There is one experience every writer has in common, Writer’s Block. Whether or not you have writer’s block right now, every writer experiences it at some point in their writing career. The following is an explanation of what causes writer’s block and a comprehensive list of symptoms and how they can be cured.
Causes:
Writer’s block happens because of external and internal causes. Some external roadblocks may be rejections, time constraints, and the amount of work you have on your mind. To overcome this dam, writers should write down their ideas and come back to them in a new scenery (location or mindset), where they can revise their work. Internal causes may be perfectionism, self-criticism, self-doubt, and lack of motivation. Oftentimes, the best way to overcome internal blocks is to write for the sack of writing or, take a step back and give yourself time away from your writing. Doing this will help you feel less mentally drained, which will improve your motivation and outlook.
Symptoms & Cures:
- You have too many ideas:
Having too many ideas can be frustrating because they clutter together, making it difficult to identify one developed idea. In this case, the best way to combat writer’s block is to create a list of your ideas. For each topic, the writer should make a small bullet point list of what interested them about that topic, or what they plan to write about. Creating a list would not only help writers decide on a topic for their current piece, but it will also aid in their future writing projects.
- You have too few ideas:
The best way to fight writer’s block when you have too few ideas is to ask yourself what idea stands out to you. Once you identify what idea you are drawn to out of all the topics on your mind, writers should sit down with a piece of paper and just write. Writing to write will help you identify why that is the most appealing topic out of the limited list of ideas. Once you identify what stands out to you, you can do research and develop your idea.
- You have no ideas:
If you have no ideas, the best option is to read other people’s work. Reading writing in your genre will help you see what other writers are writing about right now. This will help you recognize topics that may be of interest to you.
Although writer’s block may be a frustrating and difficult experience, every writer has it at some point in their life. Struggling to write does not make you any less of a writer, every great writer becomes overwhelmed with their multitude or lack of ideas at some point in their career. How can anyone expect not to experience writer’s block when they, as writers, have written about endless topics? The best techniques I have found to combat my writer’s block are: writing down all of my ideas and coming back to them later on, or experiencing new things that I can later write about.