Tuesday, April 18

Not Another Writer's Block Tip Listicle

Haha, just kidding! It totally is!

I found myself having a tough week last week with respect to writing. It was so nice out! There were so many things to get done around the house! Spring fever had hit me like a linebacker, and I was down for the count.

Sitting down to work on my next project was next to impossible. It took deep determination, a steel willpower, and remembering the words of my mentor, Bradley Bogaerts, to get myself back on the horse. 

Writing is like breathing; don't think about it, just do it. - Bradley Bogaerts
Writer's block ultimately stems from one thinking their writing is inadequate, subpar, not good enough. That self-doubt permeates in through the creative parts of your brain, and the feedback loop begins.

With that in mind, here are 7 tips to getting your brain vomit onto the page, to push that self-doubt to the side and start the creative juices back up.

  1. Do some sit-ups! Nobody likes doing sit-ups, and after every 10, write a sentence. You will start writing with such a fervent passion that you couldn't bear to tear yourself away from the page to get back on the ground and bang out another set.
  2. Invoke the Muses! It worked for all those old as heck Greek and Roman writers, why not give it a shot! 
  3. Start typing or writing anything. Anything! I'm not kidding when I mean anything. A grocery list, re-typing a favorite book or poem, your name 100 times in a row. It's the writer's version of doodling in the margins. You are waking up the phalanges, getting the blood flowing to your hand and fingers. If nothing else, it's like a good hand stretch!
  4. Clear your mind! Whether meditation, yoga, or staring at the wall for 10 minutes like a lumpy potato (my method of choice LOL), get your mind as empty as possible. No negative self-doubting thoughts will be present, and this new tabula rasa approach may wake your creativity up.
  5. Read someone way better than you are. If you are like me, there are at least 150,000 better writers than you at any given moment in Earth's history! Read one of them and get inspired!
  6. Walk it out! This time away from your screen or notepad can help create a new perspective, get your mind working with fresh gears. DJ Unk took this incredibly literally. 
  7. Stop reading 'how to get over writer's block' blog posts! First, this is the best and most comprehensive one ever written. Second, it's not helping you break writer's block! Get out there and do it!
Warmest regards and best of luck,

E. K.