Writer's Block always seems to come when I'm overwhelmed by other duties. Most of the time I experience small writer’s blocks, but this was a big one. College and holidays brought a month and a half long writer's block. But, I was finally able to get rid of it with three things: breaking the schedule, positive reinforcement, and just practicing. I experience two types of writer's block: Minor and Major. Minor comes around often, but he's easy to get rid of. On the other hand, Major occurs once or twice a year, and he's hard to get rid of. Major made me feel like I just couldn’t write. I’d sit down and stare at that blank page for minutes, and would easily let myself get distracted by other things. And if I did manage to write, Major made it feel like the writing was awful. Sound familiar? Every week seemed to get worse, until I really stopped for a moment to think about how to get rid of him. Two weeks later, after three different processes, I was back at it! I hope these techniques I used will help some of you. WRITE WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT/BREAK THE SCHEDULE. Sometimes writing on a repetitive schedule turns writing into a tedious task. You have to get back your love for writing and break this conscious or subconscious correlation. For me, I have obvious moods when I don’t want to write and when I certainly do want to write. I started taking advantage of this second mood whenever I could, even if I only had five minutes of free time. This made writing more enjoyable again. And if you don’t have these moods, it may just be a needed change in schedule. Write at a different time during the day a couple times, or write a different time of the day every day. Break and change your writing schedule so your brain doesn’t put you in the same rut every time you sit down to write. CELEBRATE EVERY WORD/POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. This is absolutely what worked best for me. When I tried to write with Major around, I could never write as much as I usually did. This really got to me. I kept looking back at what little I’d done in such a long period of time and feeling worthless. Then I started to think, the glass is half full: Look at how much I could write even though I’ve had this super Block! Wow! Three sentences! I could only write an outline yesterday! I started celebrating every time I wrote, no matter what it was. Eventually, I was just happy to be writing. And this, was Major’s nemesis. So, I encourage you to do the same. Celebrate and feel good about what you are able to write. Don’t develop a negative attitude towards your writing. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT/SELF-LOVE. You have to remind yourself you’re not writing to be perfect, the best, and not even good; you are writing to be better. Better than the last time you wrote. Because every time you get better, you are one step closer to your ultimate goal as a writer, whatever that may be. And how do you get better? Write, practice. No matter what you write, how you write, when you write, or how much you write. To get better, the most important thing to do is write; nothing more, nothing less. Don’t beat yourself up over fine lines and rules that don’t exist. Anything that is “sloppy” can be fixed later, and can be rewritten an unlimited amount of times. And if you feel writing isn't making you better? Edit other things you've written. Read similar works. Analyze works. Do this until you can write, even if it's one sentence. Practicing to be better also played into my positive reinforcement. Not only was I celebrating minor things, but it also gave me a realistic approach to my writing. Even if it wasn’t great, I told myself, I was better than the last time I sat down. And every time I sat myself down to write, I would get better, even if it was minute. I really hope this helps! Comment down below what helps you; if it was these techniques, or solutions of your own!
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More InfoErin blogs because she wants to help other young adult writers and new writers. It's aimed to educate others on the writing and self-publishing process. If there is anything you'd like to know that she hasn't covered yet, please contact her! |