This 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
Writing 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!
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I embrace the writer’s block more often than I should!!
Lol – I hear you 😀
Great article and I totally agree with the advice given here. Everything is a matter of focus. When you decide to switch off the TV, stay at home rather than go out with friends, close the door on the world for a while and put your butt on the chair, the rest is bound to come. The fingertips will work their magic on the keyboard only when the author has decided to do writing and nothing else. Anything else an author might experience is down to weakness, fear, or a scattered mind. It’s as simple as that. Writer’s block is not even real. It’s only an excuse when focus and discipline are lacking.
Effrosyni
Excellent tips. When I get stuck, I just put my nose to the grindstone (laptop) and force 500 words out in an act of sheer self-torture. That seems to get me through whatever the problem was even if the writing is awful. Works every time.
Huh, a brute force attack. Never thought it’d work! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It works great. It clears the clog one way or another.
Good tips from Ben. I have never yet worked out how to ‘Manage my time’. I get an idea, and just keep writing until the idea stops. One for me to think about.
Best wishes, Pete.
Let me know if you figure it out. I woke up at 10 to six this morning, but preferred to stay in bed for another hour. I spent the time thinking of a new chapter and was excited with the prospect of writing it up. Then the wee one woke up, and I still haven’t been able to jot down a single word. Sigh…