I hate writer's block

Writer’s block. Something every writer goes through at some point in his or her career. How do you get past it? Some say to write through it. If nothing is coming to you, how do you write through it? Sometimes I just sit and stare at my screen. It doesn’t help. I’ll think, “Hmm let me look this up to help get me started.” Looking up one thing will lead to another thing and an hour and a half later I realize I’m looking up movies Bill Murray has been in, or what do bats eat? How did I get there?

I think a writer’s worst enemy is the Internet. It sucks you in and distracts you without you realizing it. You think you’re doing research, but you’re not. You are procrastinating but making yourself feel better about it. I’m excellent at this.

I’ve found that the best thing to get through my writer’s block is a good bout of insomnia. When I can’t sleep is when my brain works the most. I will lie in bed for hours, just writing inside of my head. These are the moments that I have to grab my phone and email my ideas to myself. I co-sleep with my one-year-old so I tend to not jump up and get to my computer. He’s the lightest sleeping baby and this would just end in him waking up and me spending time getting him back to sleep.

            Some say that writing anything helps. A grocery list, a review of a book you just read, anything. Just write. I’ve had this help me before. Maybe not a grocery list, but writing down dreams has been a huge help. I don’t know about you but I dream pretty vividly and wild. A lot of my short stories have started out as dreams.

             This article written by Chuck Sambuchino has some great idea’s to help overcome writer’s block. He talks about freewriting and also just getting creative by doing something artistic. Most of his idea’s seem pretty helpful. I’d personally probably skip the speaking into a glass of water technique. I’m word enough on my own and don’t need ‘speaks to glasses of water’ added to my list of odd traits.

             Here is a great article on what type of writer’s block you have, and how to overcome it. Everything on this list I’ve been through. I’ve hit dead ends, had too many ideas, didn’t have enough ideas, I’ve also had boring characters. I think the easiest thing to do when stuck is to just walk away. I like to have a fresh pair of eyes on the work to see what I’ve done wrong. This sometimes takes a few days to a week of ignoring the work. If it’s too fresh in my mind it’s harder to see the flaws. Walking away and forgetting about it for a few days helps me see past it and find the root of my problem.

            This site feels more rigid with their examples. They encourage you to have a schedule and deadlines. They want you to try to force yourself to work. I personally will actually write if I have a deadline. When it’s just for me, it will never get done. I like knowing that I have to have such and such done by this time on this date. It puts a fire in my belly and forces me to work through my block.

            I’d love to hear how other writers work through their blocks. Let me know in the comments section below.