How to overcome writer’s block

I personally, sometimes, find it difficult to just START writing.

Other times, ideas and what to actually write just come to me and my fingers simply cannot keep up with my thoughts.

But writing simply doesn’t come naturally to me. I do have to work hard at it and, like many others, I suffer from the ‘staring into a blank piece of paper’ syndrome: the anxiety of the writer’s block.

We can all expect to suffer from it and for me, it can be hard to over come.

This is what helps me when I find myself in that situation:

Take a nap

Being too tired or stressed is one way of setting yourself up to be faced with Writer’s Block.

So, rest your mind by taking a nap.

Allow your mind some time to recover and soon you will be right back to writing.

Do more research and get even more information

You have completed your research but you feel there is still something missing. It just doesn’t feel right.

Maybe you are not happy with how something is explained.

When you face this type of situation, there is a simple answer:

Don’t accept the blog post as it is. Go and do some more research and make it a blog post you are proud of.

Believe in yourself

We can all write. It’s just some find it easier than others.

However, no matter how good you are at writing, we will all experience the situation of “this is just not working. I’ve spent hours getting nowhere.”

Tell yourself, everyday, how good a writer you are. You don’t have to shout it out or tell anyone. Just tell yourself. Let the inner voice inside your head tell you how good you are, at writing.

You have the skills to write about subjects that others want to read.

There are going to be times when you can just write, write and write some more. Writing is so easy for you. Your confidence is high.

Remember those times when you faced the writer’s block. Remember the times when your confidence in your own writing, was sky high.

Visualize Success

Sixteen years ago, I was an IT Manager at a large corporate company and a new IT Director joined. He didn’t sit in his office. He sat in the middle of the open-planned office with the rest of us. He showed great interest in us as individuals.

He was a great boss.

We were working on a multi-million pound project, which was to replace all the company’s computer systems.

The IT Director sent everyone on a course called, “Investment In Excellence”. Not a particularly inspiring title but we were asked to attend in groups of 20 or so.

The first group attended and returned. The rest of us wanted to know how it went. They said they couldn’t tell us anything, as they were sworn to secrecy.

They also said the title didn’t ‘do the course justice’.

We saw the staff members who had attended the course were really excited. Really happy. Really positive.

The next group attended. They came back the same.

I was in the third group.

The course was simply outstanding. It was with a guy called Lou Tice.

Lou Tice’s course changed my life.

Why?

Because Lou introduced me to “affirmations”.

Affirmations are a way to ‘trick’ your mind into thinking you are very successful at something, now, TODAY! – even though you may not be. You tell your mind to imagine what it’s like as if you have achieve the end results. i.e. being the best writer in the world.

So you can affirm you are a brilliant writer and writing comes easy to you.

Listen to music and have a dance

For me, music is always inspiring and I love dancing.

Some of you know, my wife and I attend ballroom and latin dancing lessons. We simply love to learn to dance.

So when you are stuck with a problem (not just writers block), put on your favourite music and DANCE!

Go for a walk

Maybe listening to music or dancing or taking a nap is just not your thing.

But try and change your surroundings by going for a short walk.

Even a short walk around the block can be enlightening.

It helps clear and relax your mind.

Whatever you do, DON’T QUIT

This may be the best advice I can give you. Don’t give up. Don’t quit.

Break the blog post down into small steps. Spend some time each day writing and stay focused until you finish.

Then when you finish, celebrate.

Buy yourself a treat.

These are some of the ideas and methods I personally use, when faced with that dreaded blank piece of paper and the writers block.

What methods help you?