As a student, I go through phases of having a ton of ideas for a paper or an assignment to staring at my computer and the assignment with no clue what to write about. As a writer, I go through this so much more and abandon ideas because I do not know what to do with them anymore. With the start of school comes the assigning of papers and the need for ideas. So, here are five tips I use when I have writer's block.
Set a timer for 2 minutes and just write.
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Grab a piece of notebook paper, anything you can write with, and your phone or something you can use as a timer. Set the timer for at least two minutes (don't go over five minutes) and write any idea that comes to mind.
These ideas don't need to be perfect, they just need to be ideas. After the time is up, pick the idea you like the most and use that to help you write your paper or project!
Sit down and write something.
This doesn't have to be a good idea, it doesn't even have to be an idea. Just sit down and start writing. You can start out writing literally anything you want, just keep writing until you realize that you have found an idea.
This tip works better for when you have a lot of time to work something out because it does take a while. When I use this tip, I do not usually realize I have found an idea until I am explaining or writing out how I want to do it.
Stop in the middle of a thought.
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This is a tricky tip that I use more in creative projects than in papers. For this you leave your project hanging during the middle of a thought or sentence whenever you decide to either stop working on it for the night or switch to something else for a while.
Stopping in the middle of a sentence or thought makes it so that you have to finish it whenever you sit back down to work on it again.
Put your phone away.
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Using your phone as a timer is okay, just make sure it is not within reaching distance. By reaching distance I mean put your phone far enough out of reach so that you cannot touch it, even when you are stretching. Put it on the other side of the room or at the bottom of your bag.
Lock it in a desk drawer, give it to someone you trust, whatever you have to do to get it away from you that does not cause damage to it. This will allow you to focus on an idea better and stop you from mindlessly scrolling until you remember you have the stuff to do.
Look for inspiration.
Head over to Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or We Heart It to get some inspiration. Find a picture you like or an aesthetic that looks interesting. Write a backstory or a reason why it looks they way it does.
Make a character that the aesthetic fits. Get a friend to help you. Just try to find something that will make you want to write.
I hope these tips help for when you have writer's block. These tips have helped my friends and I when we have no clue what to write about.
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