How to Overcome Writer’s Block

You hold a pen in your hand or sit in front a computer screen and stare at the blank page and nothing significant comes to your mind to write. Been there? If yes, then you are not alone. This happens to all of us writers, bloggers and creative thinkers.

By definition the inability to produce fresh ideas to write is called writer’s block.

Seasoned writers and bloggers are familiar with this phenomenon but it is very intimidating for the newbies.

The good news is there is definitely a solution for the writer’s block. Before going into the solution let’s look into the causes of the writer’s block.

Causes of Writer’s Block

Writer’s block may not just be a mental state. There can be genuine health or emotional issues to blame for a writer’s block. A few major causes of the writer’s block are:

1. Stress

It’s a major cause of a writer’s block. Any kind of stress has the potential to keep your creativity in check.

2. Distractions

As the name suggest distractions distract a writer from producing fresh content. TV, social media and internet are one of many possible distractions which suck a writer’s time and creative ability.

3. Lack of Passion

At the end of the day a writer is the most important part of the writing process. If a writer is not passionate about his/her work then their creativity won’t last long.

4. Pressure to Write

At times the pressure to produce a certain amount of content in a certain time overwhelms the writer to a point that he/she is unable to produce anything at all.

5. Perfectionism

Being never satisfied with one’s work and the never ending pursuit of better and better might stop a writer from creating anything at all.

6. Fear

Both fear of success and fear of failure become an obstacle to write. It is one of the most common factor to a writer’s block

We have gone through the causes of a writer’s block now let’s see what can be done to overcome a writer’s block.

 

How to Overcome a Writer’s Block

1. Self-Care

You being a writer are the most important part of your writing process. At the end of the day it all depends on you. Your mental and emotional health are the foundation for your success as a writer. So the first step in overcoming a writer’s block is investing your time and effort in self-care.

The simplest things you can do for your self-care are:

• Sleep and eat well.
• Be positive.
• Exercise
• Give yourself what you really enjoy.

2. Keep a To-Do List

Keep a to-do list of your daily goals and follow it. By accomplishing your daily goals you have a sense of productivity. This sense of productivity lifts you up and as a result you are more likely to be productive as a writer also.

3. Turn Off The Distractions

Anything which is keeping you away from your to-do list unnecessarily is a distraction. For example spending a ton of time on internet and going through your news feed again and again on social media are big time waster.

Due to this nonproductive activity your creativity reduces and a writer’s block is the ultimate result. Turn off all the distractions and keep your focus on the most important stuff.

4. Have Some Alone Time

For me spending alone time is the most helpful action to overcome my writer’s block. Spend some time with yourself. You can do it by doing yoga, meditating, exercising or simply writing down what comes to your mind.

When you are alone it becomes easy to connect to your inner self. When you are connected to your inner self then the magic of writing begins.

5. Declutter your Mind

De-cluttering your mind helps a lot in overcoming a writer’s block. There are hundreds of thoughts going through your mind. Take the unnecessary ones out.

The best approach in de-cluttering your mind is by writing down your thoughts. Write down your thoughts at that moment and you will yourself feel the de-cluttering effect of this activity.

Once the unnecessary stuff is out it will become easy for creative activity to start and create fresh ideas.

6. Make a Habit of Noting Down Ideas

Throughout the day many many ideas and inspirations race through our minds. If we do not capture an idea it might never return. Make a habit of noting down ideas. Whenever something interesting strikes your mind note it down. Overtime this will turn into a data base for future content ideas.

7. Give Importance to Unpopular Ideas

In the blogging world there is a tendency of chasing popular topics. You need to write about high search keywords and trendy subjects to succeed as a blogger. But if you really want to write about a certain topic and it’s not very popular then go for it every once in a while to satisfy your inner desire to write.

That unpopular topic might not bring a lot of traffic or monetary benefits but it will definitely strengthen your writing muscle. This in return will help you a great deal in overcoming writer’s block.

8. Add Writing to Your Daily To-Do List

The most basic and straightforward action to overcome writer’s block is WRITING. So include some time for writing in your daily to-do list. The more you will write the more your skill will be polished

If you are unable to find creative ideas then write whatever comes to your mind. Overtime new and fresh ideas will flow through mind and writer’s block will become an occasional visitor.

Increase Your Productivity

Making daily goals and then keeping your focus on those goals not only increase your productivity but also help you in keeping writer’s block at a bay. At times you might need some de-cluttering of your thoughts to take out the real gems inside you.

At the end of the day a writer’s block is a reality and this baby has the power to drive you nuts. By taking care of yourself and listening to your inner self you can get back the knack of writing consistently and efficiently.

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My name is Seemab Zakir and I am a mom to three amazing kids. I am on a quest to self discovery. In my free time i write about personal development/parenting/relationships on my blog.