Everyone runs into the inevitable, colossal and terrible writer’s block, whether it be for writing that paper for your Literature final or the Great American Novel. It’s impossible to avoid, and always to be complained about. However, when most people, myself included, stumble across writer’s block. we spend more time crying over how we’ll never get anything done when, in fact, there is quite a lot that can be done in the face of writer’s block.
Walk around.
What you really need is a change of space. Get up, walk around. Go for a run to clear your head; when you get back to your paper, you may have a whole new set of ideas to get your paper writing going again.
Make a snack.
If that doesn’t work, or if you’re like me and hate exercise, you can always just get up and make something to eat or drink. Whenever I get tired of writing papers, I always meander into the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. While it’s brewing, I’ll walk around a little bit, and normally when the tea is done and I’m sitting back down in front of my laptop, I’ve got some ideas flowing.
Rewrite.
Another good way to get back on track is to actually rewrite the paper or piece you’re currently working on. Keep the old version, just in case. But often, rewriting from a different angle can give you more inspiration and a fresh perspective. If it’s a creative writing piece, try writing from another character’s point of view; if it’s an academic paper, try a similar topic or try arguing a different point. If that doesn’t work, it’s OK. Maybe writing a different way for a little while will give you inspiration to write what you were writing before.
Leave it alone.
Unless you’ve procrastinated until the last minute, you can always close your laptop and let it be for a day or two. Sometimes, a bit of time can give you more ideas. Just put the paper from your head and ignore it. Don’t think about it for 12 hours. Thinking too much about what you’re going to write can also make it harder for you to write a piece.
Writer’s block is no fun, but everyone goes through it. Everyone. All of those famous authors you’ve read, they were once stuck with what they were trying to write. That classmate's paper that you just peer-reviewed? They got stuck at least once during the writing process. It’s impossible to avoid, but what you do to deal with it and get around it makes all the difference; it can be the difference between and A and a C, success or failure.
