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Easy Ways To Break Writer’s Block

A walker on a shoreline - illustrating article about beating writer's blockWriters block can be a real nuisance to writers. Some writers believe there is no such thing as writer’s block while others struggle with it all the time. If you are struggling with the ‘block’ there are many methods you can use to beat it so don’t ever give up. Sometimes we just need to do something else for a while. Often a change in routine can help – try the following easy methods and learn what works best for you.

TRY A DATE WITH A WRITER

Try writing a note in your diary reminding you to write at a specific time of day. You could set the calendar on your computer or phone to impose some self-discipline and so you never forget.

Maybe you need to change the time of day you usually start writing. A lot of writers write in the morning but maybe that is the wrong time for you. Try sitting down to write in the evenings when you are relaxed and make a note of the times when you feel you are at your writing best.

Sometimes our homes have too many distractions. Perhaps you need to be away from the house – maybe in a quiet corner of a library or café – it certainly didn’t do J.K. Rowling any harm.

CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST 

Maybe you are the opposite – maybe your creativity is being strangled by routine and will benefit from throwing away your self-imposed structure, so in that case you could try adopting a looser approach.

Think carefully about your own routine or lack of it. Do you need to change a routine, impose a routine, or throw away your routine?

IDEAS BOOK

Again, this is simple. But how many times have you found yourself with an idea but nowhere to write it? Keep a notebook beside your bed, in your bag or pocket and always write your ideas down. You may not use any of these ideas but that doesn’t matter. One idea can lead to another and the act of writing something in your ideas book will help break that block by reminding you that no matter what you think – you can always write something down.

GET SOME CREATIVE WRITING EXERCISE

Another idea is to try set exercises. These help by taking your mind away from your problems and focusing it on something new. Many people find that writing exercises help break the tension that struggling with a story can create as well as being a great way to find new ideas to work with.

EXERCISE AND FRESH AIR

Dog walking in woodlands - illustrating an article about beating writers blockSometimes the best method we can use to overcome writer’s block is simply fresh air. A writer’s life isn’t the most healthy! We spend too much time with drooping shoulders hunched over computers and may need to take short but regular breaks. I use a Pomorodo to write in twenty-five minute blocks interspersed with five-minute breaks.

Another important thing to remember is that indoor life with its central heating and stuffy air can make us feel drowsy, unimaginative and uninspired.  I find going for a walk every day helps keep me motivated and I always take a break to walk with my dogs, Sheba, above and Eppie our young terrier.

Find an exercise you enjoy and do it regularly. I am very lucky living on Galway Bay and so there is no shortage of places to walk, but if you are living in the city you could find a park and walk there or simply walk around the streets quietly observing what you see and hear.

I can’t recommend getting out and about walking enough. It’s not just the change of scenery that helps break the block. It’s all those feel good hormones that exercising releases. Plus I find that allowing my brain to relax and rest from thinking as I exercise allows ideas to form and grow. It is amazing how a solution to some problem I have been wrestling with will suddenly arrive when I hit the road!

So don’t just sit and wait – do something – now!  In the mean time I wish you the very best of luck with your writing.

Grace

P.S. All the information and tips here are free to you and all I ask is that if you found this helpful that you like, share, or add a comment in the box.  Thanks for visiting.

 

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