My theme for the April A to Z Challenge is Productivity for Creative People.
My theme for the April A to Z Challenge is Productivity for Creative People.
What’s commonly referred to as “writer’s block” can occur in a number of creative pursuits. The ideas won’t come. Or you’ve written your way into a scene with no way out. Maybe you feel uninspired. Here are five ideas to get rid of the block.
Breaking a Creative Block
- Think of the problem as a snarl that can be untangled, instead of a block, suggests Hillary Rettig, author of The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block. “…Identify the strands so you can start coping (and ultimately eliminating) them,” she says. Sometimes a block is really lack of research, for example.
- Work in a different place, advises Sangu Mandanna in Writer’s Block: 5 Ways to Get Rid of It. “Not only does the transit time give you a well-deserved break, but the new environment might stimulate ideas and possibilities you’d never thought of before.”
- Try doing something mundane--many people have experienced a great idea in the shower. So wash up, pull weeds, or go for a walk.
- Go with the creative flow, according to LifeHack’s 20 Ways to Kill Your Writer’s Block Forever: “If you have a terrific itch to write one particular idea, then write that one right now.” I find this helps when I'm stuck on a scene. Sometimes it’s a scene that isn’t necessary or isn’t exciting enough to be included as is. If I skip ahead to the next section that I really want to write, the work goes much better.
- Just do it! Jeff Goins offers this advice in Get Rid of Writer’s Block Once and for All: “WRITE SOMETHING. Anything at all. All bets are off. No rules or limitations. Just go for it.” It’s the act of beginning that is often the hardest part.
Have you ever experienced a creative block? How did you break through it?
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