Turning writer’s block into your new best friend

Some writers insist there is no such thing as writer’s block, some think it’s a real thing and something to cure or overcome, but regardless of which side you subscribe to I think every writer has experienced periods in their lives where writing was harder for some reason or other. It is a given in life that everything changes and writing isn’t the one stable thing that exists (that would make it incredibly boring).

Whether you call it writer’s block, a bad day (/week, month…), it is most likely something you have experienced (you clicked on this post). If there is something my mental health problems have taught me it is that strength is turning disadvantages into superpowers. My favorite tool for that (and everything else) is analysis. Analysis, as my teacher once so brilliantly defined, is taking something apart, looking at the pieces, and putting it back together.

So, first of all: what are we dealing with? 

Whatever you choose to call it, it is the temporary inability to write (either in the sense of getting the words on the page, finding the words, or finding out what to write about).

And next, and most importantly: why? 

I don’t believe I know or have experienced every single reason for writer’s block there is, but I am going to talk about those I have experienced, how to identify them, and what to do about them.

Speed

Sometimes in order to get it all down before we forget we can write in a frenzy, full steam ahead, no breaks. This is a great tool to use occasionally, it really gets something on the paper to be perfected later – the problem with full steam ahead is that there’s a very real possibility of running out of steam. When you are completely out (whether of energy or ideas) you have no means of getting somewhere you can refuel.

Usually, the “cure” is simply rest and time, the mind is amazing like that. A nice trick to avoid it is a piece of writing advice I came across a while ago: Always stop when you still know how to continue. In other words, of those 10 scenes you have in your head, only write nine of them (or five, or two). Knowing where to pick up and how to continue makes it easier to sit back down and write the next day, and as long as the steam never runs dry the ideas will continue to flow.

No time to rise

This is similar to the first one, but with a huge difference. Sometimes it is you who needs a rest, sometimes it is the story. It is like baking a bread: you can have all the right ingredients, you can knead it to perfection and have the nice gluten structure, but if you let it rest and rise all your hard work will be a waste. Sometimes the story needs a rest, like letting the paint dry before going to work again, or letting the computer work without pressing the button 500 times. If you can recognize when to let the project rest I promise you the story will be all the better for it.

The solution: walk away for a while. Your brain has the ability to keep working on a project even if you aren’t actively thinking about it, and most of the time the solution will come to you.

Losing the flow

One piece of writing advice I have heard over and over again is “write every day”. I get why this is repeated so often, writing really is a lot easier when you do it regularly. Sometimes, however, you lose that regularity, that easy flow of things (like if you’ve followed my advice from 2), and it can feel like catching a butterfly with your bare hands would be easier than getting back on track. I don’t have the solution for your on this one, all I have is a butterfly net to make it a little bit easier. Try switching things up. Try writing something longhand instead, or on a typewriter, in Word, on your phone; anything that will trick your brain into thinking this is new and exciting. Coincidentally I’ve found that retyping is a great tool for editing, so I do all my edits longhand now. I’m actually doing this now, all of this was written out on paper first because I needed to get back to the flow of things, and I can’t do that on a computer.

Laziness

As much as it pains me to admit, sometimes I’ve been letting a story test, or I’ve somehow gotten out of the flow of it, and my attempts to get back at it have been half-hearted. There’s only one thing here that works: Admit to yourself that you are simply being lazy and get off your a** and get to work. Now. Get out of here, off the internet and get working on that project, it won’t finish itself and the world needs to see it, see your brilliant creation. (If you got to the end of that sentence, shame on you, get to work).

Problems outside the project

Possibly the hardest to identify and rectify, but still important to acknowledge. Sometimes writer’s block is merely a symptom of something else going on in your life, and you need to fix that first. Maybe you can use the same method as I have done here: identify what it is, figure out why it is, and let those two combined make it easier to find out how to change it.

I can’t tell you how to fix it, but the important first step is recognizing that there is something that needs fixing.

So there you have it, a couple of reasons why writer’s block (or whatever you wish to call it) occurs and ways to get past it. Hopefully recognizing why you are feeling blocked instead of just trying to push through it can help you avoid detours and blind allies in your writing, and instead of being a hindrance these experiences will serve as warning signs instead and allow you to correct the mistakes before you make them. the subconscious is a strong force if you know how to listen to it.

I hope you found something useful in this, if you have any experiences I have not mentioned here please leave them in the comments.