Five Steps to Overcome Writer’s Block like a boss.

The above picture beautifully sums up what a writer’s block can do to a self-respecting writer. And trust me, it can happen to anyone. Even to the best of the best out there.

But, it is possible to overcome writer’s block just like any other problem. And that is what I intend to discuss in today’s post. So, here are five tips that can help you overcome writer’s block like a boss and finish that novel fast.

Start Outlining your Novel

I am saying this from personal experience. I suffered a lot from writer’s block at one point. The relics from that time still pop-up from time to time in the form of unfinished manuscripts. I started every project with the greatest level of commitment and passion. But someway down the line, everything used to fizzle out.

After much introspection, I realized that all this happened because I didn’t know how to proceed further in the story. Because, I didn’t think that far ahead. Simple solution to this observation was to outline as much as I can.

Outlining doesn’t mean you should know every little bit of information about what you are going to write. But, you should know the high-level beats of your novel. You also need to know where the story starts, where does it go in the middle, and where does it end.

The effect can be stupendous. With a clear direction, you’d realize that you can actually write faster and better. This is what I tried with Starship Samudram and was able to complete it successfully.

Figure out a writing routine

If you’re not doing it already, start setting up a routine today. It helps a lot. A writing routine establishes consistency and discipline. And whether you like it or not, these two things are the most important thing in a writer’s life.

The results would be instant. Because, when you set up yourself for a writing routine, you feel the urge within. Your subconscious prepares your mind to write, ripening your ideas and finding issues with your plot. I know it might sound rather magical but isn’t that what writing is? A kind of magic.

To make things better, you can try out different times of the day to find out what suits you the best. And then, try and settle for a writing session at that time of the day. Everyday.

Read more to write more

Even thought it might sound cliche, but I can’t stress this point any more. Reading is the food for writing. All good writing comes from excellent reading. I have found it to work for me and I’m sure it can work for any writer. Apart from finding inspiration, reading evokes a sense of urgency in your mind – the urgency to write.

Read more and the words shall flow out like a river. It’s that simple, really. Plus, it will also help you know what the competition out there is doing.

Carry a writer’s notebook

A writer’s mind is a complex machine. It works in strange ways. When you sit down to think or brainstorm about your novel, you might not get anything worthwhile. At other times, ideas pop-up when you least expect them to. They can come while driving, while listening to a random conversation, while having a dinner with your wife, and while sleeping. Yes, that’s what happened with me once when I woke up in the middle of the night and all of a sudden a great idea about one of my characters popped into the mind just like that.

Point is that for situations such as this, it is always good to keep a notebook handy where you can jot down the ideas or inspirations as I like to call them. It’s easy to forget such things in the normal humdrum of the day. But, it would certainly be a huge loss for your creativity and a hole for your precious ideas to go down the drain of oblivion. So, plug that hole fast!

Start writing something else

It might not be the most obvious route to follow, particularly for a writer trying their hand at their first novel. However, as you write more and read more, more ideas are bound to appear. And some of them would be brighter than the others and inspire you more. Keep these ideas documented in the notebook I talked about earlier. And if one idea is troubling you with its execution or flow, you can always give it a rest and start with one of the other ideas. Of course, don’t forget to come back to the previous idea because finishing a novel is more important than just leaving it mid-way.

This tactic helps you overcome story-fatigue, which can set in when you’re writing a particularly long story. You can alternate a big 100K-word epic with a seasoning of short stories that can only improve your writing and help in building a stronger body of work.

I’ve been trying this tactic for some time now and am certainly enjoying more.

So, what do you think about all the above points? Are there some other tactics that you’ve tried and they worked? If yes, don’t hesitate to put them in the comments section.

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