Tips for Breaking down Writer's Block

We've all been there at one point or another in our writing career. We stare at the blank page, we pace, we (argh!) do housework or chores!!

So, what does writer's block mean, anyway?

Well, for some authors it could mean that it's time to give the writing a rest and let the muse take a break.

For other authors, it means you're pretty darn stuck on something and you can't figure it out. Maybe the plot is going nowhere, you can't get your characters to talk to each other or to you, or maybe they've up and left the story.

Maybe you're just waiting for inspiration to strike. Well, keep waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Writing is hard work. Really hard work, and if you think it's going to come easy to you, like a magic voice whispering the words to the next best seller in your ear, wake up. You're dreaming.  According to James V. Smith, Jr who wrote The Writer's Little Helper, "Creativity doesn't strike sparks in you like a bolt from the ionosphere. You can't expect much from wandering around idyllic settings waiting for an inspiration."

Every author is going to encounter some sort of challenge while they're writing. That's a given.

Joseph Heller said, "Every writer I know has trouble writing."

Well, Mr. Heller, you got that right. Listen to Mr. Smith who says it succinctly, "..writing does not occur by thinking about it. Writing only happens when you do it, so plant your butt in a chair and get busy."

So, how do we get past the block and get back to writing? What a great question. You, in the back, you get an extra credit for your effort.

You can go out on Amazon.com and buy all the books you can find about Writer's Block. That should take up an afternoon and use up about $100.00 on your credit card. But, it's not getting you any closer to getting over your Writer's Block.

You want answers now. Right now.  Well, here you are, tips for breaking down Writer's Block:

Copy Something. Yep, that's what I said. Find some passages that you like to read, and sit down and start typing them out on your screen or writing them on a piece of paper. Do you notice anything? Did you think the author could have structured that sentence more clearly? Could they have used another word to describe what the character was doing? Now, write it as if you were the author. Let your imagination go and change whatever you want.  Maybe you'll read along as you write and say, "Hey, the author had a great idea here, putting these thoughts into words." Maybe you'll learn something you didn't know and it'll spark something in your writing.

Write in a Journal. Put all the bits of dialogue, prose, narrative, and whatnot in your journal. Jot down conversations you overhear. Great pieces of inspiration that come to you in the middle of the night. Use your journal to take notes on a new activity or task you're learning. You never know when a character might need to know how to do something similar. Then, when you ever come to a point where you experience some kind of writer's block, you have a mine of ideas to forage through. I know, I ended that sentence with a preposition. So sue me. But, read this closely: Every idea you write down is going to spark another idea and then another. Develop that idea. Play with it. Work with it. That's how you get back to writing.

Talk About What You're Writing. Tell everyone you know you're writing a story. Tell people the subject and theme. People will want to talk to you about your story or something similar they read or heard about when they were listening to the radio or watching television. A quote or even a lead is something to go with and get back to writing.

Exercise Your Body and Your Brain. Your brain needs oxygen. Give it some. Get that body moving. If you're sitting in your desk chair, get up, do some toe touches or go for walk. Get that cardio up. Now it's time to work that brain. Do some writing exercises. Google "writing exercises" and I'm sure you'll be inundated with pages. If you're still droopy and tired, maybe you need a nap?

Organize or Re-organize Your Research Material. If you're desk looks anything like mine, you'll thank me for this tip. Some writers can be a little "too" organized, and how do you ever find anything anyway? But, that's another story. Let's do a bit or re-organization so we can actually find what we're looking for or start organizing so we can find things a little faster. Organize is whatever logical way seems right to you. Only you need to know your system, right?

Make Lists. Oh, wow. You thought you were done with lists, right? Not. Some writers are pantsers and some are outliners. (Pantsers are those writers who don't use an outline, they just start writing. The story is all in their head.) But, I digress just a bit. Think about what you want to include in your story. Use key words and write down - in list format - all the elements you want to cover in your story. Maybe you have some questions. Add them to the list.

Picture Your Reader. Do you even know who your reader is? What they like to read, and why? If you don't have a reader for your story, who is going to want to read your story? So, figure out whom you are trying to reach. Describe your reader. Imagine your reader is in your office. Ask your reader questions. What do they do for fun? for work? What would make this story important to him/her? What is your reader's education background? Are you using words too big for them to understand or too small and your reader feels as if you are talking down to him/her?

Ask Yourself One Question. Why are you writing? Do you have goals? What emotion are you trying to get out of your reader? Do you have a purpose for your story? If so, what is it?

Here it is, my last quote to inspire you:

"I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts. All right, one of them does, but we do not like her very much. We do not think she has a rich inner life or that God likes her or can even stand her."
 -- Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Now, get writing. If you have other tips for breaking through writer's block, please add them to the comments below. I'd love to know what you do to get back to writing.

References:
The Writer's Block by Jason Rekulak
The Writer's Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.
100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost


Copyright: 72soul / 123RF Stock Photo

Writing Tip - Rewriting is as Important as Writing

You've written your heart out. You poured everything you had into your writing piece; whether it be an essay, a story, a novel, or a blog post. It's your greatest achievement.

It's also a draft. That's right. A draft. Not complete.

What do I mean, you ask? It needs to sit and rest for a bit before you take another look at it and edit it.

"Oh No!" You exclaim, it's perfect as it is. You know it is.

Uh Huh. Well, let me give you a little hint. Every writer needs their work proofread. And, for the record, nothing is ever "perfect."

The great writer, John Irving said, "Revision is the soul of editing and, as a novelist, rewriting is three-quarters of my life."

Scott Adams said this, "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

We all make mistakes, even without knowing it. Especially now with auto-correct on our word processors and phones and tablets. How many times have you sent a message to say, OOPS! and have to resend with an apology? I know I have.

Even with this blog post, I'll have to let it sit, then re-read it and edit it. And, God willing, it will go out into the Internet world without any mistakes.

So, how do you go about proofreading your own work?

Everyone has a tip for it. I'll give you mine. You can take it for what it's worth, read other tips, and do what works best for you. That's my tip. Use whatever technique works best for you.

First, try not to edit while you are actually writing the draft. It can get confusing and cause you to slow your creative process.

Take a break from the first draft to your first proofread. How long? Well, that depends, I guess. If you have something else to work on, do so while you take a break from your draft piece. Or, do something else to take your mind off it. For some people they need a week or more. Even months before they can be fully ready to re-read their draft. I suppose it depends on the length of the draft as well. A short piece doesn't require as long a break as a novel length draft.

When you start your proofread change your mindset. You are no longer "author" you are "editor".  Be careful to keep that in mind. You want to be able to look at this draft with a new set of eyes and a clear mind ready to edit it. So, if you still don't have enough distance from it as author, set it aside and wait some more.

Here is a list of what some people have done to edit their work:

1. Print the draft on different color paper.
2. Print using a different font.

Do not attempt to edit on the computer screen. It can foul up your mind and put you back in creative mode.

3. If you wrote your draft in your office, edit it some place else.
4. If you wrote your draft while lounging on your sofa, edit it in a different physical position, like sitting at your desk.
5. Your first read should be quick. No notes. Then start more slowly, with an overall feeling from the quick read.
6. Begin your critique and read it as if your friend wrote it. Don't try to fix anything. Just make notes.
7. Re-read again, at a different time of day when you are in a different mood.
8. Read it aloud at least once, especially if you have written dialogue.
9. If it's a longer novel length piece, you might want to create an outline from what you are reading. Be brief, you don't have to write a complete chapter by chapter analysis.
10. Get feedback from others. They must be an objective reader.  Listen to their comments or read their notes but don't be offended from anything they've said or written. You don't always have to agree with everything, but be open enough to accept each note. The person was nice enough to read your work, be nice enough to read their comments, without censure.
11. Once you've had others read and you've read and taken notes, organize all of your thoughts and notes in the order of your draft.
12. Start big and work your way down. Big changes like to plot or such, can make more of an impact to your work than say a confusing phrase or spelling error.
13. If you get stuck on your re-write, move on. Don't let anything stop you from completing your first re-write.

Stop. Rinse. Repeat. - If necessary.

14. Cut anything that is a duplicate or irrelevant. Be ruthless. You are editor now. Not author.

Remember, it's never going to be PERFECT in your mind, so know when to stop. Always track your changes so that if you've gone too far in your edits, you can go back a version.

15. As a final tip, I would say, read your draft backwards from the last word to the first. It's always a good way to catch any hidden technical errors.

Writing Resource: Your Writing Coach by Jurgen Wolff

Friday Five Minute Exercise - The Need for Silence

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about the Need for Silence. Do you need silence to calm your spirit? How does silence relate to your level of creativity? Does the stillness in your life elicit your creative tendencies?

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Do you need silence to be creative? Does silence calm your spirit? Were you able to relate silence to your level of creativity? When silent, are you more creative?

Why or Why Not?

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Writing Spaces

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Writing Spaces. What characteristics make your space more inviting? What features of your writing environment encourage your creativity? Does burning a candle or having windows in the room help you feel more at ease to create?

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Did you identify the characteristics of your writing space that are inviting? Did you determine the specific features of your writing environment that encourage your creativity? Do you burn candles? Do you listen to music? Does your writing space have windows? What did you find that helped you be more at ease to create?

Why or Why Not?

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Priorities

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Priorities. How will you determine what will be a priority today? Write about priorities and how they relate to you as an effective and productive writer. Does the ability to set priorities have anything to do with your level of creativity?

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to determine what is a priority today? Did you figure out how priorities relate to you as a writer? Were you able to determine if the ability to set priorities had anything to do with your level of creativity?

Why or Why Not?

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Seduction of Writing

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about the Seduction of Writing. Do you feel yourself being drawn into the characters that your soul produces? Do you feel a connection with the world when you write that is often not felt in even your closest relationships? The writer is seduced by the act of writing. We are lured from the outside world into a world of creativity and growth.

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to see how you, as a writer, are drawn into the world you create? Do you experience a connection when you write that you don't even feel with your closest relationships? Do you get seduced by your writing?

Why or Why Not?

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Stress

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Stress. Write about all the persons, things, and events that put pressure on you. Create a written plan to help you deal with the struggles that may impede your creativity. Be strong and relax at that same time -- let others know of your priority with writing. Work through some of the self-inflicted trains you have in your life that are related to guilt.

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to find and write about your own ability to deal with stresses in your life that impede your creativity?  

Why or Why Not?