If you have a business or career or life of any sort then there’s a good chance you have to write. But what if you feel stuck? What if the flashing cursor mocks you? What if nothing comes?
Here are 5 pretty cool ways to overcome the stuckness and turn on the writing tap.
Do Research
A great way to inspire yourself is to research the topic you’re writing about. Your mind might just be hungry. A big plate of facts, stats, case studies, or history will give your brain plenty of food for thought. It can use these to synthesise new ideas and content.
Read Along The Same Lines
Whatever you have to write – a letter to your bank, a blog post on social media, a sales page for a product – go look for other examples of the same thing. Reading other people’s stuff can help you in two ways: you’ll be inspired to emulate good examples, and motivated to improve on bad ones.
Change Your Writing Mode
If writing at your desk isn’t working, then move to the sofa. Or outside. Or to a cafe. If typing on your computer is a dead-end, then grab a pen and notebook. Or a dictaphone. Whatever has become associated with stuckness – environment, computer, view out the window, body posture – try changing it.
Get Physical
Blocked writers are often advised to go for a walk, but I think walking makes it too easy to stay tangled in your own stuck thoughts. Instead, go do a high-energy group fitness class (I love body combat). Or see if you can get a personal training session. Or play an exhausting game of tennis or football. Do something that works your body hard and distracts your brain too. If you’re desperate, go to YouTube and dance along to 80s tunes for 30 minutes. Not that I’ve ever done that. :|
Take A Nap
It may be that you’re just too pent up to let the creative part of your brain relax and do its stuff. In which case, a nap might calm you down and let the juices flow once more. If a nap is not an option, find a quiet spot and meditate, do relaxation exercises, or simply breathe deeply and think the word ‘relax’ to yourself for a few moments.
What Works For You? I’ve made a living from writing my whole adult life. But like every other writer, I’ve had struggles, frustrations, and dark nights of the keyboard. I don’t use the label ‘writer’s block’, because it has so much power. Instead, I think of my stuckness as needing some kind of action to restore the flow. And these strategies work for me. What works for you?
