Did I have a bit of a writer’s block when writing this lead, my mind stuck in place while I watched my cursor pulsate on the computer screen? Maybe. But we won’t address that right now. This is about you and what you can do to get those creative juices flowing. I know you have all of the right ideas up there, but sometimes it can be difficult to transfer them into a written format. It could take just a few hours to overcome this obstacle, but sometimes it takes much longer. And that’s okay!
Here are four steps that you can take when trying to beat writer’s block.
- Close your laptop or notebook. Interact with the world.
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For me, the worst way to come up with an idea is to sit in one place and try to think of one. By doing something, I can poke at different areas of my brain and stimulate responses that could end up being useful to the piece I am working on. Usually, this consists of me going on a hike or scenic drive, and it definitely ends with me going to the kitchen to snag a snack. You can also try watching a movie, doing yoga, painting, or calling up a friend.
- Get back to your laptop or notebook. Queue up some emotional tunes.
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These tunes don’t have to be emotionally heavy per se, but they should force you to feel something. Some of my go-to songs include “Apocolypse” by Cigarettes After Sex and “Cigarette Daydreams” by Cage the Elephant, but personal selections vary from person to person.
- As you vibe, look up some writing prompts.
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This thoughtful combination can be powerful. You can look at these creative writing prompts or just look some up through your preferred search engine. I also love this Reddit thread.
- Write something. Anything. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
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This is my biggest struggle. Even if I have a story in my head that I want to tell, I am always looking for the best word or stuck trying to craft the perfect quotable phrase. There is also a thought that lingers in the back of my head that someone else could write my idea better, so what I write won’t live up to its potential. My perfectionist tendencies and lack of confidence can sometimes hinder my progression, but this is something I have recognized and have tried to get past.
So how do I get past it? By just writing.
Even if I am not fully satisfied with my last sentence, I write another. And then another. And maybe in this chain of sentences, I can find a groove. Again, this is the trickiest part, to just keep going. But if you can do this, you will at least have something to show for your thought process, and something to work with if you revisit that idea again.
This process might not work for everyone, and it is certainly not foolproof. Despite this being my own general routine, I can sometimes skip steps or add some in, depending on the situation. (If I’m writing an academic paper, for example, I won’t need to look at other writing prompts.)
You can check out this playlist, writer’s block, that includes all of the songs that spark inspiration in our writers at Her Campus UMass Amherst. Then, you can reference step 3 and go forth from there!