How To Beat Writer's Block
[ 15 October 2008 ]
The most common piece of advice for anyone suffering writer’s block is “just write”. Of course, this is an excellent suggestion, because what you need is to get your flair back. So “just write” is all very well & good, but sometimes we need more prompting, more pushing, something bolder. How can you “just write” when you feel bored, frustrated & uninspired? Here are my suggestions for getting the better of the thing all writers dread.
Listen to yourself
Yes, this is the first thing. Listen to what your brain & body are telling you! Maybe getting writer’s block is your body’s way of saying, “Hey, chill out!”. Maybe you just want a break, & cutting off the creative flow is the only way your body knows how to get that message to you. If that’s the case, then for god’s sake, be good to yourself! Stop drumming your pencil against the table, get up out of your chair, & do something else. Force yourself to relax & do something entirely unrelated. Watch a cheesy movie, make yourself an enormous feast, go to the gym or visit a friend.
Downtime is really important for everyone, but especially for creative people. If you don’t take a break, you’ll get really burned-out & find it even harder to recover! Don’t do that to yourself, it’s an ugly thing! Go & get a massage, dance around your living room, or just take a really good nap. Allow your brain time off. Okay, good.
Go for a walk
But what if you’re not really at the point of no return, & just feeling stuck? One of my immediate instincts in that situation is to leave my house. To me, it often feels like cabin fever is one of the major culprits — so I go somewhere else. Walking around the city, people-watching & window-shopping with good music in my ear is often all I need to clear my head & get back on form. I find that I’m much more inspired by an urban atmosphere than anything else, but you might get similar results from walking in the woods, along the beach or just up & down your driveway.
If just going for a walk seems a bit aimless to you, make it into a game. How many pink shoes will you see? How many David Hasselhoff lookalikes? Look at the outfits of oncoming pedestrians & think about what it is that makes their outfit work. Or just pay attention to the moment, the people around you, the slope of the sidewalk, your breath.
Write in another format
What do you normally write? Short stories? Articles? Advertising jingles? Raps? Forget about all that. Do something else. You just need to get back into your flow, & sometimes the best way to do that is to do something completely different. Write a haiku or a limerick. If you’re a journalist, write character sketches. If you’re a novelist, try writing a fabulous classified ad. Just do whatever you can to break yourself out of that loop you’re in.
Pick a strange subject to write about
It doesn’t have to be something you know a lot about — in fact, it can be helpful if it’s a topic about which you’re mostly in the dark. Just use your imagination! Write about taxidermy, the best ways to seduce a married man, hats in the 1920s, someone called Esmeralda who sleeps on an oriental rug & collects books on medical abnormalities. Whatever you like. The only rules are that you challenge yourself & you pick a subject that is fun to you.
Write from someone else’s perspective
You can still use your own voice, though you don’t have to. But switch up your viewpoint. If you’re a guy, write as a woman. Write as someone who has different views on politics or religion as you. Scribble down a few words as if you were your best friend, or Karl Lagerfeld, or Kathleen Hanna. Don’t judge what you’re putting down on paper, just allow it to come out. Let the character develop & evolve before you. See what happens.
Write as if you’re in your favourite city
If you don’t have a favourite city, invent one, or pick one at random! Read up on it briefly on Wikipedia, then start describing it. How do the streets smell? What do the people look like? How does it sound? Is it warm or cold? If you were walking down the road, what would you be eating? Where would you be going? Remember that you don’t have to be realistic — you could be walking down the street eating an ice-cream the size of your head while wearing a hat made from bear-skin, a pair of moonboots & holding the hand of your shiny robot boyfriend!
Use something else to write with
If you always write on your computer, grab a pen or pencil. Try using a typewriter, a paintbrush, a crayon, tomato sauce. The whole idea is to break you out of your funk & start having fun, so if you want to put a whiteboard pen between your teeth & write on the window, you definitely should.
Write a letter
Writing into the emptiness can feel a little weird sometimes, so try addressing it to someone. You could write about what you’ve been doing, apologise for something or make it up entirely. Pretend to be a 70 year old woman who sleds across the Antarctic every year, & write an account of your most recent adventures to your nervous daughter who lives in Australia. Alternatively, don’t even start off “Dear ____” — just have a person in mind as you’re writing.
Call someone & explain your writer’s block to them in extravagant, painful detail
Just what it says. Go nuts on it. If you can’t find anyone who wants to listen — which could happen, because who really wants to listen to that? — leave yourself a rabid voicemail. Play it back to yourself & laugh, breathe, remember that if writer’s block is your biggest problem right now, you’re doing okay.
Document the moment by taking photos of yourself as a tortured-looking artiste
Oh come on — you might as well have fun with it. Rim your eyes in black, muss up your hair, pout & set the auto-timer. Add an unlit cigarette & beret to the scene to up the über-pretentious ante!
Throw a tantrum
Scream. Writhe. Wriggle violently. Thrash around. Bite things. Stub your toe by accident. Really bring yourself into the present moment by being completely ridiculous. Then stand up, brush yourself off, & scribble an ode to writer’s block.
Put on bold streaks of warpaint & shock the locals
Go on… Live a little.
Fill your brain with inspiration
Do something that sparks you creatively. Watch a horror movie, do ballet, go & rummage in an antique store, whatever. Obviously, this will be different for everyone, but I often find that buying a huge stack of glossy, foreign fashion magazines works wonders for me. I lug them home, sit on my couch cross-legged, & start flicking through. Pretty quickly, usually, mostly just looking at the pictures. Then (& I know some people can’t stomach this idea) I bend the spine & tear out the pages which speak to me. If you want to put them all up somewhere, grab a piece of string, tie either end to your wall, & peg up the pictures you like the most. It’s the world’s cheapest (& fastest) way of displaying images, & I love the way it looks. Totally unfussy, easy to change & insanely inexpensive.
Listen to your favourite lyrics or read a passage from your favourite book
If you’re having trouble inspiring yourself, go back to the things that you know work for you. Put on a piece of your favourite music or read a couple of pages from one of your favourite books. Don’t feel the need to then jump up & spring into action, just appreciate it & let it soak into your skin. Think about it, analyse it, digest & enjoy it. Then do whatever you feel like.
Change your environment
Sometimes it helps just to try writing in another place. You might want to shift to another couch or chair, try lying on your bed, or stand up at the kitchen bench with a pen in hand. If that doesn’t work, take it a step further & leave the house. Go & write in a park, a pizza shop, standing up in the produce section of your supermarket or on the steps of a church. If the weather is awful but you still feel like have cabin fever, clean up your immediate area. I know I always write much better when I’m not being stared in the face by a pile of junk! Of course, cleaning can easily turn into a procrastinatory exercise, but if you keep yourself on track, & clean with the intention of good writing, I’m sure you’ll be just fine!
Reflexology
If none of the above methods work, reflexology is my fail-safe last-ditch option — usually because the other tactics are much more simple & don’t cost any money! But when your head is really dusty & dry, when your uninspired frustration reaches critical levels, reflexology is It. It has never failed me.
When I lived in Melbourne & felt burned out or unable to write, I would go to this massage shop, lie down, & let a small Chinese man perform weird tricks on my feet. (Sometimes he sang to me at the same time.) It was often quite painful, but always worked miracles. I would feel all my crazy head fog dissipate, & I would pretty much float back up to my apartment, where all of a sudden… I could write! I could whip up fabulous articles! My lust for life came back & I felt like me again.
Reflexology is completely genius. You should try it.
What are your best tips for beating writer’s block to a bloody pulp? How do you manage to triumph over the page? Let us know!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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You know, I surprised the hell out of myself this year. I’ve always scribbled at odd bits, journalled that kind of thing. I read an article and that sparked an idea…and before I knew it, I’ve got a story of almost 10,000 words, though it’s by no means near finished. It ain’t easy trying to find time to write…a lot of the time I’ve followed your advice and scribbled on the bus. I’ve found a lot of the time I don’t write something is when I dry up. Even if it’s about what a shite day I’ve had and then I chuck it in the bin, it’s still writing.
Not sure where all this frenzied scribbled is leading. At the minute I’m scribbling for me, because it’s something I love doing and I don’t feel complete if I don’t, cheesy as that sounds. But who knows?
Anyway all of these are fantastic tips. Because there have been times when I’ve had a mega block that a stick of dynamite up the backside wouldn’t clear. But I’ll print these off so I have them as a handy reference for the future. Tnanks.
I tend to write best at night for some strange reason. I think that’s when my imagination gets the best of me. When I’m slightly tired but not ready to go to sleep yet.
write a letter is a really great tip. it’s theraputic for multiple things, including writers block.
i write letters when i’m really angry, but then tear them up. i write to myself when i’m disappointed. i write to famous people i’ve never met, to dead people, even to animals, as if i can actually communicate with them. sometimes it’s easier to express yourself in formal letters, than in casual conversation.
and using a different tool to write with is helpful as well. mix it up! sidewalk chalk is a really great one! :]
You’re such an inspirational person. I love all of these tips and plan on using them.
BEST POST EVER – besides the wardrobe makeover!!
Stuck on a novel – write a poem – stuck on a poem – write an article – as long as you are writing something it means you are a writer.
most people tend to get stuck down on the idea that they have to pen out that novel before date X or else and if they aren’t writing that novel they aren’t a writer…well hey even if you write a short story – you still wrote right?
;)
best advice is to be dramatic in your own life – not over the top so people can’t stand you – no just dramatic enough that things happen that spark something in your brain and get idea’s flowing.
Love always
Sx.
you really are such a creative person Gala! I am in the midst of essay time and am working on a 6500 word piece that I have been dreading all semester. it’s helped me to really stop and think about how much I have already achieved this year in my essays, the good marks that I’ve gotten and the pieces I’ve been happy with. it’s motivating to know that I can actually do good work, and when I sit down next at my desk to write some more, I feel good about being there.
I’m sending this to all my writer friends :)
This is such a cool article! I love it! I took it as being about dealing with burnout and lack of motivation, rather than specifically writer’s block, since I don’t really write anything much beyond comments on people’s websites. ;)
(That warpaint photo is crazytastic! And I have always wanted to try reflexology . . )
Ohhh I love reflexology! so much. It’s so relaxing, I wish I had my own personal reflexologist..hummm
xx
Thank you so much!
I really needed this today…Gala, you are a wee bit magic!
oh, gala: thank you times a bazillion :D
Oooh! Well, I get painter’s block instead of writer’s, but many of my solutions are the same- especially cleaning. I can’t think at all in a messy environment. But my favorite way to create is quite messy. When I am feeling bummed, I haul out all of my art supplies, lie them on the floor, + pick them up at random + doodle on a piece of paper tacked to my board. Even if it isn’t very clear, at least it is colorful!
Also, I like to catalogue all of my possesions- I make myself draw all of my shoes, or all the junk on my desk, or all of my teacups… you get the idea. :)
fantastico post, gala! bravo :)
Ooh this was epic. I’m actually stuck on an ESSAY at the moment (as awful as it is) that was due, oh, you know, two days ago..
I tried to do pretty much everything under the sun a couple days ago to get fired up to write this baby. Nothing worked, my procrastination skills kicked an all time high, and I ended up pretty much freaking out. End of semester uni – joy!
Then I talked to my mum on the phone for about an hour (despite her having laryngitis.. mostly she just listened to me!) describing my situation, what I needed to do, and all the stuff I had been researching for said essay. With a few croaky barely audible words of encouragement and suggestion, I was back on track.
I have similar problems when I’m writing fiction; these sound like awesomely fun tricks to try. Thanks Gala :)
I like to listen to music especially classical. Something about piano keys just does it for me…and if I want to mix it up, I’ll listen to a piece of music that a friend really likes. It definitely helps to see something in a new light.
I like writing letters too. I often write letters such as “Dear Universe” or “Dear Life”. It’s also really good when I’m angry (the Universe has many such letters addressed to it often starting with “Dear Universe, I hate you.”)
Also, dancing to really loud music helps me…. again, also good for when I’m angry. Hmm, curious.
Reflexology sounds so cool, I havn’t really heard of it before now.
I don’t really write but I can understand artist’s block. I normally just chuck (literally) paint onto a page and smudge it around fingerpaint style and see what happens. Or I will go down the road for a coffee, generally leaving the house or doing something different clears my head and I will be inspired to do stuff again.
Oh and I have an ‘inspiration folder’ filled with doodles or pictures printed off the computor, ripped from magazines, photocopied from books etc..
Listen to different music genres than normal can get the creative juices flowing too…
I really liked some of the suggestions and some of them I do already, like using something else to write, listening to songs with lyrics you like and reading a favourite passage. sometimes i like to put on a different persona. for a reflective piece we had to do early this year, i had problems starting it, so i decided to put on a writer persona, like ewan mcgregor’s character in moulin rouge. i used a typewriter like font and typed down my thoughts and emotions.
Miss Gala, I’d say the same principles apply to drawer’s block, too. Sometimes you sit down to draw and your brain becomes jell-o, and your hand becomes a spoon stuck in jell-o that can’t make anything look good. I’m gonna to bookmark these for the next time I get stuck!
Wonderful tips, and wonderfully written, as usual.
I’m there with you on the walking tip. I get my best ideas on walks. The problem is how to retain the thoughts and witty turns of phrase one comes up with and carry them back to the desk in one piece. I haven’t haven’t yet mastered writing and walking simultaneously.
More than happy to help, beautiful girls!
Becky Lou — You should take a dictaphone with you. It will change your life!
You’ve worked hard on this! I like it, thanks galabunny! It’s so good to have some options in bulleted lists, I’m gonna write these down in my mole.es.kin & learn something from it! Muach!
o.O This is like a capsule with my whole blog in it!
i want a shiny robot boyfriend! hehehe
To me, writing is very similar to songwriting. You produce something out of nothing – or so it would seem. In reality, you are merely converting events and experiences of your own life into a song, a poem, an article. But it sure feels f*ckin’ miraculous!
One thing that I can’t stand is an ‘objectivity crisis’. When you feel that everything’s been said, no point is worth proving as there is always evidence to the contrary. You cannot possibly have and express a point when you’re trying to be 100% objective. An artist always feels passionate about something, right or wrong.
unzippedkitty made a point that I couldn’t agree more with: be dramatic! React and be reacted to! Good luck writing! :)
I look forward to writing a fabulous classified ad about Karl Lagerfeld having medical abnormalities in tomato sauce on the window, hopefully while my shiny robot boyfriend makes me an enormous feast & keeps an eye out for any David Hasselhoff lookalikes!
Great piece Gala :)
I’m printing this out and posting it over my desk at home. A bevvy of fantastic suggestions.
OMG – I cannot believe this! I knew I should have checked here last night!
Basically last night I had a slight fit and then a small breakdown because writer’s block sucks, and I wrote one tiny paragraph and then it set in. D: And this from me who has been known to churn out ridiculous quantities of text (I ought to be paid by the word – sadly, it’s all private).
So thank you so much! I’m going to try some of these things and see if there’s any improvement!
Hiya Gala!
I was perusing my iGoogle reader and stumbled across this article at PsychToday, and it made me think of your writers block post!
www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pt…
If you can get creative somewhere else, or if you can see the universe in a haiku, you’re on the right track to beating that block (whether it’s writers block/workers block/drawers block/etc)!
re: Dictaphones
If you don’t have one, or dont want to or can’t remember to carry it around, use your mobile phone to call your house phone and leave yourself an answerphone message. :)
I found keeping a ‘real’ blog with proper written articles a bit much but I wanted somewhere to quickly collect and share things that caught my attention and inspired my around the web. Now I have a new tumblr blog (http://stupiditykills.tumblr.com) which is perfect for me :)
I also make good use of favourites lists on websites such as flickr and deviantart and keep very organised bookmark folders.
“throw a tantrum”
oh boy, i love this article and especially that suggestion—i’m really good at it ;)
this semester i am taking five English classes, one of which is a graduate level course, so i am CONSTANTLY writing one paper or another. i just finished up a paper on Ben Jonson, a proposal on the affects of the internet on the English language, an essay on women in Old English Literature, and a short paper on an critique of Walt Whitman’s poetry.
and, surprisingly, i find that when i have to write all these research papers and critiques, my creative “flow” to write other things (stories, poems, what have you) becomes greatly increased, like you mentioned in the “writing in a different format” idea.
also, and i hate to promote it, but putting yourself under pressure (i.e. a nice way of saying procranstination) works very well for me.
You’ve got some very good tips Gala!
Sometimes I like to put on music and sing along for a while. Then I feel refreshed when I go back to my writing.
This is just absolutely perfect! Literally just this weekend I had Google searched ways to beat writer’s block (and came up with nothing really helpful) but this is great!
And I definitely agree with your idea of going for a walk. I always get my best ideas when I’m out walking with my MP3 player on.
C:
Thank you, Gala!
This little site was nice www.languageisavirus.com/ . It has a few fun exercises to do if you get caught in a rut. :)
this was such a cute post with great ideas! i love the color sceme of your site! =)
much love!
lacouturiernyc.wordpress.com
I use Remember the Milk to keep all my story ideas for when I have writers’ block. It also works well when I’m blogging as I can set ahead the topic of the day and then it emails it to me fresh in the morning. Almost as good as a strong coffee.
Tash — What’s Remember the Milk?!
erm… am I the only one that wants to know more about Esmeralda? :)
Hi Gala, I love your writing, I love your website. thanks for the inspiration! I’m doing my first TiLT today – great reminder to Love the life we have. Blessings.
Damn I saw this a couple of days too late, I could have used this a week ago when struggling with english coursework!
This also goes for anything else as well as artists block though, so next time I’m totally stuck with my science work, or I just can’t get muse to draw something I’ll look this up ;).
I’ve always had trouble with writers block, and this made me giggle a lot :) I love it!
ah! I love this so much! You must read my mind to always post something I have been thinking of recently! I just got back into a big writing flow. Here is how I beat the snot out of writer’s block…
I love to go to the park across the street from the art school to write, I did an entire essay there once during Irish Festival (although it wasn’t so much academic as entertaining lol). I do a lot of scheming(?) for my writing, character profiles and stuff like that, so when I get stuck, I can go back to those, find something random like the character really wants a panther as a pet or something and come up with a scene about that. Some of these don’t even go in the story, but it helps to get things flowing again. There are a ton of these on the web, from 5 questions to the longest I found was 8 pages (scary even for me). I spliced a few together and added a handful of my own questions to make mine, which I posted on my blog just a few days ago! lke I said; mind reader!
here is the link, happy plotting: aodhelind.blogspot.com/2008/10…
And I do the call a friend thing quite regularly, which is especially helpful if they are fellow writers, because they know what it feels like! They can mourn with you! That and the tantrum… although this reflexology thing sounds very interesting.
And you definitely must elaborate on Esmeralda…
Mizzzzzz Gala, thanks for the tips! Not only were they very creative, they were also reliable…you are such a prolific writer that I believe you know how to bust through any writing hindrance!
I like to save my writing ideas in my head. That way, when I sit down to write, I already have an idea (with jokes, anecdotes, etc) waiting to be written out!
Keep it up, girl!
Carla
I LOVE this.Just reading about you writing ABOUT writers block held un block my block.
Very inspiring at a time I need it, so thanks. x
Lovely post.
I like writing but I never actually get writers block. Just fatigue like after 2 hours of non stop writing I just want to drop that pen and go somewhere as far away as possible from the desk, the paper and any writing paraphernalia.
Just head OUT. After clearing my head I am all geared up to start writing again. YAY.
I can’t wait for TiLt I have sooo much to write.
:)
Hey thanks for the tips. It was an really interesting read.
www.rememberthemilk.com/
“Remember The Milk reinvents the to-do list”
You can get reminders via text, AIM, anything pretty much. It syncs with almost anything, plots points on maps you can forward tasks to other people too.
I’ve never tried it but its supposed to be really good.
Awesome ideas, but reflexology seems like total bullshit. I mean, maybe it’s relaxing (especially with him singing and all), but can that stuff be explained with science? I mean, you really think little spots on our feet correlate with every organ in your body?
Good timing as always (i’m doing NaNoWriMo next month)
Great post! A friend of mine just alerted me to your blog today, and you now have a new fan! I love what I’m reading.
As for writer’s block…I just stop until I feel like writing again. :) It’s simple, but effective. Why force something that will come when it’s ready?