One of the reasons that I love being a writer is the excitement of a blank page. It symbolizes the beginning of something you can get lost in — a world, a character, even a situation. It can be exhilarating. It could be ecstatic. And the times that it is, it feels like nothing can stop you— you’re going to write until there is nothing left in your brain. The reality is, though, that most of the time a blank page is taunting, it’s menacing. A reminder that you can’t write anything. It can be infuriating after staring at it for too long.

Writer’s block has happened or will happen to every writer who has graced this earth. You sit down at your computer, notebook, or loose piece of paper and you have nothing. You’re devoid. Suddenly, your creativity has fled and it’s nowhere to be found. The blank page is sitting there, in front of you, and it’s insulting you.

You take a walk, hoping it will help. You bring your notepad with you just in case you see something interesting, a fleeting moment of vulnerability that can start something in your mind. Nothing. You go out with your friends, hoping they offer a story you can whip up into something to fill that blank page. Nothing. You try and try and try until you’re so tired you swear you’ll never write again. You get an instant of relief, you finally have an idea, and when you get that notebook out, it’s gone. That blank page is still there when you get home. It’s provoking you.

How do you get rid of writer’s block? Get rid of everything. Get rid of the idea of writing. Get rid of the idea of a blank page. Run as far as you can from it. Get away from the taunting, the thoughts that you’ll never write anything ever again, that you’ve failed.

The day after that, or the next, or the one after that, an idea will pop into your head. It might be terrible but you’ll still write it down. You’ll get your creativity back. And after a couple of really painstakingly bad ideas, you will come to one that isn’t half bad.

It’s impossible for me to tell you how to get over writers block because everyone has their own way of doing things. I can only share how I overcome or try to overcome writer’s block.

Blank pages can be intimidating. Starting fresh notebooks, tearing out pieces of paper, is something I’m particularly experienced with. The moment I finally overcome that hurdle, I feel liberated and nothing can stop me. In all honesty, I don’t have a particular tool or method for overcoming writer’s block. I have done one simple thing to overcome this struggle the past few times I have encountered it. Walk away. A creative idea won’t come to me if I force it or fight for it. In those moments when I’m least expecting it, I come up with my best ideas. I feel as if I have had an epiphany. It happens because I haven’t been staring at the page all day long, or keeping my pen at my side ready to jot down the next big idea. It occurs because I’ve freed my mind from any connection to being forced to imagine, to create, and instead let it imagine and create at its own pace. While it may not be a useful suggestion to anyone (even myself) if time is an issue, you can still try to walk away from the obstacle for an hour or even just ten minutes, your mind may refresh and you might be able to approach it from a different angle.

Whenever my mind is free to daydream fully, I am able to think more clearly. Do not force your ideas to come to you; let them flow from you instead.

One way I tackle writer’s block is through the Pomodoro method. Setting aside a few hours in a day to amend a draft for an assessment like a novel or play portfolio or complete homework concerned with practising the skills needed for a language like German not only allows me to block out outside distractions through noise cancelling headphones, but also to give myself enough time to free write my thoughts towards a certain class for a module and effectively explain my opinions on how I can apply the advice given by the lecturers even after I graduate from my degree.

Alternatively, taking a brief nap is an effective way for me to confront writer’s block. Even though I sleep for more than an hour rather than the usual 20-minute period, any tension or fears regarding assessments which I perceive as difficult to accomplish are filtered away through my subconscious. Upon waking up, the combination of a refreshed mind and a positive mentality presents a helpful method to face a to-do list left to pile up from constant stress. By gradually ticking off any prioritising and/or important tasks within a particular week for all of my modules, the end result will make me satisfied that what I have written is a reflection of the progression and development as a writer when exploring various forms of writing, as well as proud of what I have managed to achieve. 

‘’I want my writing to be unique.’’ This is a sentence which every writer has uttered to themselves at least once in their career. In this endeavour, we, as writers, often forget that having basic human qualities and our own personalities make us unique. Our writing will be unique, whether we try to make it that way or not. This leads to the birth of a phenomenon known as writer’s block. 

Any writer you have met who says that they have never experienced this is lying. It is the natural progression of the journey of a writer. Writers want to appear better than others by saying that their creativity has never experienced a slump. Experiencing the slump may actually make us better writers. Getting the ideas which we rate as ‘bad’ or ‘crazy’ out on paper, even as a series of points, will help you save them. A lot of writers who have taken a small break from these ideas and don’t save them regret doing that in the future. They may never be as fresh or new again. 

Personally, I feel that a good way of overcoming writer’s block is picking a place in the city you live in to be a ‘’creative purge space’’. This place should be away from your writing desk preferably. Take a notebook with you, or a device and scribble all of the ideas out. Tear the pages with the ideas out of your notebook, but save them. Sit in the space, let your ideas and thoughts wash over you and you will gain a new perspective on them. Just moving away from your writing desk can make an entire world of difference. If the place you have chosen is close to nature, let the fresh air and the sounds of insects, water and the different colours around you have an impact on you. They will help you cleanse and free you of your writer’s block. Have a playlist you listen to, let the music be calming or maybe lo – fi. The effect these things have on clearing your block is immaculate.

I live in London so my space is on Primrose Hill, I hope you find your safe writing space too. Every writer needs one.

For dealing with writer’s block, I would personally recommend two similar ideas that I have used in the past in order to help avoid any instances where you may feel stuck or helpless with your writing. The first idea that I would suggest is to write down the thought in your head almost instantly, no matter how bizarre or silly it may be, and then form it into a longer sentence and then flesh out the thought as much as you can. For example, if you are thinking “I can’t wait to have a cup of coffee” I would write that down into a longer sentence, then I would build upon it by adding “I really like my coffee with cream and brown sugar” or “I would like to stop by my favourite coffee place and try something new” and make it as detailed as possible then using that momentum switch over to writing. The second idea I would say is if you were writing a novel, you could write down the main plot devices/events as an outline of the important stuff, and then return to dress it up later when you feel more creative.

Writer’s block can be quite annoying when writing but I believe it can also help to think outside the box. Well the metaphorical box as I don’t really own a physical box of ideas. Whenever I am stuck on what to write next or I am unhappy with what I have written I use the writer’s block to distract myself. There are many ways I distract myself and many ways you too can distract yourself for the better.

I find that listening to different kinds of music effects my writing differently. If I am listening to a heavy metal song like ‘Fuel by Metallica’ then I find myself wanting to write something chaotic. For example if I am writing a piece of a novel then I might want to add a chaotic element to cause conflict to the characters. I believe the type of music can help with different moods within your writing. I also like to look out my window and observe the surrounding area and imagine what characters would do if they were in the real world. The real world can help with writing.

Distracting yourself with anything no matter how ridiculous it is can help you to write. Of course don’t get too distracted as you might forget about the writing completely. Reading can also help. I like to read books of a similar nature to what I am writing to help influence my own writing. Distract yourself, absorb knowledge and just write. This works for me but it might not work for you so no guarantees.

A writer’s life is an intrigue of mysteries that leads towards writing a novel, a play or anything your mind takes you to. The idea that sparks a brilliant novel or a play is something magical that drives us to type away our fervid imagination, leaving behind any restrictions or limits that reality may present. The process is not always as easy because sometimes we come to a stage where we are out of words or we are not sure how the story will develop. It can be very hard to navigate through that stage, especially if you start overthinking your way, as it may become an impenetrable wall.

I do not have the cure for the so-called “writer’s block” but I can share what I like to do when it happens to me. When I stop writing because I cannot come up with the next scene of action for whatever I’m writing, I leave everything behind and go for a walk – sometimes with some music on. It is soothing to walk around by the river (in my case) and spend some time wandering around, calming myself and thinking about something else. Or else, when I have lots of mixed ideas running through my head, I listen to upbeat music and throw everything on the page before I forget or implode.

Reading a book or watching a movie whenever I have time distracts me from what I have to do and gives me ideas about how to write a paragraph or setting a scene. Inspiration can come from anything that surrounds you, or even something that you want to experience. The methods are endless, and I like to use any of them depending on how I feel, because every story and emotion is unique, so they need to be treated as such.

What I can tell you from personal experience is that staring at a blank page won’t help, it may cause stress and anxiety and it won’t write itself if the mind set is not there. The best way that I found working for myself is to leave the page behind for a while and go back to it at a later stage, where your mind is more relaxed and you can write without pressure.

I don’t believe there is a method that works for everyone, but you need to have fun finding the one that works best for you. 

Writer’s block, to me— is a symptom of a lack in genuine inspiration. It comes to me in phases, sometimes I have months of complete productivity followed months of complete unproductivity. It is very important to me that during this time I do not force myself to create. If there is no inherent want for me to put pen to paper it means that even if I try to I won’t produce anything of note or value. So, during this time, I like to immerse myself in novels, poetry, films, and general art that is created by anybody but me. I find that when my own creativity stops flowing, it is a sign that I need to delve back into the creativity of others, and come out better because of it. There are certain books and some films that I reread and re-watch that always get me back into a space in which i can produce my own work again, however I do find it also effective to try and read new things, or discover new works of art in general.

The thing I am trying to do with this is that my writer’s block is a sign that I need to be reminded of why we produce the things we do. Why do we make art? Why is it important? Who do we do it for? When I am not creating, it is a good time to start reflecting on why I do it in the first place, if it has a purpose. Once I read novels again, watch films again, I understand the importance of creating again.

The muse is a wary and suspicious fox that you stare at and runs away as soon as you try to get closer. It seems to hide behind randomness as foxes hide inside gardens at night and it’s never around when you need it. I experienced writer’s block many times. Looking at the blank page, I cried for ideas that never want to come out, wishing the page to fill itself. It never happens, sadly. But, it’s worth trying to lure the muse in different ways.

One technique is character prompts. They worked quite well to generate plots or to write the first sentence of my stories. It’s good to explore ideas from different angles as situations might influence a character and vice versa. Websites have prompts with questions to draw out a character. Then, it’s a matter of making them appear on the page and letting them go.

Another exercise I found useful is beginning a story by writing a conversation, and it’s good for those who like to write dialogue. Still, I think it can be risky as the piece might look like a play. But, conflicts are inside dialogues and it’s easier to understand characters by listening to what they say on a page. 

I tried to describe a room or an object and carry on a story from these. It’s not my favourite exercise, but it’s good to come up with ideas to tell stories or introduce characters. I did this a while ago for a flash fiction piece and worked.

Sometimes it’s a matter of being free to suck and writing for the sake of doing it. Free writing is a good way to fight writer’s block, but I don’t find it quite effective as often it’s just a blurt of words. But, internal monologues are good to explore possibilities and it’s also fun and therapeutic. The same kind of result can be done with Journaling. 

Writing a true sentence works sometimes, as It helps to create an immediate sense of reality and believe in one’s story. From there it’s easy to continue and add pieces and details. The downside is that I found it hard to see the piece as fiction or nonfiction, but I think that one is a false friend of another.

Listening to music might work, but I think it’s good just for getting ideas for poems. I can’t write while I listen to music. I need to listen to my words, but music might help to generate emotions and images to use in a poem. 

These are a few of the exercises I tried when I had writer’s block. They might work, but often it’s a matter of writing the story one feels to write. I think that’s the best way to believe in one’s work and be worth the fatigue, but especially, read a lot.