like can help get the ball rolling.
Once you have figured out what you’re going to write, you need to remove distractions from easy reach. This is the part that I’ve always struggled with. In the time it’s taken to write the previous two paragraphs, I’ve also managed to send out three tweets, like a handful of pictures on Facebook and learn how to play the intro to Eric Church’s “Over When It’s Over” on guitar. I’m quite proud of that last one, actually. It’s all too easy to find things to distract you from writing. If you really want to get something done, set your phone aside and close out of your web browser. Once you really get on a roll, the words just flow and you just might find yourself finishing ahead of schedule.
Finally, and maybe the most difficult piece of advice, don’t be afraid to start over. I know it’s hard when you’ve already put an hour and three-hundred words or so into a piece, but sometimes you just write yourself into a corner. This is where a little planning can come in handy, it’s always helpful to have an idea of where you’re going. Even the best laid plans can go awry, though, and you can’t be afraid of highlighting half a page and hitting backspace. Starting fresh can be hard, but it’s a heck of a lot better than trying to salvage a wandering and off-topic essay.
Well, I reckon that’s about all there is to say about fighting writer’s block. At the end of the day, there will always be times when you don’t know what to write. Not every essay has to be a masterpiece, and it’s better not to overthink them. The best you can do is try your best to work around it and see what you can get done in the time you have.
Oh, and would you look at that, there’s still about an hour before this article’s due.
