10 Easy ways to overcome Writer's block
Writer's block
It has been long time since I have written a hub but that doesn’t mean I haven’t attempted one. Whenever I tried to attempt a hub, it so happened that I always ended up closing a blank worksheet or a blank paper. Somehow I felt some difficulty in expressing my thoughts, which were very clear in my mind while I was reading, researching or thinking. Every sentence I wrote was weak, obvious or boring. I first thought that “I was not in a creative state of mind, so let me try later”. But this cycle continued and never came to an end. Then finally I realized that, I was just procrastinating and not doing anything to overcome the difficulty of writing.
On seeing other hubs, I was just wondering how other hubbers write regularly. I was very much worried that I had lost the art of writing. When I was just curious to know whether other hubbers also get entangled in this kind of cycle, question from Proudmama “Writer’s block…. Help?” gave me some solace that I was not alone in the boat. The question answered my question. I asked myself, “why not write about writer’s block to remove my writer’s block?” Followed some of the steps, which helped to remove my block and would like to share it with the thought that it might be of some help to you as well.
Time for Change
I experienced the writer’s block mainly because I was revolving around the same topic. Most of my hub topics were related to Life and I was not able to come out of that circle. Everything I wrote, I was relating to Life and at one stage that made me stagnant and I was not able to think beyond. The thoughts did not flow. Whatever I wrote, (unrelated to Life) never gave me creative satisfaction. It was then I realized that its high time I start writing on different topics. Try attempting different genres, different fields of interest when you are experiencing a writing block. This will surely give a break.
Don't compare
Every writer has his own style. Enjoy your style. Don’t compare your writing or your style of writing with others. When you start comparing, you will lose your real self and will not be able to express your thoughts as you wish. Read other’s hubs, appreciate their style, but never try to adopt it. When you do that, you will lose your identity and can’t sustain for a longer time. Try to be your natural self.
Perfectionism is slow death
Don’t expect your first draft to be perfect always. Your writing can take any direction and can teach you things about the world, about yourself. Just allow yourself to be open to all possibilities, and remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Your first job is to get words down on paper. You can deal with making those words perfect later. Nobody can be perfect in the first shot. It takes time. Jot down all your thoughts that come to your mind regarding the topic. If you are a perfectionist, just don’t show your perfectionism while writing your first draft. Prepare a rough draft. You can show your perfectionism in your final draft. When you try to be perfect in your first attempt, there is a possibility that you might get blocked with a single thought making it perfect and eventually losing the other thoughts, which might add value to the topic.
Make your own rules
You are the author of your article and nobody has the right of asking you why you expressed it this way. It is your court and you can set your own rules and standards. If you can’t figure out where to start, but you have a strong idea of your ending, then write the ending first. It is usual for writers to get blocked while writing introduction, as they want to impress the readers during the start. If this happens, just continue writing the rest of the article you are sure about and you will get the introduction when you are in a flow. If you are just stuck on one part, don’t let that stop you from writing all around it.
Go Shopping
Sometimes the tendency to overthink about a thing also leads to a block. The thinking fills your head day in and day out. It crowds out your imagination, your inspiration and also your motivation. It might invade all the new ideas you may have for your writing. At these times writers need to think less and do more. Library or bookstore does not remain the key place for writers always. Just try going for shopping with a blank mind. I prefer and suggest you to go to a dollar store. You can see more things for less, which will trigger your mind sometimes. Probably you can make one great hub like "100 things you can buy for a dollar" from hubber tammyswallow when you go to a dollar store. After reading that hub my perspective about dollar stores have changed and whenever I go there I try to find something out of which I can make a hub. Try your luck you might also crack an idea for a great hub in dollar store.
Change your writing properties
I prefer pen and paper to write my rough draft rather than typing it directly in the wordpad. Keep changing your pen and the notebook that you use. That surely gives a different mood and inspiration for your writing. An ugly notebook or a small bit of paper usually does the task because when the notebook is pretty you may feel like you have to write only polished and important things in them. Your ideas keep flowing when the writing is informal. If you are using laptop, try changing different positions or locations to get new ideas.
Eat healthy, Sleep well and relax
When there is a writer’s block it is more likely that the writer tend to eat less, sleep less and always seem to be tensed. This anyway, is not going to solve the problem instead it aggravates the situation. Eating a variety of healthy food and 8 hours of good sleep lets you think more and be more creative. Relax yourself by listening to music or do exercise or go for a walk. Stay relaxed.
Play with kids
Playing with kids and speaking to them is one good exercise to relax your mind. You can get dozens of creative ideas from kids. If you are struck somewhere in the middle, just get out of your place and go watch the kids playing area. Surely, you can pick one or two great ideas from them, which will inspire you to write again.
Play word games
When you are out of stock of ideas, start playing scrabble with your partner. Playing word games will give you good ideas for writing. Try the dictionary option as well. If you do not know what to write about, take a dictionary and open it randomly. Write about the word that first captures your eyes in that page. It is fun and challenging as well.
Use writing prompts
There are many books and websites that provide writing prompts. They will help your creative minds to work. Some prompts are really silly and fun to work. Some are in depth and require some thought. Also you can try writing six word stories, 50 word stories etc. that will trigger your creativity. Some of the websites that provide writing prompts are
These are some of the ways through which you can avoid the writer’s block. But there is one essential quality that you have to acquire and can never forget in your writer’s lifetime and that is READ, READ and READ. You have to be a voracious reader to become a good writer. Writing unlike many other careers, is a labor of love. When there is love for your labor, you can easily throw away all your blocks. Keep reading! Keep writing!
One more, I forgot to add, contests also removes your block! Am I right? All the best for this month contest! Keep writing without any block and keep winning!
