Suffering with writer’s block? You’re not alone.

“If writing seems hard, it’s because it is hard. It’s one of the hardest things people do.”

– William Zinesser

I have writer’s block right now (#awkward)! So now’s a good time to come up with some tactics to kick this artistic affliction to the curb. Excuse me while I go make a list…

*Returns from making list/eating KitKats*

The list:

1. Brain dump
2. Say it then write it
3. Mind maps and bullets
4. Change your scene
5. Set tiny little goals
6. Treats.

Brain dump

One way to unfreeze your keys is to stop trying to write anything decent – and just start writing. Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t even try to be good. Just get some words out of your head and onto the paper/screen. Often this is all you’ll need to kickstart the writing process. The act of getting something done (anything) gives you a confidence boost to keep going.

The problem with writing for an audience is that we can tense up because we’re trying to sound good. It’s classic performance anxiety – as soon as you enter the writing ‘stage’ you choke up. So forget writing well; forget your reader for a second.

Once your ideas are on the page you can (and should!) go back and shape them into something more palatable. Remember – you can always edit garbage, but you can’t edit a blank page.

“I’m writing a draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shovelling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” – Shannon Hale (children’s and young adult fiction writer).

Say it first

When you don’t know what to write, try speaking instead. Pretend you’re doing a TED Talk about your topic – literally talk out loud – then write down what you said. I love this tactic. Firstly, it really gets you in flow: talking helps draw out bits of wisdom from hidden brain files (you’ll see). Secondly, it’s a very handy thing that conversational English is in vogue these days (unlike the saying ‘in vogue’) – the way you’d talk about something is exactly how readers prefer to read. And lastly, who doesn’t love pretending to deliver a TED Talk to an adoring crowd? Just me then?

Mind maps and bullets

We’re pulling out the classroom classics here with mind maps and bullet points. Sometimes the cause of writer’s block is that our thoughts are disorganised, scrambled or competing for attention, which makes it hard to focus and begin. Lists can help you focus, relax, plan, and inevitability write something that flows well and covers all bases. I kicked my brain into gear for this very blog post by writing a bullet list, which I’m expanding upon now with these paragraphs.

Change your scene

A lack of focus could stem from a stale setting. Pick up your stuff and find a new place to write; it could be just the reset you need. I worked at my desk for a few hours this morning, but I’m now writing while sitting on my 4-year-old’s bed, with some afternoon sun streaming through the window. I’m feeling relaxed and refreshed. Maybe this is why so many offices these days are adopting flexible working environments and hot desks? Even schools have cottoned on that kids don’t perform best sitting at desks all day. They’re onto something!

Set little goals

When you’re faced with writing something particularly gnarly, you might need to break the task into chunks. There’s a few ways to do this. You could work in blocks of time, say, setting an alarm for 20 minutes and committing to focus on the task for just that small amount of time. At the end of the 20 minutes you can either leave the task for the day, have a break, or continue. This small, palatable commitment might be just the thing you need to dive into the task, and if you’re lucky you might even feel inspired to keep writing beyond your initial goal.

Another way to tackle writing projects is to seperate the tasks. For example, your first task might be to just write a heading. Then write a bullet list plan. Then write one section, and so on. According to researches (based on hearsay from my husband) it’s more effective to set really small, super achievable goals rather than massive ones. I believe them, too! To complete the Punchy website launch, for example, I wrote down small goals in my planner including ‘Make an email signature’ and ‘Fix LinkedIn settings’. Being able to cross off a task each day makes me feel accomplished, which inspires me to keep going. If I’d instead written ‘Finish website launch’ as my goal, the task would seem mammoth and I would have lacked direction on precisely what needed to happen to get the task done.

Treats

I can give you all the sensible tips in the world, but let’s be honest, writer’s block ain’t truly writer’s block unless you visit the pantry for treats at least eleventy billion times within the hour. So work smart – save yourself the time and distraction and pre-plan your writer’s block by stocking up with some blocks of the cocoa variety. Writing is hard. You deserve it.

Still having trouble?

Here’s where I can really help you. Writing is hard, it’s not everyones strong suit, and sometimes you just don’t have the time. Check out my content writing and editing services to see how I can help turn your ‘brain dump’ into something worth reading.