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Writers Block

3 Simple Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

by Mark McGuinness on December 5, 2011

image of tire in the desert

You don't have to stay stuck here forever

Writer’s block feels like the end of your world.

Firstly, there’s the frustration — not being able to do something you love, that normally works like a dream.

Like getting into your finely-tuned, lovingly-polished car, turning the key and hearing a pathetic splutter. Or hitting the ‘Jump to Lightspeed’ button and watching the stars just sit there while the TIE Fighters close in.

Secondly, there’s the professional anxiety. If you’re an author, will you meet that deadline? If you’re a copywriter, can you still cut it for your clients?

Last and worst, there’s the identity crisis.

You’re a writer, right? Writers write, right?

So who are you if you can’t write?

A nobody?

Logically, you know that’s nonsense. But try telling yourself that at 3 am after another day when the sum of your efforts would fit comfortably inside a Tweet.

Now, there are many different types of creative block, and plenty of ways to tackle them and get back in the writing zone. (I’ve written an entire ebook full of suggestions — you can download it for free here.)

But before you start examining this particular block, and tinkering with ways to deal with it, there are three critically important things for you to remember.

Unless you remember these three things, you may not have the energy to do that tinkering. It’ll feel like a hopeless case.

1. Only writers get writer’s block

Beginners don’t get writer’s block.

When they sit in front of a blank screen and nothing comes out, it’s because they haven’t learned how to do it yet.

To be blocked, you have to have written in the past. You have to be a writer.

So, you are still a writer.

2. If you’ve done something in the past, you can do it again

This is something I learned way back when I first trained as a psychotherapist.

I worked with all kinds of people who felt they were hopeless cases — people struggling with depression, anxiety, addictions, divorce, work-stress and all kinds of failures, frustrations and disappointments.

One of the most valuable things I learned to do was to ask them about the past — not looking for the origins of the problem, but for the origins of a solution:

  • Tell me about a time before you had this problem…
  • How did the world look to you then?
  • How did you feel differently?
  • What were you doing differently?

When clients remembered their earlier, happier, more confident and capable selves, their body language changed. They became animated, chatty, even enthusiastic. Their sense of humour returned — along with their creativity.

They started to find new options.

Your ability to write is still there. Maybe latent, but it’s there all right, deep in your nervous system. You don’t need to start again from scratch — just go back to what you were doing before.

Ask yourself:

  • What was it like when I could write fluently?
  • How did I feel?
  • What kind of thoughts went through my mind?
  • What was I doing differently?

Then pick one or two of those things you used to do, and start doing them again, today.

3. Your writer’s block is temporary

How can I be so sure?

Take a moment to remember the other times you’ve experienced writer’s block.

Each time, you were probably racked with precisely the same fear — that you’d never write again — yet you came through and did it.

Statistically, this block will likely be the same.

It feels like the end of the world … it feels like you’ll never write again … until something changes, life goes on, and the words come back.

You will write again.

If you can’t write anything else, write this

Take a sheet of paper and a pen. No keyboard — you need to feel these words as you write them out longhand.

Write these words on the paper — slowly.

  • I am still a writer
  • I still have the ability to write
  • I will write again

Put them in front of you and read them until you feel them.

If it helps, read them out loud. Keep repeating the words until you feel conviction in your voice.

Do this every day when you feel blocked. 

Remember these three things, repeat them until you feel them in your bones, and you’ll start to relax.

And the more you relax, the sooner the words will return.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Which of these three things is most important for you to remember?

What would you add to the list?

Any other tips for beating writer’s block?

Let’s discuss these questions in the comments …

About the Author: Mark McGuinness is a creative coach with more than 15 years experience of helping clients overcome creative blocks. For in-depth advice on dealing with a range of creative blocks, download Mark’s FREE e-book 20 Creative Blocks (and How to Break Through Them).

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10 Pathways to Inspired Writing

by Matthew Cheuvront on February 16, 2010

image of inspired woman

As writers, inspiration is one of the most important of the criteria for success. Without it, well, our writing ends up pretty lame.

A huge percentage of blogs see their demise before the six month milestone. Why?

Because people don’t know what to write about – writing becomes a chore and when that happens, you might as well seal it in. Here are 10 ways to become a more motivated, effective, and inspired online writer.

1. More books, fewer blogs

We all like blogs because they’re easy to digest, and we can come and go as we please and read from start to finish in a few minutes. We are also inherently reactive people, and blogs allow us to communicate and discuss with others immediately.

Books, however, contain scores of ideas not being dealt with in the blogosphere, and I guarantee if you take a weekend to read a book from start to finish, you’ll be chock full of writing material for weeks following. Take notes, “react” with yourself as you read, and pick up a book instead of only depending on Google Reader.

2. Listen to albums from beginning to end

Music is one of THE biggest sources of inspiration for yours truly – there’s something about the “right” song that can have you from feeling brain-dead with writers block to painting masterpieces like Michelangelo. What a lot of us, especially with modern technology, no longer do is listen to an album from start to finish.

Not only buy the entire album from an artist, but also listen to each song in order. Musicians are artists who usually order the track listings intentionally. Albums tell a story, they paint a picture; and isn’t that what we want to do as writers with our blogs?

3. Surround yourself with mentors

I use the word “mentor” loosely. I’ve never been a fan of choosing a single person as a mentor. Instead, I tend to surround myself with multiple “indirect” mentors – people I admire and respect; individuals who motivate and inspire me to be at my best; friends who challenge, question, and push me to think in new ways.

There’s truth in the old adage of you are the company you keep. So surround yourself with good company and you’re almost guaranteed to be a more inspired individual.

4. Cut out the negativity

While you surround yourself with amazing and inspiring mentors, go ahead and cut out the negativity – the dream zappers and naysayers who are intent on bringing you down to their level. You don’t need people like that in your life. Embellish the positive and diminish the negative in everything you do. You’ll be a much happier and fulfilled person if you have the right attitude.

5. Experiment with new mediums

Experimentation is probably the most important takeaway. In blogging, social networking, and everything else you do, if you’re not experimenting and pushing the envelope, you’re not maximizing your potential. As a writer, you have a gift for telling a story, so focus on telling that story in new ways. Use video, write an ebook, start a Guest Blog Grand Tour and let others challenge you to write about new topics. Keep hustling and growing.

6. Read blogs outside of your niche

If you write about social media, are you only reading inside the echo chamber? Why? Doing this exclusively becomes mind numbing. While I agree that you need to keep up with other writers in your field, take time to partake of completely unrelated sources. I read blogs about cooking, sports, PR, and music, to name a few.

They may not have anything to do with my “lifestyle design” genre of writing, but I can almost always walk away with a post idea inspired by something I’ve read. The best writers are those who can spot the intersection between different topics to reach a wider audience

7. Put yourself (literally) in new environments

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty terrible at getting things done when I’m sitting at home in my PJs. I’m most productive, and usually put together my best writing, when I find a comfy seat at the local coffee shop or settle into a nook with my headphones on in the back of a library. There’s something about surrounding yourself with caffeine and good books that works wonders. Opt for the local coffee joint over the living room when you have the chance.

8. Don’t be a slave to trends

Getting back to the fact that “we are inherently reactive people,” we like to follow trends, don’t we? How many “resolution” posts did you see the last couple weeks last December? Keep an eye on what people are doing, but push yourself to break away and set the trends. Simply become more proactive in everything you do.

9. Never underestimate the power of “unplugging”

OK, I lied. The experimentation I list as pathway 5 is an important takeaway, but the following is the most important for me. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Reader, Email, Itunes, Instant Messaging, and so on – there is a virtually limitless number of distractions out there. When I need to really focus and I want to put out my very best writing, I force myself to unplug.

Even now, as I write this, I’m sitting in a lake house with no internet. It is AMAZING what you can accomplish when you take time to unplug and “become one” with your writing. Set a specific day every week that you can disconnect and take time for yourself.

10. Have patience

Writing a masterpiece isn’t going to happen overnight. Bloggers get burned out because they start strong and then fizzle when the world doesn’t beat an immediate path to them. Above all, a strong community grounded in quality content takes time to develop, but as long as you are passionate about writing, the rest falls into place. Focus intently on creating exceptional content and reach out to others to share, and great things do indeed happen.

As a writer, what would you encourage the rest of us to do to maximize our writing potential and find inspiration?

About the Author: Matt Cheuvront is an Internet Marketing Developer by day the master of ceremonies over at Life Without Pants. Follow him on Twitter to keep in touch!

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Why Writer’s Block is Your Secret Weapon

by Melissa Karnaze on October 26, 2009

image of moving through a block

When screenwriter John August wrote that only non-writers get writer’s block, some readers whined (and personally attacked him).

“But getting blocked does happen to real writers!” they cried.

They cried because they wanted to be victims, instead of responsible for their writing blocks. They whined because it was easier and less scary than facing the facts.

But when your income depends on your ability to write, whining won’t get you anywhere. It will distract you from the golden opportunity that writer’s block always offers: greater clarity and confidence.

When you work it right, writer’s block is your secret weapon to becoming a better and more resilient writer. And when your ability to write is what pays the bills, that’s gold.

How writer’s block can give you more clarity

Writing flows when you are clear on what you need to say, and why you need to say it. Writing becomes a chore when you know what you need to say but are reluctant to do it. And it can dry up completely when you’re not so clear anymore.

Your clarity is directly linked to how convinced you are that you have something valuable to say — and that you can say it.

Both of these require courage to face the fear that any act of writing brings.

So use writer’s block as a signal to stop and reflect on what you fear and why, because if you don’t acknowledge the fear, you’ll never be able to face it. All it takes to move through fear is facing it, feeling it. Saying to yourself, “Okay, this is scary. But it still needs to be done.”

How to start unblocking yourself

If you need some concrete steps to get started on identifying the fears related to your writer’s block, try the “clean-slate” exercise:

  1. Take a blank sheet of paper and write down a one-line summary of what you think you’re supposed to be writing. Be as topic-specific and categorical as you can. Is it a book review, an online report, a sales page, a newsletter article?
  2. Write down all the ideas and opinions about that topic that have been passed along to you by other people — things that you’ve read, heard, overheard, or even imagined. Don’t forget your parents, mentors, friends, role models. Record all those voices running around in your head and lay them out on the page.
  3. Good. Now put that page aside because that’s not the one that’s going to turn your block into a weapon. (In fact, it’s the one that will keep you stuck.)
  4. Get another blank sheet of paper.
  5. Again, write down what you think you should be writing in the center of the page. Now, make sure you are alone in your room. There should be no one around to look over your shoulder, judge you, criticize you, or misunderstand you — in physical form or in your head. It’s important to maintain this solitude for the next step.
  6. Dig deep into what you have to say, what you think, and what your opinion is, stripped away from all of those from the first sheet. Put it all out on the page, and take more pages if you need to. Remember, there is no one to judge you and your task is to write without any reference to the ideas or opinions from that first sheet, but write only from within you.

This second “clean-slate” page will reveal the true reason why you wanted to write in the first place.

It’s a safe place to get some clarity about what you need to say, without worrying about what anyone else will think. Going to that safe place gets you unstuck.

How writer’s block can boost your confidence

Each time you unblock yourself by writing despite your fears, it builds confidence. You realize, “Hey, I’ve got a lot to say! And I’ve got a unique position!”

You teach yourself that even though your job requires you to write to and for other people, you’re really doing it for yourself — whether for income, personal satisfaction, or even good conscience.

You also strengthen your writing so that nothing can faze it. You won’t get thrown off by anyone’s doubts (including your own), negative opinions, projections, or reservations about your ability to perform. Those will only cloud what you know you need to say.

Most important of all, you learn that writer’s block is all in the mind. That John’s whiny commentators missed out on a mother lode of resilience any writer would envy, because they ran away from writer’s block instead of picking it up as the weapon that it is.

To be a resilient and fierce writer, you need to write despite your fears. And you need signals, such as writer’s block, to help uncover your fears so you can face them.

Writer’s block can’t be separated from your doubt and fear. It’s something you are not a victim of, but responsible to. It can, and should, be faced head-on.

Preferably right now, if your next meal is waiting for that last page to get finished.

About the Author: Melissa Karnaze writes about the intelligence of emotions on Mindful Construct and Twitter.

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