As I write this article, I can feel that dreadful wall called writer’s block build around me. Thus, I have decided that I am going to use this article to face it head on.
There’s nothing worse than sitting down to write a paper only to spend twenty minutes staring at a blank screen. Every student has experienced this at some point in their college career; as an English major, this is how I spend at least a quarter of my time writing any given assignment. The longer I am unable to type out a sentence or put together a coherent thought, the more frustrated I eventually become with myself to the point where I feel anxious and hopeless. However, at no point has writing ever become truly hopeless for me. I am proud to say that I have always successfully overcome writer’s block with a little bit of time, focus, and patience. Here are a few tips that have always helped me regain control and creative energy when I feel like I’ve hit a dead end.
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Avoid waiting until the very last minute to start
This is especially important if the assignment at hand has a strict deadline and requires research/proofing. Getting started is always the most difficult part of writing, especially when inspiration seems sparse. However, putting off important work does more harm than good. As one of my favorite writers, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said, “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” When we put off important tasks, we are only setting ourselves up for failure when we start at the last minute and cannot think of any ideas. So, if you feel stuck, give yourself plenty of time to focus intently on the assignment at hand. While it’s daunting to think about, this extra work and time management will pay off once you’ve put together a beautiful piece of writing.
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Get rid of all distractions when you start to work
Seriously, get rid of anything that could distract you in the slightest. Put your phone away and go somewhere quiet where you can be alone. If you can, I would even leave your laptop behind and just go for the classic pen and paper. It’s too easy for your attention to drift from any kind of work you’re supposed to do, and it becomes even easier when you’re stumped and have yet to start a challenging assignment (I had to lock myself away in my room with a notebook and paper to get this article started). While it may be tempting to scroll through Instagram or quickly Google a word, these things only drag us further away from the task and goal at hand. Trust me, you’re better off if you just eliminate the opportunity for those trivial distractions. There’s no better feeling than finishing an assignment knowing that you were focused and invested all along the way.
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Take some time to freewrite
As the nervous writer I am, I often have a difficult time getting ideas down because of my constant urge to re edit what I’m writing. However, one strategy that helps me overcome this anxiety is freewriting. If you really have no idea what you want to write about, then get a notebook and pen and write for a couple of minutes about the first thing that comes to mind: the assignment itself, why you’re struggling, potential topics, etc. You don’t have to worry about how the writing sounds or looks, either; freewriting is about capturing organic thought, and you are the only person that ever has to see it. This works really well for me when I’m trying to get my creative juices flowing, and it often leads to a very exciting lightbulb moment when I figure out what I actually want to write about.
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Be patient
Let’s face it, writing is hard, and frustration is inevitable. Writing is really a brutal labor of love that takes a lifetime to master, if you are even able to do that. Don’t let the frustration and stress get to you, though. You are a human being, and a college-educated human being at that; the fact that you’ve gotten this far in life shows that you are capable. Even if ideas seem impossible, you have the brains and creative energy to write something truly awesome. Yes, it may take more time than you would like, and there may be plenty of head-banging-on-the-desk moments in the process; but with patience, a solution will make its way to you. Just keep your head up, chug some coffee, and get it done!