According to a a recent study that I made up, 1 in 6 people will experience writer’s block by the age of 65. A chilling fact for any one in the writing industry. When that day comes – don’t doubt that it will – there are a few things you can try to deal with your blockage. Here are a few remedies for dealing with that stubborn writer’s block.
You’ve been staring at that black page for long enough. Sure, you’ve got a title, but that’s where it ends. Your thoughts are either non-existent or you’ve got too many. Now would be a perfect time to take your mind off of whatever you’re working. Give yourself permission to stop and do something else. By removing your attention from the page, you give your mind the space it needs to sort things out on it’s own.
It’s like when trying to remember a friend’s name or phone number. The second you stop trying, it pops into your head. Your brain is working out what it needs to in order to serve you the information you’re looking for. A writer gets block when he or she insist on doing the mind’s job. The ideas that pop into you head, pop up fully formed. You then proceed to write those ideas down. The trick here is not to try do something that would come naturally if you didn’t.
Let’s say, however, that you have taken your mind off of the blank page with no luck. Now would be a perfect time to go for a stroll. Find some way of stimulating your mind. Go for a walk, watch a movie, chat with a friend. By giving your mind something else to interact with, you activate your mind and your creativity.
But you’ve done all that and time is ticking away. You’re wanting to get some words on the page pronto. That’s fine. Now would be a perfect time to start writing. Anything. Instead of changing the scenery of your environment by, say taking a long walk, you can change the scenery of your mind by writing something else. Write about a dream you had, or write a journal entry. You can even write random sentences down.
This is similar to chatting it up with a friend, except you’re actually writing. Hands down, the best remedy for writer’s block is to actually write something else. When you think about it, you can’t have writer’s block while writing, now can you?
Give yourself a break. A few minutes of distraction could easily lead to some effortless writing. It may feel like your brain is out to lunch, but it’s still working in the background. Instead, you go out to lunch and see what happens. It beats staring at a blank page, doesn’t it?
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