Ever get stuck with blogger’s block? Can’t get a spark of creativity going? Fingers just lay there on the keyboard like wet noodles… How can you get your creative writing going again?
Finding yourself in the horror of a creation-less void is never good. Your mind empties of anything that seems worthy of being said, and you feel helpless.
Writer’s and blogger’s block is a completely natural event experienced by writers, usually as a side-effect of writing for a deadline. Everyone has experienced it, and it’s not uncommon to panic a bit when it happens.
Here are some suggestions from a writer who’s been around the block…
Read
Surf the internet. Read about something that interests you. As you read, begin to take note of the particular writer’s voice, and how they speak to the reader. Think about what you like about the article, and what you dislike. Every couple of minutes, go back to the task at hand and see if you can write a few sentences.
Writer’s block often causes information to occur to you in spurts, as if something was blocking the even flow to your brain. The goal is to remove that block, and the only real way to do so is to de-stress yourself. Reading articles that have nothing to do with what you are writing may seem a bit counterproductive, but it’s actually a great way to stimulate the creative process.
Listen to Music
Ambient sounds masks the noises that occur around you: a vacuum cleaner, coworkers talking, or even other music, all of which can interrupt your thought processes. What ambient music does is it creates a uniform, soothing wall of noise that emboldens the creative process. Some think that instrumental music serves the same purpose as ambient noise does, without the groggy side-effect, but really, preference varies from person to person.
Take a Walk
Divorce yourself from writing in general for a little bit by taking a walk around wherever you are. Take note of the goings-on in your general vicinity, and just think. A lot of what causes writer’s block is in the mind: somehow, you convince yourself that what you are thinking somehow isn’t worthy of being put to paper (or to screen). Thinking about nothing in particular can have wonderful effects on your mind when called to actually focus.
One would think that writing to circumvent the effects of writer’s block would be a fruitless proposition, only ending in further frustration. Try a stream-of-consciousness exercise, where you try to write whatever you think. For example: “My goodness this place is messy, I should really clean this up before my friends come over on Thursday night so that they do not think I am a classless hermit who hates people…no matter how true that may be.”
The purpose of writing a stream of consciousness is to get thoughts on paper (or word document), even if you’re not going to use it.
Take a Break
If none of these ideas are working, then you need to take a step back. Take a few hours to clean your apartment, go to the gym or pick-up some groceries. You’re no good to anyone if you continue to fret in front of your computer screen about how hard it is to conceptualize ideas that are worth writing about.
It may be tough, but it’s important to remember that writer’s block is but a delay in the inevitable: you using your abilities to write thoughtful, important pieces for your blog. It’ll happen in its own time, and stressing out about the situation won’t help at all.
About our Guest Blogger: Russel Cooke is a tech and communications writer who is genuinely interested in business communications and globalization. When trying to come up with topics for his blog, VirtualPhone-Number.com, he often finds it helpful to try a few of these tips out to keep him from stressing about providing unique content.
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