Taming Writers Block ~ Part 1

You can blast through that frustrating writer's block in several different ways. Try each of them, but not all at once, to see how well each one works for you.

1. Stream-of-consciousness writing. Take one aspect of your topic, and write about it for five minutes, or ten or fifteen, without lifting your pen from the paper. Try to stay on course. But if necessary, write about how silly this exercise is until more fertile ideas pour out of your pen.

2. Write a snippet of poetry to clear your writing palette. Prose writers often benefit from a literary change of pace. Write a short bad poem or a long lyrical one, and refresh the creative process.

3. Stop your writing in the middle of a paragraph, whether you’ll be away from the computer for an hour or a day. It’s often easier to pick up in the middle, than it is to start a new section when you begin writing for the day.

4. If you can’t come up with the exactly right word, type in a reasonable facsimile and put brackets around it to indicate it’s to be replace upon editing. But don’t lose valuable writing momentum by pouring over your Thesaurus.

Different methods will be effective for you at different times. As you experiment with each one, you will get a feel for which one(s) to use for which kinds of block.

~ Linda