DEALING WITH WRITER’S BLOCK

You stare at a blank page, your mind is tuned off, you should be writing but you feel this blockage in your thought process, your well of inspiration has run dry, whatever you try to put down sounds like your worst nightmare. You feel neither bored nor tired but you feel a dip in your creativity and time passes without any significant progress in the writing task at hand. You know what? You are experiencing writer’s block!

You are not alone, most of us have been at that place where you get stuck during the process of writing. Writer’s block is something that has been in existence since writers have been writing. No matter what you do, you cannot seem to get your writing mojo back. This can cause you frustration.

The possible reasons for writer’s block are fear, anxiety, awareness of time constraints, life pressures, sense of failure, lack of motivation etc. Whatever the reason is, the experience of writer’s block is dispiriting.  How then do you deal with this block and get back into your writing groove? Fortunately, there are a number of ways to clear the block. Here are some suggested ways to deal with this problem:

• Take a Short Trip:  you can deal with this situation by taking a short trip to see friends and loved ones. This can help you to clear your head and be refreshed. You can even draw inspiration from your new environment and be hit by a wave of ideas.
• Take a break: take short needed breaks during the writing process to help you recharge yourself. You can spend five to ten minutes staring out of the window or relaxing over a soothing music.
• Exercise: getting your body on the move increases blood flow to your brain and this has lasting effects on your cognition. This can help you acquire a fresh mental perspective and you may even get new ideas while exercising.
• Develop a writing schedule: practice makes perfect and progressive creativity is a result of constant practice. If you only write when you feel creative or inspired, you may experience writer’s block often. You need to be disciplined to develop and stick to a regular writing schedule.
• Engage in non-writing activities: an effective way to leave the writer’s block zone is to put your work aside and enjoy someone else’s. You can go to the cinema to see a movie, go for a musical concert or hangout with friends. Conversations, sounds and sceneries will give you new ideas and inspire you with fresh perspectives.
• Do not stress about perfectionism: most writers worry about whether their draft is perfect or not. As a writer, you can experience writer’s block when you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect. Do not worry about getting a perfect draft because you can always go back to it to edit and make it better.
• Clean up: believe it or not doing a little cleaning and organisation in your apartment can make you feel good mentally. Cleaning and decluttering can be relaxing and calming; it can be a perfect period for you to regroup your thoughts.

Experiencing writing block can be both frustrating and terrifying. You can just think of it as a sign that your ideas need time to marinate and get solid. The listed ways to deal with it can help you give yourself time to gather new experiences, perspectives and ideas.