We’ve all been there. The inevitable halt in the creative process where you can’t get the words out on to the page. There’s an essay or a story or a response to write, and the ideas just won’t come. It happens to every writer—the inevitable and notorious writer’s block—so here are three do’s and don’t of getting rid of it.
- Don’t think of it as writer’s block. Do think of it as creative hibernation
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Your ideas aren’t gone, you just need a break for a little while. Leave your project alone and come back after a little while. Sometimes your brain just needs a little time to rest before it’s ready to get back in the game.
- Don’t procrastinate. Do brainstorm.
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Sometimes all you need is a fresh page. Grabbing a piece of printer paper, writing down your topic, and going ham on it can be all you need. Whether it’s through pictures of words or squiggly symbols. Brainstorming ideas can give you a plan for what you want to write and inspire you to keep going.
- Don’t wait to be inspired. Do trick yourself into writing.
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Instead of waiting around for the words to hit you in the face, read back your last couple of paragraphs and then try to start the next sentence. Then finish it. Then start the next one. Soon you’ll have a paragraph and the words will keep coming. Sometimes all it takes is a couple of words to get you back into your creative groove and writing.