How to overcome writer's block

If you're a writer, you know the feeling. You sit down at your computer, ready to unleash your creativity and craft a masterpiece. But nothing comes out. You stare at the blank screen, waiting for inspiration to strike. But it doesn't. You're stuck. You have writer's block.

Writer's block is a common problem that affects many writers, from beginners to professionals. Various factors can cause it, such as stress, fatigue, lack of motivation, fear of failure, perfectionism, or simply boredom. Writer's block can lead to frustration and demoralization, regardless of the cause.

But don't despair! There are ways to overcome writer's block and generate fresh ideas for your writing. Here are some tips that have worked for me:

• Write something else. Sometimes, the best way to get out of a rut is to switch gears and write something different. It could be a different genre, a different format, a different topic, or a different tone. For example, if you're stuck on a serious novel, try writing a funny short story. If you're stuck on a blog post, try writing a poem. If you're stuck on a fiction project, try writing a personal essay. Writing something else can help you break free from your mental blocks and stimulate your imagination. For me, my go to is to write a short story. There’s plenty of places that offer short story competitions so I normally check out my favourites, like the Right Left Write — Queensland Writers Centre, or 1800+ Creative Writing Prompts To Inspire You Right Now.

• Do some freewriting. Freewriting is a technique where you write whatever comes to your mind, without worrying about grammar, spelling, structure, or quality. The idea is to write as fast as you can, without stopping or editing yourself. Freewriting can help you loosen up your writing muscles and generate raw material that you can later refine or use as inspiration. To do some freewriting, set a timer for 10 minutes and write non-stop about anything that pops into your head. Don't censor yourself or judge your writing. Just let it flow. A great place to start is The Most Dangerous Writing App. When you hit the ‘start writing’ button you then have five minutes to write whatever you like. You can adjust the timings, anything from 3 minutes to 60. For me I find that 5 minutes is enough to either start something fresh or at least find the motivation to return to what I was working on before. The thing I like most about this it’s just you and the clock and because you have a time limit, you can’t sit there and agonise over what comes out.

• Use prompts. I’ve touched on this already, but you don’t have to limit yourself to online prompts. Prompts can be words, phrases, images, or scenarios that can spark your creativity and give you a starting point for your writing. You can find prompts online, in books, in magazines, or even in your surroundings. For example, you can use the first line of a book as a prompt for your own story. You can use a picture as a prompt for a description. You can use a news headline as a prompt for an opinion piece. My go to for writing prompts is 2,500 Writing Prompts to Ignite Your Creativity | Writing Beginner. I’ll scroll down the list until I find something that resonates with me. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go to Merriam-Webster and check out the word of the day. There’s usually a sentence or two that includes the word of the day, and I’ll see if one of those sparks something.

• Read something inspiring. One of the most effective methods to enhance your writing skills and gain new ideas is through reading. Reading can expose you to different styles, voices, techniques, and perspectives that can enrich your own writing. Drawing inspiration from reading, you can write about topics that either interest or challenge you. I have an entire bookshelf of what my kids call my ‘self-help’ books. There’s always something on there that I haven’t read yet that I can grab. Whether it be on motivation, creativity or any of the many other topics I have.

• Talk to someone. Sometimes, talking to someone can help you overcome writer's block and generate fresh ideas. Talking to someone can help you clarify your thoughts, get feedback, brainstorm solutions, or simply vent your frustrations. It can also give you new perspectives, insights, or anecdotes that can inspire your writing. I have a writing buddy. We have an agreement that we will call on Saturday nights (yes, I have no life outside of family and writing) and we’ll have a jabber for a few minutes about what’s going on in our lives, then we set a timer for 25 minutes. In those 25 minutes we’ll write whatever we want to work on and then when it’s done, we have a chat about what we’ve written. Sometimes it may be a long chat unpacking a problem that one of us has encountered, other times its quick and then we set the timer again. We try to do at least two sessions, sometimes three.

• People watching. This is one of my personal favourites because people are fascinating, complex, and unpredictable. Take yourself off to a park or a café, or anywhere that people gather, and find a place where you can sit and watch what is going on around you. You can observe their appearance, behaviour, interactions, expressions, and emotions. Try to imagine their stories, motivations, goals, and dreams. For me this is a great exercise to do with a like-minded friend and can get quite inventive, but it’s just as easy to do solo, just don’t get caught.

• Take a break. Finally, sometimes the best thing to do when you have writer's block is to take a break from writing altogether. Writing can be mentally and emotionally exhausting, and sometimes you just need to recharge your batteries and refresh your mind. Taking a break can help you reduce stress, improve your mood, boost your energy, and restore your motivation. Taking a break can also give you some distance from your writing project and help you see it with fresh eyes when you return to it. So go for a walk, watch a movie, play a game, listen to music, meditate, or do anything that makes you happy and relaxed. I personally make a point of leaving the current draft of a novel for three months before I return to it. This allows me to have some distance and perspective when I’m ready to dive into the next round of edits. Sometimes I use this time to send my current WIP to my beta readers so when I’m ready to dive in, I’ve got some fresh ideas on what’s working and what needs attention.

These are just a few things that work for me. Here’s some resources that also might help.

Notebooks & Journals – Amazon, Officeworks, or local stationery stores

Writing Prompt Books – Amazon, QBD, Booktopia or Dymocks

Meditation / Focus Tools – Headspace or Calm subscriptions to help reduce mental blocks

Next time you feel stuck, try one of these writer’s block strategies and reignite your creativity. Share your favourite method in the comments, and Subscribe to get more tips, prompts, and resources to keep your writing flowing.