How to get over Writer’s Block

You’re sat at your desk, fingers hovering above the keyboard, when it hits. The dreaded writer’s block. You know you can write, you know how to do it, but there’s just nothing coming to the brain. There’s no inspiration, or motivation, to put your fingers to the keys. The potential masterpiece that could leave your brain in the form of a flowing narrative is nowhere to be seen as a giant invisible wall has appeared between your creative brain and the blank page. This is writer’s block; the unpredictable, frustrating phenomenon that only the creatives understand, where the right words won’t come and you’re left wordless.

So how do you get over it?

1. Take time away from what you’re writing. The best way to combat writers block is to remove yourself from the page, instead of staring at it hoping the words will come.
2. Distract yourself. Go for a walk, read a book, watch a film. These can invigorate your creativity and give you a fresh perspective.
3. Change your environment. If you always write in the same place, maybe try writing outside, or in a cafe, or at home if you usually don’t. A change of scenery can do you good by bringing new inspirations and muses.
4. Freewrite. An underrated practice, freewriting is just writing anything, whatever comes to mind, with no planning or direction. If you’re bogged down on a piece of writing, freewriting and get the creative ball rolling again, and you might come back to your work with a new idea of where to go next.
5. Talk to someone. It seems obvious, but talk to someone about your work, where you want it to go, and see if they can help. They might see it from an angle you hadn’t thought of – it’s always good to have a fresh pair of eyes or ears take in your writing and give their thoughts.
6. Read some inspiring quotes. Get some advice from the writers who know what they’re talking about. Who better to turn to when you’re stuck in a rut?

Hopefully this gives you some good ideas to get out of the writer’s block prison. Good luck with your writing endeavours!

P.S. if your freewriting turns into a masterful piece of flash fiction… send it to us, and we’ll publish it! Take a look at our Write for Us page to find out more…