Imagine you got up in the morning, made your coffee, sat down at your table, took your laptop, opened a Word document, and ended up not writing anything. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t do it.
Sadly, this is a pretty normal occurrence for almost any author, painter, photographer, podcast host, just about anyone since we can all run out of fresh ideas. Why? Well, sometimes our creative side of the brain just doesn’t work the way we want it to.
Writer’s block can be really annoying for a lot of reasons. For example, if you are a blog post writer or any other type of author, you probably have a deadline that you have to meet, but because of writer’s block, you just cannot think of anything to write about before that deadline. Even worse, you might have an idea, but the way you wrote it just doesn’t sound right and you have no idea how to fix it.
If you have ever experienced this, then you know it can be a real problem, especially if you have a blog (or more of them) with loyal readers you don’t want to disappoint.
For their sake, you keep trying to come up with some ideas, just to have something to post, but you know deep down it’s not good enough and it will just be a waste of time for your readers, which ultimately hurts your blog and your business. However, the good news is that there are ways you can get rid of writer’s block, or at least, minimize the chances of it happening.
To help you out with that, in this article, we have gathered a list of top tips you can follow to help you defeat writer’s block and get your writing done, so let’s see what they are!
Tips for battling writer’s block
Start anywhere
If the first thing that pops up into your mind is an introductory paragraph, start there. But if not it’s completely fine to first write down your main point. Don’t force yourself to always have the same creative workflow. Instead, write whatever you have in mind at the moment and put it all together later.
Follow your creativity
Don’t limit yourself to a couple of mainstream ideas. Write about whatever you feel like writing about and let your creativity show through new ideas and points of view on a particular topic. You never know, your audience might like this type of content a lot more than the more traditional posts you serve them with on the regular.
Don’t start blank
Instead, before you actually start writing, write a quick outline or a few notes that will help you stay on track with your topic and will guide you on where to put each section of your post.
Don’t do editing and writing simultaneously
Leave editing for once you have put everything that you wanted to express “on paper”. Doing things the other way around can just mess up your workflow and line of thought.
Create a good post outline or use a headline formula
You need to organize the way you do your writing, especially if there is a lot of research to be done. Do that by writing down the main headlines for your story/post, this will help you follow your writing plan and make sure you wrote down everything you wanted to.
Once you start writing, keep it going
Try to avoid interrupting your creative flow by checking irrelevant notes or some data/statistics related to what you are writing. You can leave that for later when you are reviewing your text.
Dictate your words
Who says the only way to write is to type on a keyboard? You can do the same by casually speaking into your phone, that will take care of the writing for you. Doing this could help you become more relaxed and creative, and in turn, cause you to produce more great content.
Review your past writing
Looking at the work that you created before can help you clear your mind and get some new ideas or inspiration for future writing that has to be done.
Brainstorm
Write down whatever relates to your topic on a piece of paper and create a visual map. You can then use this to organize your thoughts and get a sense of what you should be writing about.
Do a mind map
See how your ideas relate to one another and use this to decide on your next topic. Check out the latest trends in the industry, innovative ideas from start-ups or entrepreneurs, and use this to come up with ideas for your blog posts.
Set a timer
In order to stop procrastinating and to force yourself to actually sit down and work, set a timer to a specific amount of time in which you have to work on your assignment and don’t stop until the timer goes off.
Create a deadline
Don’t let yourself have too much “fun” time while your working. Wait until your project has been completed/turned in, and then take a break to reward yourself for your productivity.
Reduce noise and write in a distraction-free zone
To avoid being tempted to check for new notifications every few minutes, put your phone on silent and store it somewhere far away from you. You can even turn off your internet, if necessary. Constantly checking your phone and messages could mess up your thought flow. Phone calls from your friends and family, and even getting unwanted prank calls, can prevent you from being creative and productive. Also, turning off any noise coming from the TV or radio is a good idea as well.
Change your location
Go to a different setting, such as a library, coffee shop, or to your own bed and do your work there. Try and see what environment works for you best and where you feel most comfortable and most creative.
Take a break
Every 30 minutes or so take a walk, drink a glass of water, take a shower, or a quick nap. Make a cup of coffee or tea, whichever drink you prefer. Do something that will help your mind reset and get ready for another writing session.
Some extra advice
Following the tips listed above can help you lessen the impact of writer’s block and find your inspiration again, especially when you don’t know what to talk or write about. However, sometimes these general tips might not be efficient enough, or your writer’s block could be a bit more intense than usual.
For situations of that sort, below, we have listed a few more rules/guidelines to help you out with your writing in general.
Develop a writing routine
The optimal writing routine will vary from person to person, but it’s important that you find the time you are most creative at, regardless if it’s day or night. Also, do your best to stay relaxed during your writing routine and silence your inner critic. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, especially if you are struggling with writing.
Write something else
Stop writing only for your readers and start writing about things that interest you. Believe me, your readers can tell if something was written just for the sake of writing it and if they feel their time was wasted by reading your blog, they will most likely never visit it again.
Look for the root of your writer’s block
Every writer’s block has a cause. For most people, it comes from worrying too much whether their writing is good enough. So make sure you avoid becoming one of them by feeling confident about your writing abilities, removing any pressure you feel when it comes to writing, and by actually enjoying the work you do.
Read more
Reading can help you expand your vocabulary and get some new ideas, especially if the content you are reading covers the latest trends in your industry or market. In a nutshell, reading will not only help you find inspiration it will also teach you something new that you can write about on your blog, talk about in your podcast, use in any way that you see as fitting.
Conclusion
I think we can all agree that having a writer’s block is both annoying and stressful, especially when you have deadlines all around you. However, with the help of the tips that we provided you with, you can at least minimize the effects that writer’s block can have on you and attempt to you get your creativity back.
Hopefully, by following these tips you will also learn something about yourself and see what suits you and what doesn’t so you can back to writing ASAP.
