We have all experienced it—whether while working out the final term paper for English Composition I or working on that expressive creative piece meant to be given to a significant other, in any writing situation, we often feel the creep of writer’s block right behind us.
These are some of tips for when I experience writer’s block. However, I will break them into two categories—creative writing and expository writing.
Why should I attempt to push forward through a writing block when creative writing is often for my own pleasure? Well, there are creative writing courses offered at USFSP, but even if your creative writing is solely for you, it is helpful to learn to exercise your literary abilities, even when staring at a blank page or screen.
Personally, I can hardly ever write to music, especially music containing lyrics. I find my brain focusing on the lyrics at hand, and I am unable to pull together my own unique words. However, when I am struggling with writer’s block, I often find some repetitive, perhaps electronic, track to listen on repeat. I get used to lyrics in the background, and often the distraction of the music distracts me from overthinking each and every word I am contemplating using to form a sentence.
Additionally, creative writing is often befriended by free writing. If you never tried free writing, I suggest you take your favorite writing instrument, whether it is your laptop covered in stickers or your best Moleskin notebook, and just let your hands fly over the keyboard or let the ink run over the page. In free writing, you can let the first words that come into your head out on the page. You need not worry about grammar, or general comprehension. Perhaps, you will find a gem in your freewriting, but for the most part, I find that freewriting loosens my writing “muscles,” or in other words, I am more apt to write something purposeful now that the background words and sentences in my head are out on the proverbial floor.
However, most of us are not looking to solve writer’s block when it comes to our personal creative writing project. We are looking to find answers when we are cramming in all of our coursework information for the term at midnight. What do I do in this case?
My easiest suggestion is to complete research. How can you write in the first place if you do not know what you are writing about?
Secondly, do not be so uptight with your words. If you constantly edit while you are writing, stop it for the time being and put your editing off for later (note, I said put it off for later not eternally). Similar to freewriting, place everything related to the topic on the page and then cull from there.
The main motivation I have observed while working through my own writer’s block is to never take myself and my writing too seriously. Whether you enjoying writing for the sake of writing or you vow to never write another word once you graduate from college, it is possible to combat writer’s block.
HCXOXO,
Emily