All writers encounter Writer’s Block now and then; in order to
meet our deadlines it’s important to get past whatever is blocking you. It
seems the harder we try to write when we are blocked, the further away we get
from doing just that.
Writer’s block can happen for a
variety of reasons. You might be distracted or overwhelmed by things going on
around you. You might feel blocked when you are overtired or undernourished. If
you thought you were superhuman you might have overcommitted yourself, or you
might have procrastinated and the deadline is looming over you. Sometimes if
you can reason out what is causing an instance of writer’s block you can do a better
job of preventing it happening again. Cut down the distractions, get enough
rest and take care of yourself, and be realistic and disciplined.
There are several techniques
experienced writers use when they need to recharge and break through whatever
is blocking their writing. Some of the recommendations include taking a walk,
reading a book, freewriting, singing or dancing to music, and changing your
environment. Do not simply wait until you are over the writer’s block (without
trying anything) before you try writing again. And don’t feel sad for yourself
and use writer’s block as an excuse why you aren’t writing.
I play computer games, specifically
games that require some kind of strategy like Sudoko (my favorite), solitaire
or computer chess. Depending on the length of the game I limit myself to one to
three games and then it’s back to work. Another trick I use, since I am often
working on multiple projects, is to change what I am working on. Somehow when I
get those brain waves rolling again, I can to get back to the business of
writing. Writer’s block is like getting a muscle cramp — if you don’t work it
out the muscle just stays tight and it hurts like heck.
To simplify things, you get over
writer’s block by getting those words down on paper.
Writing Exercise: Pretend that you have a picture of the ideal
writing space, one that you think would work the best for you. Write a paragraph
of advertising copy that would sell that particular writing space to a busy
writer.
Writing Prompt: Make a list of your ten most recent writing
distractions; can you think of a way to eliminate or work around those distractions.
Challenge Assignment: Pick up a magazine and read any article, then
put the magazine down. Re-write the article FROM MEMORY and write it without
repeating the words you read. Do NOT go back to read the original article until
you are done to make sure you remembered the facts correctly. Do this with
multiple articles if you want to.
