Even the best writers have their bad days, thanks to the dreaded onslaught of writers’ block. There are different ways to combat this and here are six tips to start with.
1. Write on a schedule
Sit at your computer the same time on your schedule and get ready to write. Eventually, words will start appearing on the page when your mind and body gets used to “writing time”. Don’t worry if nothing comes. Show up and eventually it will. Be patient. Write everyday and give yourself a low daily word count. i.e 100 words a day or 500 words per day and stick to it. Make it low enough so when you sit and get ready to write you won’t be overwhelmed to meet 2500 word counts for the day.
2. Give yourself a goal and deadline
Research shows that setting deadlines will help you complete projects faster and more efficient than not setting deadlines. Set goals. Determine a total word count, and a daily word count. This will give you the deadline to finish your work. When you have a deadline, with actionable daily goals, it’s more likely you will defeat writers’ block.
Word count goal / daily word count = days to finish (deadline)
50,000 / 250 = 200 days (deadline) 6 months and 20 days
3. Be Patient with yourself
Expect your first draft to be terrible. All first drafts are.
4. Write down your inspiration for writing and revisit it when you get stuck
When you begin a project or when you get stuck, take time to figure out why you are writing what you are writing. Be honest with yourself. Are you writing what you think you should? Or what you want to? Do you want to be an inspiration to others? Do you have a story to tell that others will find exciting?
5. Read
Read, read, read. Read books in the same genre as you are writing, read books on different topics than you are writing, read poetry, haiku, blog posts, articles, news articles. Read everything you can get your hands on.
6. Get out, live
Get up, go out. Go for a walk and look around to clear your mind. If you are into working out, go work out. Sit at a coffee shop and people-watch. Watch a movie, wash dishes. Do mundane repetitive tasks and think about your work.
There you have it. Six tips to combat writer’s block. Do you suffer from it? What are some techniques you use to push through it? Respond in the comments and I’d be happy to join in the conversation.