Imagine the scene. You sit down to write on a typical workday. You start on your most recent project. You open Word and begin with the intention to change the world with your exciting story, blog post or article. And suddenly out of nowhere it happens. It hits you … out of the blue. You realize that even though you are overflowing with ideas, you aren’t able to write anything!
Well, writer’s block hits only the creative types. Mental blocks strike designers, authors and copywriters. They’re just part of the creative process. After decades of practice, I have developed some foolproof strategies for beating writer’s block.
Get Some Fresh Air to Beat Writer’s Block
Sometimes, working at home or office just isn’t inspiring. Staring at the walls can induce more blankness into your mind. So get outside! Move around and get some fresh air. Walk, cycle, run or jog around the block. It gets your blood flowing into the vital creative areas. You feel energized! Getting some fresh air undoubtedly helps you to re-focus.
Don’t Let Social Media Distract You
When writer’s block hits you, social media will only prolong the agony. There’s nothing more distracting than social media when you are suffering from a creative crisis. When you’re making an all-out effort to get into the creative zone, viewing a picture of what your favorite celebrity wore (or rather, didn’t) for dinner isn’t going to improve matters.
Neither is checking the number of viewers of your latest LinkedIn post going to help you. Or, does persistently refreshing your Twitter timeline improve the situation. Same with checking out the latest pins on Pinterest. Eliminate all distractions by logging out immediately.
Do Something Creative
Try stepping away from your writing and doing something that’s creative. Design images in Illustrator, write poetry, build something new in the garage, or paint pictures. Just focus your energy on anything that’s creative. Do it for a few hours or even for the whole day. Then, resume your writing. When writer’s block paralyzes me, I don’t panic. I work on my website design or check out the most popular keywords. I create raw material for my future posts.
I activate my creativity by jumping to less intimidating assignments. Exercise the creative segment of your brain by doing anything that stimulates your mind. This is the key to overcoming the challenge that writer’s block throws at you. Creative activity will galvanize you and help your mind recoup. You enter the flow of writing faster.
Know Your Most Creative Time
Every individual works differently. Whilst I enjoy working early, I tend to get bleary-eyed by 9pm. Several of my writer friends begin working at my bedtime and type away happily into the wee hours. I suggest you to find your best creative time. Schedule the most difficult projects to match with your most creative phase. You work optimally and beat writer’s block.
Try Free Writing
You must implement this exceedingly useful tool for increasing your creativity. Whether you are a fictional writer, blogger, document writer or non-fictional writer, free writing empowers you. You just write fast and continuously. Ignore punctuation errors and sentence structure errors. Write everything that flashes across your mind. Free writing not only helps you generate new ideas but also gets you unstuck. The fresh ideas you generate push you past the block.
Ideally, you should do free writing for a few minutes every day even when you’re not stuck. It enables you to get your ideas out. You can then resume writing your blog post or book. Free writing is unquestionably the best means for generating fresh ideas.
Here’s a little cheating to generate some ideas. Use a keyword research tool.
Sleep On It
Unless time and deadline constraints bother you, consider sleeping on it. A good night’s sleep will definitely lessen the intensity of your struggles. I find that completely switching off from a project genuinely helps. Who knows, you might wake up from a dream and enjoy the proverbial eureka moment! Honestly, I’ve enjoyed many! After all, everything seems easy when you’re refreshed.
Conclusion
Writer’s block does cause professional anxiety. You get frustrated too. You suffer an identity crisis and feel exasperated. But remember that only professional writers get writer’s block. Novice writers don’t. To suffer a block, you must have written extensively … already. And therein lies the answer. Follow the tips I have outlined and work yourself back to your capable self. Become more confident and enthusiastic and get back to writing.
