Writer's block sucks. It really sucks, especially when you have a deadline. However, there's got to be some way to overcome this wall that anyone who's ever written has faced. Over the years, I have heard a lot of advice on writing. Professors, mentors, critics, peers -- you name it and they've got something to say about writing. So, here I am going to put down and explain the five most important bits of information I have learned so far. Writer's block be darned, here we go.
1. Know your brain.
Getting to know how your mind works and especially how you generate ideas is incredibly useful. It's like figuring out how you learn best; what behaviors or mental spaces must you induce in order to function best. For me, I like to choose a topic and ruminate on it for however much time I have (could be an hour, could be a day or two), writing down tidbits here and there that I know I want to include in my piece, and then I write the whole thing in either one or two sittings. As you'll read, that method utilizes some of the other pieces of advice on writing. Now, my method doesn't work for everyone at all, but I at least know the process I must go through in order to best utilize my head space. Once you figure out how you best create and invent, you can move on to more in-depth methods.
2. Write something. Anything.
There's a large misconception that I hear often about this particular piece of advice. It's that to do this you literally write down any old thing that comes into your head. I find that rather crude and unhelpful for the writing process. That concept is as well a rather daunting one; of all the thoughts I have, what do I write down? This just leads right back to getting writer's block. How I take this is to start anywhere. Have a few sentences you know you're going to include in a body paragraph? Write it down. Just a title that you want to start with? Write it down. This method also counteracts the psychological stopping power of a blank screen or sheet of paper. Choosing any place to start removes the inhibitions of organization and uniformity. This also helps with thought generation since you're getting other concepts out and not worrying about remembering them or mentally organizing them. It links the conceptual powers of reading, writing, and thought to help begin your mental processes.
3. Utilize the golden rule.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I was a kid, the golden rule meant you ought to know when to speak and when to be silent. So how does this help in writing? Brevity. Know how to use sentence length to your advantage. You don't want to tire or bore your reader with too many sentences that are too long or too short. You need a mixture. Keep the writing interesting and varied rather than repetitive.This is also a concept of communication. You don't want to confuse your reader by leaving too much out or by over explaining by putting too much in. This can be achieved both in writing the piece and especially in editing. Overall, it helps keep the reader entertained. Take this paragraph, for instance. Does it go on and on in lengthy sentences? Does it stagger thoughts and ideas by having too short sentences? Or is it varied and fresh? The idea is to use every word as effectively as you can.
4. Be specific.
Go to the Wikipedia page for World War II and read a bit of it. Now go to the page for the Siege of Bastogne. You should have found the second at least marginally more interesting than the first. Why? Because specificity is much more engaging and interesting to read about. It's also easier to write about. It may sound strange, but a more focused topic generates more content than a general one. For example, I recently wrote a paper on how eye movement conveys thought and emotion in Buster Keaton's silent film The General. That's pretty specific, right? I had no issue writing about that topic because I knew exactly what I needed to look at and why I was looking at it. And that should be conveyed to the reader, too, that there is a clear relation to everything you're talking about.
Another problem with being too general can be that there's just too much to talk about, which very easily leads to writer's block. Where do I start? What do I include? Specificity answers those questions and gives you a clear line to follow.
5. Write what you love.
Above all, this is the most important advice for writing. It is so much easier to write about something you are genuinely interested in than not. However, not all things we write or need to write will be about things we like. Perhaps it's a topic you hate or a class you don't particularly like, or maybe you're just having a bad day. That's fine, you don't have to love everything. The point is to find something in anything you write that you like and find interesting. Chances are, that when you do this you'll also achieve the specificity you want. Turning an extrinsic motivation into an intrinsic one is the easiest way to accomplish your goals. It should also result in a better piece. If you're passionate about something, that love and admiration will translate through to the reader.
Hopefully, these tips help someone or at least put them on the right track and get past that nasty writer's block.
Keep writing, my friends.
