9 Ways To Overcome Writer’s Block in 15 Minutes Or Less
If you are experiencing writer’s block just the idea of sitting down to look at your story can feel like a waste of time. You can start to dread doing it and end up avoiding your writing all together.
The best strategy many people have is just hoping for inspiration to strike. But, what if it doesn’t? How do you get back to writing your story? Many writer’s just shelf it and move on, but never go back.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to overcome the frustration that comes with experiencing writer’s block. All you need is a path that helps you to get started and you’ll find that the rest falls into place.
Writer's Block is Actually Easy to Overcome
One way or another, you simply need to find a way to start writing! So the best way to begin is to start by writing down anything you can. Going from neutral to first gear is the hardest part.
Do not allow the feeling of being blocked paralyze you. Uncomfortable feelings can convince you to do nothing at all. The only way you will be defeated by this is giving into them. You must push past the feelings and trust that the best answer to quieting them is to start writing.
These are tried and true methods on how to deal with writer’s block and overcome it. This is a battle you may have to wage many times before you have eliminated writer’s block entirely, but you can do it. Just take this advice, apply it and watch the magic happen.
Remember… Nothing you do is a waste of time so long as you are writing. Writer’s block thrives on you believing that what you are up to is useless or pointless. It knows when it has met its match.
It can appear in many ways. It may be that you mind is blank or it may be that you think everything you’ll white will be no good. It is either a totally silent voice or a very obnoxious chattering one.
If you want to deal with it apply these strategies and it should take you no longer than 15 minutes to deal with it for the day.
Strategy #1:
Outline Your Reasons for Why You Are Writing
A big reason why writer’s block pops up is because you don’t know why you are writing in the first place. You may think you know why you are writing, but there is a good chance that you are unclear or misdirected about it. So you need to check it.
The reason you may be “trying” to write or “wanting” to write, but not actually writing is because you are doing it out of an obligation. You may be writing because you need to hit your quota of word, pages of whatever else.
These are not good reasons to write. If you try to write this way it will work some of the time, but other times it will just let you down. You get blocked by doing this because it’s uninspired writing that is being done for the wrong reasons.
Ask yourself why you are writing, or why you want to be writing… Now write that down. There is no wrong answer as long as you are writing it out. First you need to see what you are putting on the page so you can assess yourself honestly.
If the first reasons you write are things like “because I said I would”, “because this script is due”, or “because I haven’t written in a while and I need to”… Then you need to go deeper with your reasons for writing. You need to change gears.
What you got to do is find an inspired reason for writing that feels purposeful and motivating. You need to find a reason that makes you “want” to act, instead of “have” to act. You need to find a reason that does not obligate you to write.
This can be done by simply looking at what you are trying to write and focusing on what you like about writing it. Focus on why you want to write this particular thing, why it will be good and what it will do when it is done.
If you get connected to the joyful experience part of writing the words will come easily. All you have to do is get your head away from obligatory thinking patterns. You need to readjust and focus why you want to write this.
If you get connected to your purpose and find your joy in what you are doing the blocks will clear away. They have no reason to stop you anymore and even if you were blocked, you’ll now find it fun to figure out how to overcome those obstacles.
Removing writer’s block is a change in your mindset. When you make writing fun it becomes easy. When you make writing painful it becomes difficult to do. So tap into you deeper reasons for why you are writing and find your purpose in the work.
Strategy #2:
Face Your Beast (Doubts/Fears) Head On
In your head there can be a thought, a voice, something, and all it does is cast doubt upon you. It tells you things like you are not good enough, that you are being foolish, that writing is pointless and it will get you nowhere.
This voice can say all the worst things you can imagine because it knows all your fears. How? Because it is literally your fear talking to you. It is your parent’s fear, everyone’s fear that you have taken on incarnated in your mind.
The only way it has power is if you try to pretend it isn’t there at all. It wants you to ignore it because when you do it is winning. The only way to defeat such an insidious force is to face it head on, confront it and fully expose it.
So how do you do that? Well you sit down and write out on a page everything it says. Get it all out and don’t stop until every last bit of it has been exposed. Once you write it all out some truly beautiful things will begin to happen for you.
One thing is you will feel a massive cathartic release from doing this because you will have just let it all out. You will have purged all these toxic thoughts and feelings out of your body and onto the page. This will feel so good to be relieved.
Another thing is you will be able to see all these thoughts for what they are because they will be locked into a written word document. They are not foggy ideas anymore, now they are clear as day. This is good because you’ll see how ridiculous they are.
Fear does not want to be exposed because if we look directly at it it dies. Fear only has power over you if you run and hide from it. But if you face it, it will disappear. That is because the fear is not real, you made it all up.
So this is called “writing out the beast”. You get it all out on the page, every last bit of it, and then you take a cold hard look at it. Once you do you will begin to see it is not that scary and most of it you don’t truly believe anyway.
Writer’s block disappears often with the fear so all you have to do is check if that is the cause of your block. If you do this exercise daily for a couple weeks you may never be blocked by fear in your writing again because this eradicates it.
Imagine being a fearless writer who was in touch with their once greatest fears because they faced them down. What do you think you’d be capable of if you removed all the doubts inside of your mind? Write out the beast wether you are blocked on not.
Every writer or artist could benefit from this strategy if they are willing to face their demons. It may seem uncomfortable to do, but just try it and see what happens. You may find that it frees you in a way you never knew possible for yourself.
Strategy #3:
Create the Space for More Brainstorming
You know what makes writing fun? Brainstorming ideas! It’s great because all you need to do is throw down as many ideas as you possibly can and the best part if the majority of them don’t even have to work. All you are doing is creating options.
Every once in a while writer’s block comes up because you feel like you are totally out of ideas. The truth is you are likely full of ideas you just don’t like any of the ones that are coming to mind right now. Either way, this is a real win.
If you got a whole lot of ideas that won’t work and you think are no good? Great! Write them all down so you can cross them out. Each one you write down and cross out will feel like a little victory and the process will get you going.
One thing that can be fun to do is to make a list because it is just so easy to do. You just throw down items and each one in a new and different path when it comes to options for telling your story. Each option gives more ways to do the same thing.
Sure, a lot of the options will never work, but every once in a while they will mine out gold where you never expected. By putting down the bad ideas you might actually discover after writing some of them they are not bad ideas at all.
If you mine gold out of a suspected bad idea you may actually find a way to do something totally original because every other writer just counted it out in their head first. Since you wrote it down you though more critically about it.
The other little wonder that can happen from brainstorming ideas and writing them all down is that given enough time you will find a good one. It only takes one good idea to inspire many others. Once you start you suddenly get momentum.
The thing about writer’s block is it wants you to stay in your head and not do anything with it. It is a voice that does not like to be spoken out loud or written down because when it is it gets exposed for how ridiculous it is.
Brainstorming is an often overlooked strategy for writers who work alone, but there is no reason why you cannot be your own sounding wall. The blank page can be that for you. Sometimes just speaking out your ideas will be enough in a pinch.
Don’t be scared to talk to yourself or write down a bad idea as an option. Nobody sees this work in the end result, but it is a part of the creative process. Embrace it, don’t fight it. Allow yourself the room to create without tearing ideas down.
Strategy #4:
Write Out the Bad Ideas that Won't Work at All
This is similar to writing out all your ideas, but in this case you are focused primarily on cutting out options. From time to time you will be blocked as a writer not because of the lack of options, but because you have to many to choose from.
By figuring out what won’t work you narrow down what will. You may not know the answer of where to go or what to write next until you figure out what not to do. There is something super liberating in the ability to say no to something.
Creativity works in funny ways. Sometimes it does not flow at all and other times it floods your mind. You are the one that decides what to do with it and where you will put it. By writing out what won’t work you balance out the flow.
Part of being in flow as a writer is feeling like all the ideas you have are just working, one after the other, without any interruptions. You have total confidence in the moment that you are working with something that really does work.
Part of building that flow state as a writer is about clearing out the gunk that clogs up your mind. If you are not focused and clear on what to do you may hit overwhelm because there are too many ways to go and none of them are obvious.
This strategy gets you to think and it gets you to start making decisions. Decisions put you into action and when you are making them you are making progress. When you are in decision mode you are moving and getting things done.
Writer’s block wants you to stand still, to be on the fence, paralyzed and stuck. The best way to rip away it’s power is to make a choice. Sometimes that choice is where not to go before you decide where to go. Own that you are in charge here.
Be a powerful writer. Be a person who can say no as much as you have the ability to say yes. You face the blank page and it is up to you to decide what goes where. You also get to decide when something gets optioned out of the process as well.
You can do this strategy in many ways. One way is to simply write out a list of things that will not work, another is to free form write and just spill out a flow of conciseness. There is not right or wrong way so long as you are writing.
When you don’t know what toy write or you have to many options to write about this is a great strategy to use. It is another weapon in your arsenal to obliterate writer’s block and not be subjected to doubt, fear or overwhelm.
Strategy #5:
Journal About Yourself & Your Life to Check In
Journaling is a front door entrance into writer’s block because your life is a never ending story. It is something you can investigate until the end of time because you know it intimately and everything that happens in your life matters to you.
If you don’t think this is true just consider how many personal stories you don’t tell other people about because you are sure they wouldn’t care. You spare them the details and cut to the interesting moments because you want their attention.
When you are living thought your attention is always either on yourself or on what you are doing. Every little thing matters to you. When you sat down and watched TV for hours eating chips that still mattered because you were there doing it.
The point is journaling is an opportunity to write about the mundane part of life. It is a chance to investigate what is often overlooked because it’s otherwise considered boring. When you journal about it though you may realize there is more to it.
The other option with journaling is not just writing about what is happening in your life right now, you can also write about your past or your future. You can rehash memories or wonder about the future. It’s an open forum that’s all for you.
Journaling is a great way to get yourself writing because it is a free form way to get yourself in the momentum of writing. There are no right or wrong answers with journaling so you can take your guard down and just allow yourself to go.
A law in physical is that something in motion tends to stay in motion. Well, journaling gets you in the motion of writing and it is a very easy first step to switch from neutral to first gear. Once you get going you can transfer to other things.
Journaling is the gateway to writing in many ways. It is a place to start that leads you to more. With journaling the idea usually is that you are writing just for yourself, not for other’s to see so there is a freedom of judgement that comes with it.
Writer’s block hides in the fear of judgement. Often you will not write because you think what you will write will be judged as bad. It is very common that writer’s hold off on creating because there is always more to do first to assure quality.
The bonus of journaling is not only do you get yourself in motion, but you get the “burning” bits out first. Then once the mundane is established you are free to push yourself towards bigger ideas. Try it, you might just be amazed with the results.
Strategy #6:
Simply Lay Out All Your Thoughts & Feelings
Writer’s block has no chance if you are willing to go towards your feelings instead of running from them. We naturally run from feelings that we don’t like and that is exactly where doubt likes to hide… Where we are unwilling to look.
How does having writer’s block feel? It sucks right! The very feeling of having it is enough to make you want to do something else. The feeling gets you to not only avoid writing, it gets you to do other activities just to feel better.
If you want to be a master writer master your feelings. You got to embrace the good, the bad and the ugly so to speak. If you do this well there will eventually be no “bad or ugly” feelings, they will just be different colours to work with.
Felling down, feeling blue? This can stop you from writing because you are sad and it does not always feel great to write in this place. The trouble is if you don’t write you miss a great opportunity to access a rare part of yourself.
It doesn’t matter if you are sad, angry, happy or anything else, a great way to start writing is to begin by writing down how you feel and why. As you get your feelings out you not only become aware of them, you free yourself from them.
Anything you do to start writing is a win and this can be a great access point because when you are done it you will be in touch with yourself. You may even get more in touch with your characters and where they are emotionally in the scenes.
Further, but being emotionally aware of yourself you may be able to be more sensitive to how the audience may feel reading your creative writing. They after all read books and go to movies for a story that will emotionally impact them in some way.
Your true currency as a writer is not just how you feel, but how you are able to make others feel with your writing. By getting in touch with how you feel you open an emotional gateway for yourself to access everyone else’s heart.
So to do this process sit down and write out how you feel. You may not be sure how you feel and at first you may be wrong about it, but investigate it and look into it. If you knock on the door long enough it will open and you’ll see what’s there.
This is a great way to emotional unblock yourself, but it is also a great way to unleash yourself too. You don’t have to be blocked to do this practice, in fact you may just incorporate it into your writing ever time you get to work.
Strategy #7:
Go for a Walk & Talk it Out Loud with Yourself
Sometimes it’s not about writing, it’s about getting away from writing so that you can write. Going for a walk gets your body moving and that allows you to access more of your brain. When you really get stuck this can be the best strategy of all.
When you talk to yourself you make more of an impact with your thoughts as well because you begin to do something with your ideas. The only thing better than a thought is a thought in action. Talking it out is a great way to materialize your thoughts.
When you combine walking and talking to your creative process you may look like a crazy person to onlookers, but you just unlocked a powerful method of creativity. Who really cares if they think you are crazy, the best writers own it.
Being creative is not about fitting in anyway, it isn’t about standing out either though. What it’s about is bring your own vision to life. It is yours and it is unlike anyone else’s so there is no need for you to be “normal” when you access it.
A lot of writers are willing to go for a walk and think because that is very unassuming to onlookers. They can get away with creative walks as long as they stay quiet because nobody will suspect a thing. Fitting in has killed many dreams.
Talking to yourself when you are alone can be hard enough for some people, let alone doing it in public. It is just not usually a socially acceptable thing in our culture. For some reason we have developed a society that is judgemental of it.
The question is would you rather be blocked so that you can fit in and be accepted, or would you rather find flow and be judged for it? If you want to be a creative writer then choose the latter. Life is short so you may as well get the most out of it.
If you are a brave soul who is willing to go on walks and talk to yourself you don’t have to go to the most public places. Choose to go to areas where you can get some space to yourself so that you are free from onlookers and eavesdroppers.
Also, just because you are creatively liberated doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want wherever you want. Be mindful not to disturb other people just because you don’t care what they think. Be considerate of others whenever you can.
So for example, don’t go to a library or a coffee shop and start walking around talking to yourself while others are sitting quietly working. Walking and talking to yourself may be a a part of your new creative process, but apply it with care.
Strategy #8:
Try Changing Your Writing Environment
Sometimes the environment is all wrong for writing and you may need to get sensitive to this. Some people work best alone, others find they flourish in busy places. Others like it to be quiet, while some prefer a light cacophony of sound around them.
If you get blocked writing alone in your place go out to a coffee shop, a library or maybe even a park. Sometimes the change in location can get you out of a rut and spark something inside yourself. Make note as to what works best for you.
There is no single way to write, no copy-paste method to where go or what it should be like. It is one of those things that is up to you to determine. You’ll find it by trial and error and the best way to do that is change it up a lot at first.
Also consider that where you write may change depending upon what you are writing. Sometimes the kind of creativity you are calling out of yourself will require a different location. This may surprise you and get you to change what works.
One script I was writing was about an undercover cop who felt very alone in the world. To really get into his psyche I would go to a busy bar and write, not talking to anyone, just sitting alone and really feeling out of place. It worked wonders.
When there is no flow change is good. Sometimes a block just comes from doing the same thing over and over again until the routine gets boring. Sometimes the same place can begin to cause you to become uninspired and caught in a rut.
People naturally resist change because they would rather do what they know and expect, rather than risk surprise and possible disappointment. People tend to be risk adverse so it is natural to stay stuck somewhere out of it being comfortable and usual.
You got to identify your patterns and break them every now and then. If you always do your writing at a specific place, around a certain time then challenge yourself to try something else. It may work where you are, but change could lead to something better.
Embrace change in all forms when you are blocked. Anything you do differently may be all you need to open the flood gates to creativity. Change can open your eyes to new things, offer new stimulus and spark unexpected inspirations.
Being blocked as a writer is a product of being stagnant. If you are stuck you will stay stuck, unless you do something about it. The best way to shift gears is to change position, perspective and method of approach. Pivot yourself to do this.
Strategy #9:
Give Yourself the Room to Write Something Bad
Eventually doing anything but writing the actual content you are setting out to write can become a problem in itself. All these strategies are aimed at getting you to start writing by clearing out all the blocks in various ways, but then you got to create.
There is a good chance writer’s block comes up because you think that what you will write or are writing is crap. You don’t like it and it bothers you so you decide to stop and wait until you feel like you can do something worth while.
Can you relate to this? Many writers struggle with creating content that they feel is crap so they devise all sorts of ways to assure they won’t do it. They read books on writing, do courses, anything they can, all just to avoid crap writing.
Now there is no problem with reading books and doing classes on writing, in fact you definitely will benefit from them, but they are not permission to not write. If you want to get real value out of them you should be writing content as you do them.
One of the great ways writer’s block forms is by writers convincing themselves it’s better to wait to write. They convince themselves that it is better to learn everything they can first before they waste their time doing something crappy.
The trouble with this method is that there is always more to learn, in fact it is a never ending process. Even the top writer’s who work professionally are still learning and getting better every single day. Writing is a lifestyle, not a destination.
If you want to face writer’s block head on start writing content and allow yourself to be okay with creating something that is crap. First, you learn from it and you can get better. Second, it may not be as bad as you think it it.
Writing crappy work is extremely liberating because you free yourself of judgement and allow yourself to get into flow. It can even be a lot of fun if you try to write something that you are sure is no good at all. You get it all out of your system.
What is really funny about this process is sometimes you may find that the worst writing you do is actually the best because your gage for measuring it was not very good. You may have just been feeling vulnerable and judgmental when you wrote it.
So liberate yourself and write something terrible. Have some fun with it and accept this as a part of the writing process. You will learn and grow as you do it. Remember, you can always scrap it and entirely rewrite it later if need be.
If You Are Experiencing Writer's Block, Don't Judge Yourself So Much
There is no reason to excuse yourself for writer’s block because there are so many ways to deal with it. They may not be the most direct methods of getting work done, but they will clear the path for you so that you can actually work.
Sometimes as a writer you are just going to have things that are in your way. These need to be removed and that is what these strategies will do. Sometimes you will feel like the creative well is empty. These strategies will fill it up.
The key is to not make excuses. Being a professional writer is about sitting down to write even when you don’t want to do it. Let’s face it, if you do it enough there are going to be days where you are not going to feel like writing – so what!?
Not writing is not always an option. It can sometimes be what you need, but most often it is the last thing you should do. In many cases taking the day off is just a cop-out on your responsibility to actually face the blank page.
So apply each and every one of these strategies if necessary one after the other until you get yourself into flow. If you put in five minutes to any one of them that should be enough, but if you are having a resistant day do 15 minutes in any combination.
No matter what it is about finding your path through the chatter or emptiness of your creativity and taking charge. When you make the decision that you are in control the mind and body will follow, it just may not do it immediately.
