How frustrating it feels when you have to write something but inspiration evades you. This situation is known as writer’s block. Let’s know more about its causes and how to dodge this situation rather than the ideas dodging you.
There have been multiple experiences, when you are sitting on your desk, quiet surroundings, earphones plugged in, your laptop screen (or paper) stares back at you, blank, with the cursor blinking as if astonished searching desperately, what to say next. You sit in silence as your creative side of the brain has somehow been blocked from contacting you. You can’t get hold of anything secure enough to help you climb the mountain of writing, which, with your creative mind is just a road bump to leap. Don’t worry, you are not alone.
There were several times when you’ve been struck with the lightning bolt of an idea and it just disappeared and now you are left with nothing but exasperation. To know how to confront this static state of mind, we must understand the causes it entails. We can only find something if we know what to find.
Where Does Writer's Block Come From?
Writer’s block can emerge due to many reasons, the most common are:
Your mind could be overflowing with ideas, but none would seem to be flowing in the right direction or they might not be good enough. It’s the FEAR of putting our ideas out in the world and the thought of validation, which is usually normal but becomes a problem as it hinders you from expressing.
The mindless quest of PERFECTIONISM leads to unjustified expectations from us. Perfection is an illusion, when we try to write the perfect piece, it often prevents the writer from writing even a single syllable, thus leading to block.
At times, we become our biggest critics, thus unrealistically comparing our work with other writers, losing the vision and confidence that made us a writer in the first place. Thus SELF-CRITICISM can be lethal to your creativity.
Anything forced, can’t bring out the best results. The same happens when you work under EXTERNAL PRESSURE when you are being forced to write rather than your inspiration making you flow your thoughts, then you suffer major writer’s block.
How to Overcome Writer’s Block?
Now that we know what causes the problem, we can easily find viable solutions to get enough acceleration to give you enough push to cross this huge roadblock. Some helpful tips are:-
1. Take a Break
It’s always helpful to give ourselves a break, to give the brain rest and space to think. It helps to declutter the thoughts that have formed a block and give them time to evolve into something worth writing. Your mind can be a genius but not a genie that can grant your creative wishes instantly. Putting pressure on the mind would only kill your creativity. Take a walk, watch your favourite movie, read books, meet people, and interact with them to enter the creative space in mind by giving yourself creative freedom.
2. Collaborate
It would be extremely beneficial to write with someone else, opening your perspective to new horizons of thoughts, which would ultimately drop inspiration in your mind as well. See this as two stones striking with each other simultaneously and producing the sparks that have the power to turn into a huge fire. Your thoughts have the power to become a fire; you can just use another stone to emit the small spark. When you run out of your ideas, you can always turn to other’s ideas and build upon it. This would also help in increasing your network and popularity of your written piece as both your audiences will be combined.
3. Recycle
It must have occurred a lot of times, that you are looking for some dress in your wardrobe but you find another beautiful dress that you forgot existed. The same happens in writing. You can rummage through your old works and often bump into something useful, an idea, a perspective, a thought, or even a word that can become your next piece of work. It would also show you how much you have evolved as a writer. You can add new perspectives according to the current trend on the same topic you wrote quite a while back. It would make you more progressive.
4. Refer
The more you read, the better you write. Read what others have to say on a said topic, unravel the trending topics, and view it from different perspectives. You can reproduce the ideas and build upon them. Consuming more content would induce some opinions and make the gears of your mind turning again, thus clearing your block.
5. Free Write
Since we judge our thoughts harshly even before they are coherently shaped, a lot remains unexpressed and thus free writing can be the medicine to your hideous block. Just start writing freely, with no consideration of grammar, relevance, flow, or validation. Just go wild with your writing device. It would help you kick-start your mind, just as it helps when we give a push to a car that won’t start at all.
6. Ask Your Audience
With the advent of social media, you can easily ask your audience what they want to read from you. It would not only give you fresh ideas but also allow you to know your readers and where you stand as a content creator. Use the Instagram stories or posts to interact and seek some enthralling ideas that were hiding from you.
7. Change Surroundings
Monotony is the biggest enemy of creativity. Innovation needs new places and fresh inspiration which you obviously can’t find sitting at the same place. Go to some café, some parks, or explore new areas in your home so that you can observe more and write more.
8. Keep Notes
The overconfidence of ' I-will-remember-so-I-need-not-write-it ' can be extremely harmful if you are a writer. Always keep noting the ideas that strike your mind in your mobile’s notes app or a scribbling-pad so that the world doesn’t remain deprived of the beautiful creation that you just forgot.
Writer’s block is something very common but gruelling to deal with. At least never judge yourself because the world is enough for that. Have faith in your work and write for yourself, never restrain your thoughts. Follow the aforementioned tips and a writer’s block would never trouble you again.
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