How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is a frustrating experience that most writers face at some point in their careers. You sit down to write, whether it’s a blog post, article, story, or book, but your mind goes blank, and you struggle to get words onto the page. Overcome writer’s block by following these techniques:

Understand Why You’re Stuck

Before attempting to move forward, reflect on what’s causing your writer’s block. Common reasons include:

• Perfectionism – Holding yourself to unrealistic writing standards can paralyze you with fear of failure. Silence your inner critic.
• Lack of motivation – Without drive and inspiration, writing can feel like a chore. Dig to find your passion.
• Feeling overwhelmed – Facing a major project can freeze you with self-doubt and anxiety. Break it into small pieces.
• Too much editing – Editing as you write interrupts your flow. Let the words spill out first.

Once you identify the source, you can start to chip away at your mental block.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Take a Break

Sometimes you just need to step away from your computer and preoccupy your conscious mind with something totally different. Recommended break activities include:

• Go for a walk or do some exercise
• Listen to uplifting music
• Call a friend
• Take a nap
• Cook a comforting meal

Letting your subconscious work in the background often leads to fresh ideas and motivation when you return. Even a short 10-15 minute breather can make a difference.

Do a Freewrite

Freewriting involves writing continuously without editing yourself for a set time period, usually 5-15 minutes. The goal is to get words flowing without self-judgment. Follow these tips:

• Set a timer so you don’t have to watch the clock.
• Keep your hands typing or pen moving the entire time.
• Let your mind wander freely from one topic to the next.
• Resist the urge to censor your writing as you go.
• Avoid reading what you wrote until the timer goes off.

Freewriting loosens you up, boosts creativity and gives writing momentum. After, you can mine your freewrite for usable nuggets to incorporate into your project.

Try the “Shitty First Draft” Method

This tactic gives you permission to deliberately write a very bad first draft without trying to make it perfect. Silence your inner critic and convince yourself no one will read this draft. Apply these steps:

• Set a short time limit per writing session, like 30 minutes.
• Remind yourself over and over, “This is just a shitty first draft.”
• Let words flow quickly without self-editing.
• Keep writing even if what you write seems awful.
• Avoid rereading until done, or you risk falling into editing mode.

Once complete, set the draft aside briefly. Then, review and use usable passages for the second draft.

Change Your Scenery

Sometimes a simple environmental shift can stimulate your creativity and motivation. Options include:

• Move to a different room or go outside for natural scenery.
• Work from a coffee shop or library to feed off public energy.
• Use pen and paper instead of typing on your usual device. The connection to physically writing helps many authors.
• Experiment with background sounds and music. Try a rainstorm soundtrack or classical violin.

The novelty of the new sensations makes it easier to get unstuck from worn thought patterns.

Talk Through Ideas

Verbalizing your struggling project out loud activates different neural pathways versus silent thinking. Voice record yourself responding to key questions related to your writing goal. For example:

• What’s the overarching theme and purpose of this piece?
• What are the demographics and needs of my target reader?
• What content, stories and information would best resonate and serve my reader?

Speaking your responses engages your creative right brain and often elicits clarity. After recording, listen back and jot down anything useful you said without self-judgment.

Try a Clustering/Mind-Mapping Exercise

This visual technique leverages the power of your subconscious mind to forge new connections and perspectives. Follow these steps:

1. Write your core writing topic or idea in the center of a blank page.
2. Without self-editing, quickly jot down all satellite ideas that radiate from the center.
3. Circle concepts that seem most fruitful to explore further.
4. Repeat the process using each circled idea as a new center core.

Review your finished cluster/mind map for patterns and priority focal points to pursue in your writing.

Research and Read About Your Topic

Immersing yourself in outside writing about your chosen subject, genre, or audience can energize you with intriguing angles, statistics, anecdotes, and vocabulary to incorporate.

Curate a stack of reading based on your writer’s block trigger:

• Perfectionism – Scan short pieces you admire in your genre. Notice what engages you as a reader versus criticizing technical aspects as a writer. Read for enjoyment first.
• Lack of Motivation – Seek out writing with an inspiring take on your topic and voice you’d like to emulate. Ask, “What excites me about this subject?”
• Feeling Overwhelmed – Gather overview resources that provide context and structure to simplify your topic into logical sections. Break it down into less intimidating chunks.
• Too Much Editing – Highlight lines and passages in your research that bring your subject to life through vivid imagery, emotion and personalized angles. Don’t analyze mechanics.

Use outside sources to reinvigorate your own passion and distinctive perspective for your project. Take notes on potential ideas without judging the initial messy draft quality.

Talk It Out with Someone

Verbal back-and-forth dialogue activates creativity differently than solo thought. Share your writing standstill with a trusted friend or seasoned writing colleague. For best results:

• Provide some background for context.
• Pose a few specific questions related to the type of advice you need rather than huge open-ended ones.
• Describe any insights gained from strategies already attempted.
• Listen intently without defensiveness. Paraphrase back key suggestions to check mutual understanding.
• Show appreciation for their time rather than debating opinions. You can later sort through what resonates.

Even if you feel shy discussing works-in-progress, a short empathy-filled writing coaching session can get you unstuck so you can move forward with confidence.

Try the Pomodoro Technique

This time management tactic breaks writing into timed intervals to maximize focus and productivity. You can customize lengths, but here’s a popular format:

1. Set a timer for 25 minutes of completely interrupted writing.
2. When the timer dings, take a 5-minute break to stretch, breathe deeply, grab a drink, etc.
3. Complete 3-4 total 25-minute sessions separated by 5-minute breaks.
4. After 3-4 sessions, take a 15-30 minute longer break before starting another set.

The regular built-in breaks keep writing from becoming a dreary endurance test thwarted by distracted internet temptations. The defined writing spurts with an endpoint in sight make starting easier, knowing you’ll get a reprieve at the bell. For longer projects, focus on doing short Pomodoro session sets daily to build consistency.

Write By Hand

Typing on devices allows you to write quickly but often in an overly informal stream-of-consciousness style. Switching to handwriting slows you down to think and compose more intentionally. The physicality of applying a pen or pencil to paper also taps into sensibilities and flow otherwise untouched while keyboarding.

If facing a mental block, try:

• Freewriting by hand for 10 minutes without self-judgment
• Brainstorming ideas, cluster mapping and outlining first draft sections using paper and pens before going back to typing
• Handwriting an entire rough draft and then transcribing it later

The manual change of pace distracts your surface-level thinking to access deeper creativity and production power.

Know When to Take a Break

Beating yourself up over writer’s block only worsens frustration and stress. The techniques shared can help get you rolling again, but rest is also key. After focusing intently during your most productive time of day, let your subconscious integrate new ideas overnight or longer if you’re truly wiped out.

Have faith that writer’s block eventually subsides with patience and TLC for your creative spirit. Avoid perceiving it as a permanent roadblock. Recognize when your brain and body realistically need a true break – even if just a full 24 hours away from writing to relax and renew before starting fresh.

Sometimes, simply acknowledging “I’m just stuck right now” releases suffocating pressure to push through when you’re not truly ready. Be gentle with yourself. The words will come back when the time is right.

Persist with Patience to Overcome Writer’s Block

Overcoming writer’s block requires experimenting with different unblocking techniques without expecting instant results. Have faith inspiration always returns sometimes when you least expect it. Avoid toxic perfectionism or comparisons to other writers. Reframe writer’s block as a temporary gauntlet every writer goes through rather than a personal failing or lack of talent on your part.

Stay open and patient with the unpredictable, nonlinear writing process. The key is persisting through many strategies with compassion versus judging yourself. Maintain confidence that with consistent effort, what needs to emerge onto the page eventually will be in its own perfect time and way.