Writer's Block Quick Fix
OK, so you may be seeing the title of this piece and thinking, "Wait a second, there's no 'quick fix' for writer's block!", and you might be right. However, what I am referring to in this piece is sort of a "cheat" that often leads to an end to the doldrums of uninspired activity and lack of imagination. Let me explain...
Whether writer's block hits when you're about to start a new project or you're in the middle of an existing one, it can be a terrifying and debilitating experience. Days earlier the wellspring may have been flowing, with creative ideas saturating your every thought, then suddenly, Bam! — they're gone. What I've found with many writers is that, during this phase, they either do one of two things: Attempt to start/continue the project based on initial inspiration & ideas and just "write through" the block, or they abandon the entire piece altogether and wait for an unseen muse to touch their creative voice once more. While it's possible that both of these scenarios MIGHT result in the overcoming the block, I suggest a sort of hybrid of both, which has worked for me in the few times I have experienced the dreaded block.
First, stop writing. Don't write another word that you'll end up hating or editing to death later. Put the fingers or pen down and step away from the paper or computer. Next, engage in an activity that exposes you to world outside your mind and current project. If you're writing a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story, read/watch a historical romance. If you're project is an intense, serious Thriller, read a comedic novel or go see a Stand Up Comedy show. If what you're writing is a kids book, or something lighthearted and whimsical, go visit a Natural History museum or watch a documentary about a serious topic — the point being with all of this to go outside the box you've drawn in your current virtual world. That's step one.
Step two gets you back to writing...but not about your current project. What I like to do, after engaging in activities like the aforementioned, is to just begin free thought writing. Avoid my current project altogether and just put down words, feelings, thoughts, ideas and reactions to what I've experienced in the days I was doing things other than working on what had caused my initial block. Much of it is gibberish, with no cohesive point or plot, but just words connected to other words rarely leading anywhere, while covertly reconnecting me to the world previously abandoned. There have been instances where I've gone back a day later and read these babbling rants of free thought and said to myself, "There's no way this is going to help me!", and then minutes or hours later the creative spark has been ignited again, set ablaze by words that had no obvious connection to anything I was writing about.
The point of this exercise is nothing more profound than continuing to use one's mind — mental gymnastics as they say — and allowing the experiences to begin turning the cogs in the machine once again. Although at first glace the jumble of words these free thoughts have created may seem useless and even a distraction from what your goal is with a current project, before you know it it's often the catalyst for breaking through a block, and in some cases even adding a dimension not previously considered to your work.
This is not a guaranteed fix for all by any stretch, but it's worked for me every time so far, as well as for other's I've recommended it to. Give it a shot, and I wish you well.
Happy Writing :)
-DAA
Whether writer's block hits when you're about to start a new project or you're in the middle of an existing one, it can be a terrifying and debilitating experience. Days earlier the wellspring may have been flowing, with creative ideas saturating your every thought, then suddenly, Bam! — they're gone. What I've found with many writers is that, during this phase, they either do one of two things: Attempt to start/continue the project based on initial inspiration & ideas and just "write through" the block, or they abandon the entire piece altogether and wait for an unseen muse to touch their creative voice once more. While it's possible that both of these scenarios MIGHT result in the overcoming the block, I suggest a sort of hybrid of both, which has worked for me in the few times I have experienced the dreaded block.
First, stop writing. Don't write another word that you'll end up hating or editing to death later. Put the fingers or pen down and step away from the paper or computer. Next, engage in an activity that exposes you to world outside your mind and current project. If you're writing a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story, read/watch a historical romance. If you're project is an intense, serious Thriller, read a comedic novel or go see a Stand Up Comedy show. If what you're writing is a kids book, or something lighthearted and whimsical, go visit a Natural History museum or watch a documentary about a serious topic — the point being with all of this to go outside the box you've drawn in your current virtual world. That's step one.
Step two gets you back to writing...but not about your current project. What I like to do, after engaging in activities like the aforementioned, is to just begin free thought writing. Avoid my current project altogether and just put down words, feelings, thoughts, ideas and reactions to what I've experienced in the days I was doing things other than working on what had caused my initial block. Much of it is gibberish, with no cohesive point or plot, but just words connected to other words rarely leading anywhere, while covertly reconnecting me to the world previously abandoned. There have been instances where I've gone back a day later and read these babbling rants of free thought and said to myself, "There's no way this is going to help me!", and then minutes or hours later the creative spark has been ignited again, set ablaze by words that had no obvious connection to anything I was writing about.
The point of this exercise is nothing more profound than continuing to use one's mind — mental gymnastics as they say — and allowing the experiences to begin turning the cogs in the machine once again. Although at first glace the jumble of words these free thoughts have created may seem useless and even a distraction from what your goal is with a current project, before you know it it's often the catalyst for breaking through a block, and in some cases even adding a dimension not previously considered to your work.
This is not a guaranteed fix for all by any stretch, but it's worked for me every time so far, as well as for other's I've recommended it to. Give it a shot, and I wish you well.
Happy Writing :)
-DAA
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