Anyone who writes has experienced the dreaded writer’s block at least once while writing essays, blog entries, or articles. Some of us even experience it five times in one paragraph. What do you do to start your brain up again? How do you think of another idea for your next paragraph? This is what I do when I can’t think of what to do next!
1. Free write!
Free writing is when you don’t stop writing. You write whatever is on your mind at that moment and keep going. Obviously, it’s going to look like a jumbled mess sometimes and probably won’t be coherent, but sometimes you’ll get a really good idea just by going off of what you have previously written.
2. Make a list.
Make a list of topics or words that are associated with the theme of the paper you are writing. Come up with a list of 10 words, or keep going if it seems to be helpful! It gets your mind thinking of the subject and can spark memories or ideas that can help you write an amazing essay!
3. Stop writing.
Seriously. Stop writing for a few hours or even a few days! This gives you time to put your story aside and give your brain time to think of something else. When you come back to writing, you can see your story with new eyes and think of ideas that you haven’t thought of before.
4. Start in the middle of your story.
Start where the action is, then go back to the beginning later and see where your story ended. I hated this idea when I first thought about it, but I tried it and it actually worked! You already know where you want your story to go and how it is going to end. Knowing the ending can help you lead up to that ending.
5. Don’t write too much at once!
If you have a good writing streak going and you suddenly can’t think of anything else, that could be a sign to give yourself a break. Before you get to this point, you could assign yourself a set number of paragraphs that you write or a time limit. Once you’ve hit that limit, stop writing and pick up again the next day!