Writer's block

How to stop feeling blocked

Everyone who writes has felt blocked at least once. It's completely normal (even if it sucks). I'm going to share a few tips and tricks to help stop feeling blocked.

“Writing about writer's block is better than not writing at all.” -Charles Bukowski

Why are you feeling blocked?

In the 1970s, clinical psychologists Jerome Singer and Michael Barrios followed a group of "blocked writers" for a few months. They concluded that the four broad causes of writer's block are:

1. Excessively harsh self-criticism

2. Fear of comparison to other writers

3. Lack of external motivation, like attention and praise

4. Lack of internal motivation, like the desire to tell one's story

In other words the writers weren't happy with their work. When I'm feeling blocked it's usually because I'm pushing myself too hard and being too judgy about my work. You need to realise you can't be perfect all the time, you're only human. Remember to give yourself breaks and have a chance to relax and unwind. Writing (for me) is an escape from the world, a chance to be whoever I want and to do whatever I want. Writing should never feel like a job, sometimes you just need to accept it's not your day. You can always come back to it tomorrow.

Exercises to stop feeling blocked

One exercise I like to do is get a piece of paper and a pen. And write literally whatever I think of. It often starts off not very good but you can't give up. Once you start writing an idea will sprout and then your off! This idea doesn't always work for me (when I'm feeling REALLY blocked) so another one I do is write "I remember". Then if this doesn't work write underneath that "I remember" again. The if still nothing comes write under that "I remember" and this time you have to write. This is a timed exercise so you have to write for the full 10 minutes (you don't have to do 10 minutes that was just an example). If you feel like you're just babbling then write "What I meant to say was" these 6 words bring you back to what you are trying say and keep you focused. Obviously this is just a draft and you can edit all the "What I meant to say was" out if you would like. Something else you can try is brainstorming sentences you like the sound of. Then pick one and write something from it. This is a real quick one to do if you're a busy person. If you can't think of sentences you could even try and use one from a previous piece. Last exercise. Don't start at the start. For me the start of my story is always quite intimidating, so it can sometimes be fun to just jump into the middle with all the action. This way there is less pressure to "Be perfect" because you're already half way!

I hope this helped! Remember to be kind to yourself and accept all your perfect imperfections. Happy writing.

-Maggie