Day 4: Writer’s Block

If you are struggling with writer's block, and find it difficult to generate ideas or put your thoughts into words, you might need to change your state.

• If you’re not under a tight deadline, try taking a break and do something mindless like washing the dishes or taking a shower. (Wow, I never noticed how much I’m into hot water.) There’s something about these kinds of tasks that can relax your mind and help get you back into flow.,

• Even if you are on a tight deadline, it can help to take a mini-break. Walking around the block, fixing yourself a caffeinated beverage. Anything that can help break your funky state just enough so that you can reset.

• Use freewriting or brainstorming techniques to get some ideas down on paper.

• Find an example of writing that you love and take some time to analyze why it’s working. Cheryl Strayed, famous for her memoir Wild, said that she would even type up the work of her favorite authors and it really helped her internalize what great writing felt like. We never do this to plagiarize, but to energize. Take advantage of the energy of their beautiful work and harness it into changing your mood.

• Experiment with different writing prompts or genres (even non-literary ones like painting or photography) anything to help yourself see the world from a different perspective and re-fill your creative well.