Thursday, July 15, 2010

Overcoming Writers Block

Have you ever just wanted to write, but for some reason or another simply could not think of what to put down on paper? Perhaps you are in the middle of some piece of work and suddenly you cannot find the inspiration that you had at the beginning. This is called writers block and it can be quite frustrating.

Fortunately there are ways around it. While it can be difficult at times to restart that feeling of excitement you first had when you came up with the idea, it is not impossible. Here are a few steps that work for me.

Get outside for a while. Sometimes all the inspiration I need is outside of my normal surroundings. Most of the time I didn't come up with the topic at the kitchen table, so why would I continue to be inspired there? Bring your laptop or pad and paper with you just in case the muse strikes again.

Get your heart rate up. Some of the very best ideas happen when you are exercising. It is a time when you have nothing to do but think. Sometimes thinking about anything other than the exercise you are doing helps you exercise for longer periods of time too, so it is a double bonus. Nothing forces your mind to move more than staring at the bottom of a swimming pool for lap after lap.

Move on to something else. It is a good idea to keep a couple of projects going at the same time just in case something like this happens. If you cannot stand looking at the page for one of your books, move on to the next one and see if you can think of something to say. This works especially well for the types of people that tend to read more than one book at the same time. Multi-tasking is just in your blood.

Avoid caffeine and the internet. Sometimes what may seem like writers block is just a massive dose of distraction. Caffeine can make your mind jump from topic to topic too quickly to write down, and lets face it the internet is largely just an institutionalized distraction machine. Instead try some nice calming herbal tea or a paper book down at the library related to the topic you are writing about.

Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Studies show that school children who have proper nutrition are better able to concentrate in school. That ability in our minds doesn't disappear the day we get a drivers license. Improve your diet and the rest of your life, including your writing, will be improved as well.

If none of the above work for your project then it may be time to file it away for a couple of days. Just give yourself a vacation from it and see if you can come up with some new ideas. Just make sure the vacation is not too long or you risk losing the motivation to write it at all.

Grant Virtue

No comments:

Post a Comment