‘Writer’s block’ as a layman’s term, you must have heard that term quite often and wondered what it is. And why is it so scary for a writer?
Writers block, as the term suggests, is a state of fear or anxiety. It may be a fear of failure as a writer or it may be a fear that what you have written is not good enough to get published. As for why it’s scary because sometimes days can go by without a written word and that’s really scary for a writer whose bread and butter depends on it.
So now the question is how to cure this writer’s block. Here are ten simple ways to cure it.
1. Meditate
When and if you find yourself staring at the blank screen or paper, just get up from there, sit in a comfortable position and start meditating. Focus on your breath and as you do, think of something that excites you. And by emotional it can be anything, whether it made you happy, sad, crying or laughing. Revisit your past and feel those emotions again, but with the objectivity of a well-informed person. After some time, open your eyes and write about those feelings, you will be surprised by the flow of words.
2. read
Reading is very important for a writer. It not only keeps us informed about the world and his wife, but also increases our vocabulary, keeps us away from writers block. He reads everything he can find: books, novels, magazines, flyers, brochures, signs, posters. You never know where inspiration will come into your head and you’ll head to your PC to capture that inspiration in a beautiful jumble of words.
3. Take a walk
Walking is another way to cure writer’s block and is a proven method of curing it. When you’re stuck near whatever you’ve been doing, put on your walking shoes and go for a walk. Take the route you’d normally avoid and take your notepad or dictaphone with you so you can record your experience.
4. Talk to your friend
How long has it been since you called your friend just to say hello? Call them now and let the discussion take its own course from there. Ask them about themselves, their family, their job, and anything under the sun. People are usually excited by genuine inquiries about themselves and open up easily. Not only will this exercise be beneficial to you, but you may have unknowingly helped a friend who was waiting for an ear to listen to their troubles.
5. Visit a nearby store
Whenever you feel like you’re facing writer’s block, just get up, get dressed, and head to the nearby department store. While you’re shopping, look at several people’s clothing purchases and write them down in your notebook. Talk to the salesperson about the various brands of your favorite product, or just ask about them. Talk to the cashier about his life, family or even his job and voila, you have new characters for your story or new ideas to work on your article.
6.Network
Networking is very important for any profession and even more so for writers. As it is from life, great stories and writings have been inspired. So brainstorm with everyone in your area, from the garbage collector to the elevator operator, the cleaning lady, the neighbors and the pizza delivery guy. The idea is to talk and find out their opinions about life in general.
7. Watch a movie
Yes, watch a movie as it can be quite relaxing for your stressed mind. And while you watch a movie plan your story. Imagine that the characters in the movie are your characters, how you would like them to behave in a certain sequence of a movie. If you had been the writer, what angle would the story have taken? Plan all of this out and write it down on your notepad and then flesh it out into a full story with your characters.
8. Get out of your comfort zone and think outside the box
Too often, writers get stuck in their comfort zone, as if they are writing fiction, they will stick to fiction and that too to a particular genre of fiction. Get out of your comfort zone and think about different genres. If you’ve been writing romance novels, try writing romantic thrillers and if you’ve been writing romantic thrillers, try writing action novels.
9. Talk to your characters
You have planned your characters but you are not able to carry out the story, so what do you do? Start talking to your characters as if they were real people with real problems. Interview them or just have a casual imaginary chat with them. Ask your characters a few questions and then, thinking from their perspective, answer those questions. But be sure to write both the questions and the answers.
10. Visit a park
When you feel there is a lack of inspiration in or around your home; then go outside and visit a nearby park. Not only will it be relaxing to watch the kids play, but it can also get your brain buzzing with some ideas. Observe other visitors. What are they doing? Are they out for a walk or just sitting with friends and chatting? And make sure you write down everything you see and then go back and flesh that out into a scene or a short story.
11. Work on something else
Great, you’ve tried everything you can to cure writer’s block and still can’t write a word. Then just turn off the PC and start working on something else. It can be anything from cleaning your wardrobe to mowing the lawn. Doing these mechanical tasks gives your mind a break and your mind starts to contemplate the story and when you finish your task you are dying to turn on your PC and start typing.
Apart from the tips mentioned above, the best way to cure writer’s block is to write. Yes, write through the block, don’t stop to read or edit what you have written, just keep writing and you will surely cure writer’s block.
