Everyone experiences writer’s block at least once in their lives; but for students or journalists, this can happen extraordinarily more often.
Boring academic papers, the struggle to find a topic, not having the motivation to write… the list of contributing factors goes on.
Whenever I find myself in a slump, there are 3 things that help me along:
- Brain dump
-
A brain dump is perfect for organizing cluttered or busy thoughts. It’s a great way to get the creative juices flowing, or empty your brain from all distractions! Grab a blank sheet (or a blank screen), then write down everything and anything that comes to mind.
- Talk it out
-
Grab your closest buddy by their arm- because it’s time to talk their ears off! Sometimes sitting there staring at a blank page, churning thoughts over in your head, does no good. When I need to solidify ideas or get them started, I like to talk about the topic as much as possible and discuss it with friends. They may have some good input!
- Just start
-
My fave way to get out of a slump is to literally just start writing. The first sentence that comes to mind, even if it isn’t the ‘best’ version of what I’m trying to say, can sometimes get the thought-train rolling.
If all three turn out to be no good, just take a break and step back from the content for a while. Sometimes revisiting material after some time is all our brain needs to get back into gear.
The techniques above have gotten me out of countless word-jams, and I hope they can help you too!