Ben Russell | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's booksThis is a guest post by Ben Russel, a content marketing expert contributing to solidessay.com and godotmedia.com. Depending on his availability, Ben also helps students with their academic papers.

5 Creative Ways to Battle Writer’s Block

Calvin & Hobbes, writer's block | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's booksWriting is an interesting career that requires a writer to think outside the box and be creative. Writing in the same field can become exhaustive after a while, and writers may find it difficult to come up with new ideas. This often leads to self-plagiarism and the infamous writer’s block. Here are some tips on how to overcome these.

1. Divide and conquer

Writing longer works can be a hard task for writers. To make it simple, they can divide up the writing into different independent sections that will be joined together upon completion. More importantly, this will allow them to juggle various ideas without forgetting any of them: writing an idea that may better fit the last part while working the first section is no longer a problem.

2. Research

Reading other people’s work is a must. Writing requires creativity, which can be borne by reading material written by others. To cultivate the ideas in mind, the writer must be able to engage other writers. This can be done by reading their work, whether in the same or related topics. The knowledge gained from this allows writers to engage ideas differently. Fact-checking is also important, as it will entice the readers and make their work credible.

3. Manage your time

The matter of time is all-important. For one thing, it is best if you can plan your time before even getting down to work. The most important part is making sure that there are no interruptions while you’re working. Additionally, you need to find which hour works best for you. What time of the day are you at your most creative? For some, morning hours, when the mind is fresh, work best. For others, they need to be exhausted before something creative diverts their mind from monotony. Use time to your advantage.

4. Use freewriting

Writing requires the writer to think outside the box. This is made possible when the writer comes up with other ideas than the usual ones flowing in their minds. Freewriting helps the writer to think about many ideas at the same time. Putting them in writing acts as a brain-training tool. Even better, parts of the writing may be drafted into your future works. Also, the writer can create new challenges for themselves in the process. For example, they may introduce a new metaphor or even a riddle. This can bring fresh ideas to their writing.

5. Embrace the block

Writing is a fascinating, yet demanding task. Accepting writer’s block as part of the process makes it easier for writers to complete their work. It will also remind them of the need to come up with creative ways to make writing interesting. Finally, remember that what works out for one writer may not work out for another: only you know what works for you!