3 ways to defeat writers block
3 ways to defeat writers block
From time to time we all have to deal with writers block. Overcoming it isn’t always easy, but there are ways to do so. I’ve presented three of the most tried and true methods. Keep in mind each person is different. Some people can try any one and that will work. Others will need to find the specific one that helps them. While still other will need a combination of all three methods.
- Exercise
- Exercise has several benefits including:
- Improves your mood by stimulating chemicals in your body. Rueters just ran a story about exercise being “on par” with drugs for releaving depression.
- Combats chronic disease such as osteoperosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressue, and high cholestrol
- Weight management. This doesn’t need more explanation I hope
- Strengthens your heart and lungs. Again this doesn’t need more explanation why this is good for you
- Better sleep. Burns up the extra energy
Beyond those benefits exercise helps you defeat writers block because it gets your mind off of the subject for 20-30 minutes and often that is exactly what is needed to tackle it from a fresh perspective.
- Read
- Reading can help in a few ways.:
- Give you new ideas to write about. When you feel like you’re saying the same thing again and again try reading and finding new ideas
- Give you a break from writing. Just like exercising can give you a break reading can do the same thing and often times that’s what is needed to overcome writers block
- Introduce more vocabulary. Sometimes writing that next article is as simple as having some new words by which to express it
- Write
- Writing will help stimulate the brain and often times stokes up new ideas you had never thought of before.
- Spend 10-15 minutes just writing. Write about the floor, or the hole in the wall. Write about your first dog. Write about the book you read last night, or the birds you saw on your morning walk. Just write. The idea is to get your brain moving, not to turn out master pieces
- Don’t waste time editing or revising. In fact for the most part plan on tossing the writing in the next 3-5 days, but hold it that long to allow yourself time to revisit. Chances are you’ll just toss it then, but there’s always the chance you’ll have produced something usefull for future writing projects
- Do not write for yourself. In other words don’t be overly critical of what you write at this stage
I really like reading the Readers Digest magazines. They’re packed with all sorts of info and often gives me ideas.
Good stuff. Another technique that helps me get unstuck is setting firm times for each stage of the writing process and sticking to them.
I’m going to take 5 minutes to choose a topic, 10 to do an outline, 30 for a first draft, and 45 to make it funny/interesting/shartp.
It doesn’t always work out to be great, but it gets me away from just staring at the blinking cursor…
What works for me is to just write. Point forms if necessary, after a certain point (few minutes maybe), the writing juices will flow.
Cheers
James
The best way to write is to start a blog =).
April – Readers Digest is a great resource.
Chuck – Thanks, appreciate the compliment. And good point. Sometimes the “doing” is more important than the completing when it comes to overcoming writers block.
James – Writing is a big one for me as well. I’d say 98% of the it works for me. Like you said it just gets the juices flowing.
David – That would depend on the kind of writing you wish to do. If I was into writing novels I doubt that writing a blog would help out much in that department.
Thanks for this summary!
John – No problem, thanks for dropping by
Great tips, thanks for sharing
David’s last blog post..Stress And Anxiety Ruling Your Life? Try This Furry Solution!
All good ideas. Has anyone heard of Sondra Perl’s Composing Guidelines? Read more about it here: http://wayswithwords.blogspot.com/2008/10/composing-guidelines-and-felt-sense.html
I really like the ways in which you say to break through your writer’s block. Reading definitely helps me, and new vocabulary is always a plus. You’re absolutely right that having new words to express yourself with can make all the difference!
Some suggestions about other things to write about might be the things that you notice as you go through your normal, everyday routine. The things you take for granted sometimes can make for the best writing! Also, I tend to keep post-it notes of things that interest me throughout my day so I can think more about them later and expand upon them through my writing. Just a couple thoughts on what more we all can do to expand our writing routine!
Thanks for the great info.
Beth
http://www.writers-block-help.com
I THINK THERE IS GREAT INFORMATION HERE. I REALLY ENJOY THE POST POURRI AND BLOGROLL… KEEP IT GOING, THIS SITE IS THE BEST!!
SOMETIMES A GREAT WAY TO BREAKTHROUGH IS TO WRITE SOME LETTERS TO FRIENDS, ETC… IT’S FAMILIAR STUFF, AND HELPS MOTIVATE THE MIND TO BRING YOUR THOUGHTS TO PAPER…