How To Get Rid Of Writer's Block

Writer's Block is one of those things we’ve all come across. The words don’t flow, and nothing feels like it fits. The characters are 2D, the plot falls flat, and the twists don’t twist. 

It’s a bad hair day, but for your writing. 

And that’s all it is. 

A bad hair day. 

And what do we do with bad hair days? Do we light our hair on fire? No. Do we shave it off? No. Do we declare we don’t deserve hair? No.

We get some gel, do what we can and hope for a better day tomorrow. 

The same philosophy needs to be applied to our writing. Some days stick, and other days do not. That’s okay, it’s all part of the process. 

When we feel a little stuck or a little lacking in motivation, there are some things we can do to get those writer wheels turning again.

1. Take a well-deserved break. 

Sometimes our brains stop working because they’re tired and overworked. We’ve pushed them to the breaking point, and they need time to recuperate. Take a well-deserved rest. Go for a walk, grab some drinks with friends, just live your life for a week (or however long you need) and just watch. Once your brain has rested, those ideas will start to formulate once again.

2. Treat Yourself.

This one is a little different to the one above. This technique is where you push through, force yourself to sit down and write as you would when the inspiration is hitting - but you do it with treats. Have you been eyeing that ice cream sandwich? Now is the time to pull it out. Once you’ve sat at your desk, opened that manuscript - you take a bite. Isn’t that lovely? Now write a word and take another bite. Keep that joy coming. 

The only thing with this is that the treat can not be had at any other time. Only when we write. We are Pavloving this one! And soon you’ll be racing to get to your desk because it’s filling you with joy. 

3. Set A Timer. 

This one's a fun one. You set a time for five minutes, and you have to keep writing until the timer goes off. If you’re having a hard time, it’s only five minutes of brain power to use. Write any silly words that come to your head and hope they make a story. But it doesn’t matter if they're trash because five minutes of work is an easy edit.

If this helps with your productivity and motivation, set the timer again! There’s no limit. And there’s nothing wrong with just five minutes. 

4. Focus On A Different Area Of Writing. 

That scene just isn’t coming to you. You thought you had this brilliant idea, and now you’ve hit a wall. There is no way out for the characters, and nothing you can do about it. 

Focus on something else. 

Write a short story. Get out that dusty ol’ blog. Start journaling about how you’re having a hard time writing. Get on Reddit, or start commenting on my blog (hehe). Produce some words. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with your manuscript. 

5. Write One Word.

And be done. 

Sometimes we have days when none of these techniques will work. The treats don’t help, the break went too long, the timer only made things work, and you have nothing else to work on. 

In this case, open your manuscript, write one word - this could be ‘and’, ‘then’, ‘she’, ‘eh’, anything. Then close your laptop and walk away from it. Done. 

Sometimes this is all we can do, and that’s okay. 

Writer's Block is a terrible thing to walk in your path, but inevitably will walk through all of our lives at least 100 times per manuscript. I know there are days when I don’t know why I’m doing this. I feel like the words coming out are stiff and only ruin the page. These days are when I use these techniques - so I can get back to having my fingers fly across the keyboard. 

What’s your favourite way to get past Writer’s Block?