How to Get Over Writer's Block
Sunday 15th March
If you've ever sat down to write and found that absolutely nothing comes to mind, you'll know that writer's block isn't just frustrating, it can feel oddly personal, like your own brain has decided that it doesn't matter that you want to sit down and write.
The good news is that knowing how to get over writer's block is something every writer can figure out, and most of the solutions are simpler than you might think. In this post, we're sharing ten things worth trying when the words just won't come to mind.
1. First, take the pressure off.
This one might feel a little counterintuitive, especially when there's something that you really want to write right now, but stick with us for a second.
A lot of writer's block isn't really about writing at all, but instead it's about the weight of expectation we put on ourselves to write well, write consistently or write in a way that measures up to the lofty goals we set ourselves. When the pressure to produce something good becomes bigger in our minds than the act of writing itself, the whole thing can grind to a halt like we threw glue in the cogs of the machine.
If you can, try giving yourself explicit permission to write badly. Not as a trick to get good writing out, but as a release of expectation. Write something terrible, intentionally. Write something that you won't ever let see the light of day. Sometimes that little exercise can help to chip away at writer's block.
2. Sit with the writer's block for a second.
Writer's block tends to get lumped together as one thing that impacts us all in the same way, but it rarely is.
Sometimes it's burnout, you might have been pushing hard and your creative resources are genuinely depleted, sometimes it's self-doubt creeping in, whispering that your work isn't good enough. Sometimes it's actually a structural problem... a plot hole that you haven't found a patch for yet, a character who isn't behaving in the way you thought they would, a direction that isn't working.
It's worth sitting quietly with your writer's block for a second and establishing whether there's a root cause to it. The answer shapes what you do next because the fix for burnout looks very different to the fix for a plot problem. Understanding the root cause is often the first real step in figuring out how to get over writer's block.
3. Step away from the project, but not from writing.
When a particular piece of writing has started to feel like a wall that you just can't climb over, it can help to step away from the wall for a little while.
This doesn't mean stopping writing altogether, but giving yourself permission to work on something else. Something completely separate from the source of your writer's block. It could be as simple as a letter, a blog post or a journal entry, even a short piece of fiction with characters you've never met before.
Writing short stories can be a particularly good outlet here, because the contained format takes the pressure off and lets you explore why you enjoy writing. If that's something you'd like to explore more, our writing short stories course is a good place to start.
4. Try changing your environment.
Sometimes the block isn't in the writing, it's in the setting.
If you always write at the same desk, in the same chair, at the same time of day, your brain can start to associate that space with the feeling of being stuck. A small change of scenery can be surprisingly effective, even if it just means moving your desk to another room.
Some writers find that changing the tools that they use can help with writers block, switching from their laptop to a notebook, or vice versa.
5. Write about your writer's block.
As writers, what better medium do we have for exploring ourselves?
If nothing is working for you, try writing about the fact that you can't write. This isn't as strange as it sounds, we promise. Sometimes sitting down and putting words to what you're feeling... the frustration, the sense of being stuck, gets your hands moving and your brain engaged without the pressure of producing what you're writing.
And sometimes, in the middle of that, something useful surfaces. An idea, an observation, an understanding of the root cause of your writer's block.
6. Read something that you love.
When our well runs dry, sometimes the most useful thing we can do is fill it up again with all of the things that we love. For some writers, this will be the books that they love. For others, avoiding books is a better choice and instead diving into films and music.
If you read a book, read it not just for pleasure, but look to see if you can see what the author is doing and why. How do they handle scene transitions? How do they introduce characters? What are they doing when you feel your biggest emotions towards their work? Reading closely and attentively can help you to feel creative again.
7. Revisit your original idea.
When you're deep in a long project, it's easy to lose track of the spark that made you put words down in the first place. If you kept any of your original notes or drafts or journal pages, go back and read them. This can help you to reconnect with the project and what was exciting about it.
If you didn't write any notes, you could turn this into a creative writing exercise by writing what you think drew you to this idea... what you wanted to say, who you wanted to say it to, what you hoped it might feel like for a reader. Your original spark can really help to drive a project forwards when you're struggling and trying to work out how to get over writer's block.
8. Break your work down into something smaller.
Sometimes writer's block is less about the act of writing and more about the sheer scale of what you're trying to achieve. If you're working on a novel, a memoir or a long piece of creative non-fiction... the sheer scale of those projects can sometimes be enough to trigger writers block.
If you find yourself focusing on the amount you still have to write, give yourself permission to tackle your project a paragraph at a time. In our writing creative non-fiction course, we talk about how breaking things down can help the process to feel more attainable and less intimidating.
9. Find another creative outlet.
When writing starts to feel like a chore, you sometimes need to find a new creative outlet so that you get to rest for a moment. As much as many of us love writing, those larger projects can start to feel like jobs very quickly.
Let yourself dive into other hobbies for a minute. You likely won't stop thinking about what you're writing, but that's a positive. You're still thinking about it, but with room to breathe. Many writers find that the answer to how to get over writer's block arrives not when they're sitting at a desk trying to think, but when they're doing something unrelated and the spark hits.
10. Remember that writer's block won't last.
In our opinion, this is the most important thing to hang onto when you're struggling with writer's block.
Writer's block can feel permanent in the moment, like something vicious that you just can't escape from. It isn't. Writer's block will go away eventually. It's a natural part of a long creative process, not a sign that you've run out of things to say or that you weren't meant to do this. Be patient with yourself, keep showing up in small ways, and trust that the words will come back.
You'll Find a Way Through Writer's Block
Knowing how to get over writer's block rarely comes down to one big moment. It's usually an accumulation of small things that come together and support your creative practice. We hope that something here helps if you find yourself caught in that net.
If you have any questions for us, you can contact us and we'll help if we're able!
