Most writers get writer’s block. It’s near inevitable. Whether it’s a blog post or ebook, writer’s block happens - and sometimes at the worst possible time. If you haven’t gotten it before, then you’re a lucky person.
But for the rest of us that have, you know the feeling. You stare at your screen or your notepad. The hope of accomplishing your task at hand feels increasingly difficult. You reach deep into your brain for something to get your creative juices going. Nothing’s there.
Now what? What can you possibly do to get your mind back on track? Here are 5 ways to fight the evil that is writer’s block:
1. Remove All Distractions To Prevent Writer’s Block From Occurring
My 11th Grade teacher told our class to never have music in the background at home while writing. The only exception was classical music. I’ll admit this - I tried writing an essay with non-classical music on. That yielded disastrous results and I never tried it again. As much as we hate to admit it, multi-tasking can degrade the progress and outcome of the initial task.
Anything in the background that can potentially distract you from writing what you need to write and conveying what you need to convey should be turned off.
Extreme Tip: Turn off your Internet while writing.
2. Return To Writing At A Later Time (In The Same Day)
There are times where you’re just not feeling it. You can’t get those creative juices going for whatever reason. There aren’t necessarily distractions around - it’s just that you’re not in the right state of mind. Always give yourself the option of returning to write later in the day or at night. Some people write more effectively prior to a meal in order to work up an appetite.
But please don’t….procrastinate! It’s a bad habit that you may or may not have had earlier on in your academic career.
A writing hero of mine, John Carlton, once talked about how he wasn’t feeling the creative juices so he put his writing off until later - 2 AM to be exact. I found this trick to be pretty revolutionary in theory and may try it out. When was the last time you woke up, on purpose, in the middle of the night to continue writing you began earlier? It’s an interesting idea to try out. The irony of this all is that Carlton trashes the entire notion that writer’s block exists.
Extreme Tip: Wake up in the middle of the night to resume your writing.
3. Create A Writing Framework
Before starting any writing project, whether it’s a blog post or ebook, a basic frame of what you’re writing is a must. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate document. It can simply be a list of your main arguments. For this, I would have your main arguments/subheadings in a numbered list like:
“How To Write Effective And Engaging Meta Descriptions
1. What Is A Meta Description?
2. The Anatomy Of A Meta Description
3. Writing Meta Descriptions
4. Additional Tips
5. (Conclusion)”
For a more detailed framework, you could add base points underneath each subheading. Alternatively, under each subheading, you can add a few sentences on what the content in this section will be about. This would serve as a reminder of what you intended to write about here - especially helpful for when you review your framework.
Extreme Tip: Create your framework while you’re deciding on what to write. It’ll help narrow down what you’ll be comfortable writing about.
4. Review Your Framework And Re-Visit Your Main Points/Argument
That brings me to the second part of this: reviewing your writing framework. At the very least, review it after you’ve finished and are about to begin the editing stage. I would recommend reviewing it more frequently - not just every time you think you’ve got writer’s block. Reviewing your framework often will help prevent writer’s block from happening. You’ll be focused and energized about the task at hand.
Extreme Tip: Review your framework at the top of every hour of writing.
5. Get Some Exercise In
If the above 4 tips don’t work, you might just need a body and mind break. I personally like getting fresh air whenever possible and assuming the weather co-operates. Here, I’d recommend an activity that can get you away from writing for the time being.
Now, you might say that this contradicts Tip #1. My response to that is that this is one of your few last resort options. At this point, you MUST find a way to liberate your mind. I recommend exercise to you because it’s worked for me in the past.
Extreme Tip: Play a sport for up to 2 hours (or for however long you desire and are physically able to).
Lastly...
You know how difficult it can get when your creative juices aren’t flowing the right way. Writers, researchers, and marketers alike all over the world have succumbed to writer’s block. With these 5 tips, you’ll be able to do what they couldn’t - write freely.
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About the Author:
Ramesh Ranjan is the Inbound Marketing Specialist at LocalTrifecta Internet Marketing, where he helps businesses across Metro Vancouver increase sales and revenue through Inbound Marketing. His marketing heroes are Marcus Sheridan, John Caples and John Carlton. In his off time, he can be found playing roller hockey in Richmond, blogging on his personal website, and at the top of the office hockey pool. You can follow and connect with Ramesh over Twitter and Google+
