I usually have multiple writing projects on my desk at any given time. While it can get confusing at times, I’ve been lucky not to have confused the subjects. This week I’ve had articles about a new car unveiling, a guest blog post promoting my books, an article about EMS, work on my new novel (a murder mystery), and this post about writer’s block. As hectic as these different projects may be, the variety of subjects also is a huge deterrent to that dreaded writer’s block paralysis.
Fortunately I have never (yet) suffered from writer’s block and as much as I would love to claim ”I am just that good”, the truth is that I’ve learned some tricks to avoid it. Multiple writing projects is my first and favorite method to keep writing. If I feel at a loss for words on what I am working on, I switch gears so to speak and write on another topic. Compare it to doing exercises, once you get that burn going, keep it constant.
There are several other methods that I’ve used or heard my writer friends talk about. First of all, relax. The harder you try to come up with words to and the record, the more you will panic and the harder it will be for you to let those words flow. Multiple projects do not need to be all for work, sometimes it’s a letter to your great aunt Fannie, a menu you are planning for a party, or a romantic poem about your honey. The key is to divert your attention from the project.
Read a book – don’t worry that the story idea will overshadow yours – reading gets your imagination going and may spark your brain into making words. Listen to music and just like you let your body move to the rhythm, let our brain “feel” the music. Play a word game , that’s easy especially if your do your writing on a computer. Get away from your writing for a short while, take a walk, call a friend, and just relax.
Having a special writing spot will help you get in the right place to do your writing. Some writers also set aside a specific time to write. Having a pattern will train your creativity to come to work on command. Just free write if necessary, write any word that comes to mind even if you later decide that most of them will go in the garbage. Remember, if you toss 75 words out of every 100 you write, you are still left with 25.
Writing exercise: - Write any 10 words on a paper – you can choose them randomly from a book or they can be every other word from any random conversation. Use the first word in a sentence. Use the second word in a sentence that continues the same thought/story as the first sentence. Do this with each word until you have a 10-sentence “story”.
Writing prompt: Write down every emotion that you can remember feeling over the last 24-hours. Assign a color to each one of those emotions
