Chapter 3: Overcoming writer's block.

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by DoUbLeZone

by DoUbLeZone

Chapter 3 (Overcoming writer’s block)

Writer’s block; the thing every writer fears, and something many will experience. If you’ve ever had writer’s block you know just how frustrating it can be, and in many cases, just how difficult it can be to bounce back from. Some writers will overcome it in a few days, a week, maybe a month, and in extreme cases it can take years.

The important thing to note, is that writer’s block usually stems from a lack of inspiration (unable to come up with ideas for a chapter), or a lack of motivation (no enthusiasm). So the best way to overcome it is to get motivated and become inspired.

There is no foolproof method a person can use to overcome it, it all depends on you. Below I’ve outlined a few things I’ve done to bounce back from writer’s block:

Let’s keep it short:

1. Don’t panic. Writer’s block is completely normal, there’s nothing wrong with you or your skills as an author. It has happened to the best of us.

2. Don’t force yourself to come up with an idea. When you’re experiencing writer’s block, to best thing to do is relax, push the book you’re working on from your mind for a while, and focus of other things; maybe you can watch a movie or hang out with friends. I’ve found that inspiration comes when you least expect it and sitting around, stressing about what to write will not help.

3. Read another author’s work. This has helped me more times than I can count. Reading other books relaxes the mind and gets ideas flowing. I find that when I’ve got a great book to read, I’m so blown away by how good it is, that I’m inspired to continue writing my own story in hopes that mine will be just as amazing.

4. When all else fails use your own experiences to push your story along. I’ve done this a lot and it’s definitely a good place to start. For example; Say you spent the day playing baseball with friends, take out a pad and pencil and write about the experience even if it wasn’t a particularly interesting day. You’ll find that more times than none, you can add the experience to your book and from there you’ll be able to build on it.

5. If you write about something you’d love to read, then you’ll have the enthusiasm you need to finish your story.

6. Rome wasn’t built in a day and a good story takes time to develop… Write a few random words on a piece of paper; for example: a river, the park, library, ships, a ranch, cooking….Now think on each of the words you’ve written and visualize the character in your book doing any of these things. What if he has to be rescued by an unlikely stranger while drowning in a river? or maybe they’re at the library searching for a clue in a book they didn’t expect to be there…add some dialogue and you’ve got the story flowing.

7. In the end it all comes down to your mind, and a well rested one will provide the best ideas, so get some sleep, wake up refreshed and get going.

8. Put away the story you’re having problems with and write something new. It’s okay to come back to it later, and writing a new story will surely help you to relax and build ideas.

9. Write whatever comes to your mind and chances are, amongst the paragraphs and paragraphs of useless words, you’ll find a few sentences worth keeping, the only thing left to do at this point is build on them.

10. Write what you want to write and not what others are asking for.

11. Have fun with it! If you make writing a chore then completing the story will be next to impossible.

These steps have always worked for me and hopefully they’ll help you on your own path to overcoming writer’s block. Just remember that just as writing takes time, overcoming the block does too, so don’t worry if it’s taking you longer than anticipated to bounce back…you’ll get there eventually.

*If you have an issue that you would like me to address, or anything at all you'll like me to present, comment below and I’ll try to add my views on the topic in the coming chapters.*

Thanks for reading!

-DoUbLeZone