It happens to the very best of us. Whether you’re working on the Great American Novel, blog for fun on a daily basis, or are among the talented writers for hire, writer’s block can knock your confidence flat and steal your motivation for writing. So how do you keep writing when you can’t seem to get going? These tips will help give you a great start back into the swing of things:
Write for a Minimum Amount of Time
Set a timer on your cell phone, microwave, or any other device you have available and then commit yourself to write during that time period. Aim for a minimum of 15-20 minutes. Once you get going on a piece, it becomes much easier to continue with it, so keep going when the timer goes off.
Write a Minimum Number of Words
If you’re the procrastinator to end all procrastinators, determine that you can stop after writing a particular number of words. This keeps you from wasting time “researching” while a timer is running. Aim for at least 200 words. Like the timer example, you’ll often find it easier to keep going.
Find a New Writing Environment
Are the kids screaming, the dog running in circles, or your significant other yelling, “Dear, where is the ____”, every five minutes? No wonder you can’t write! You’re fortunate if you’re not going completely wacko in this situation. Find a local library, coffee shop, park, or other more sedate place to write without all the distractions.
Spend A Little Time Brainstorming
If you just can’t get any ideas, spend some time brainstorming. One way to organize this is using a mind mapping program or ap to let you go where you need to and make connections. Eventually, the brainstorming will help make a large project seem like a number of bite-sized pieces, perfect for short spurts of writing here and there.
Work Briefly on a Different Piece
When you just can’t concentrate on a particular subject, spend a limited amount of time on another piece. This allows you to see that you are able to make progress. Once you’ve finished the time allotted, go back to the original piece and see if you can find a better angle to dig into it.
Google It
Search engines are great tools when you’re writing a great deal on a particular subject. Have you written about everything you can think of for your wine blog? Use a search engine to look for related news, images that are inspiring, oddball social media conversations, or other sources of inspiration.
Write Freely
If all else fails, spend a few minutes simply writing down whatever comes into your head. Don’t bother editing, just get it all out. You may notice thought patterns that had otherwise gone unnoticed.
Now that you’ve got a few ideas, try them out! You’ll be back to writing like a pro in no time flat!
Cathleen V is a multi-talented writer with experience in various fields. She focuses on content, article, and blog writing for small business management, content optimization and marketing, arts businesses, crafts, agriculture, home improvement, food, nutrition, and natural health. She is a top 1% content writer out of over 22,000.
