Writer's Block

Consider yourself the luckiest writer in the universe if you’ve never experienced a moment of writer’s block.

Consider yourself fortunate if you've never experienced a moment of where do I go now? Consider yourself blessed if you've never thought, how can I tie up this loose end? Aaargh!

The most important thing to consider when faced with the dreaded writer’s block is to realize that that this is probably not the last time you’ll be stuck. Personally, I think it’s part of the writing life. Everyone gets writer’s block, even if it’s an episode that lasts only 15 minutes.

The cure? Push through.

I’m sorry if you were expecting a more brilliant answer. There are several strategies that you can use to get your creative abilities firing again, and today I will give you five of them.

1. Pray
• Keep yourself spiritually charged. I believe we’re spiritual beings, and we shouldn’t neglect our spiritual health.

2. Keep a writer’s journal.
• A journal may include memories, jokes, story ideas, writing tricks, dreams, and descriptions of people, places or situations.
• A writer’s journal may be as simple as a little notebook you carry in your purse or it could be a word document on your computer.
• Don’t get stressed about when or if you should use a writer’s journal. The idea is for the journal to help you, not make you more stressed.
• If you use an item/idea from your journal in your work, be sure to either delete it or make a note as to when/where it was used.
• Train yourself to be alert for fresh ideas when they occur, and write them down.

3. Visit a bookstore.
• Is there a writer alive who doesn’t get jazzed walking through the aisles of a bookstore?
• Pull out the books that catch your attention. Read the back cover copy. Read the first few lines.
• Think to yourself, “I can do this!”
• Go home and write.

4. Sit down and write 250 crummy words.
• Sometimes just getting started gets you in the groove.
• Don’t worry if the words aren’t pretty. You can always go back and pretty them up.

5. Invest in your health.
• Go for a walk, hop on a treadmill—just get moving. Your imagination won’t work a maximum capacity if your brain is sluggish.