How to Put Your Writer’s Block on Mute

Camp NaNoWriMo has officially begun! A lot of writers feel like they struggle against writer’s block, so how do you overcome that when it overwhelms you? Today, participant Stefanie McAuley shares a tip for getting past those moments of doubt:

I sit at my desk, eyes glazed over. Why can’t my mind go this blank when I attempt to meditate? On my screen it’s just there staring back at me. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. How can something so small and controllable be so taunting? And yet, right now I can’t think of a single thing more jeering than the flashing cursor of writer’s block.

“You’ve got this…?” I whisper to myself in what’s intended as a pep-talk but comes out like a question. Inhale. Exhale.

Of course, this usually happens to writers when a deadline is looming—for school, or a paid piece, or a goal set by an over-achieving mind. We must, so we can’t. We freeze under the pressure.

I’m sure you, too, have an arsenal of tricks to get your brain to stop buffering and start flowing. Crowd favorites include a quick walk around the block, wire framing your story arch and filling in the spaces, and my usual choice: the scream-into-a-pillow. While they can be cathartic I’ve found these methods are still too cognitive. Nothing stifles a piece more than muscling your way through the creative process. Even if I manage to hit the deadline, I’m rarely happy with the outcome. What’s worse, I’ve had a really rough day of writing—isn’t this supposed to be fun?—and I’m left deflated, uninspired, and disappointed in my final work.

I needed a better strategy. My poor throw pillows.

“Find an outlet that triggers your creativity and allows you to drop your inhibitions. The time will not be wasted, it’s a simple reset into your creative mindset.”

It wasn’t until one day I was driving home from a dance class that it struck me: creativity breeds creativity. After an hour of being lost in the movement and music, my neurons were firing. Stagnant pieces of my storyline were developing into clear, humorous bridges. I blew through my apartment door, barely taking off my shoes, to frantically write everything down before it escaped me.

Yes. Writing is really fun.

Since then, I have a new lease on my writing life. The eleventh-hour used to freak me out—I had no time to waste! Now, I lean into burning time on non-writing. I crank up a killer playlist with a similar tone to the piece I’m writing, and slide my coffee table out of the way. When I’m stuck, I feel like a jammed record player and the end of the last sentence I’ve typed just repeats over, and over, and over, like it’s trying to knock the next one out. That’s not an option when the music is blaring and I’m letting the lyrics flow through me. There’s just me, my body, and the 90s pop diva du jour.

One side-effect of a catchy song is having those lyrics stuck in your head. Make room for your own word flow by setting back to work with some white noise on in your headphones. This proves an effective way to ward off an earworm.

Whatever you do, stop putting the pressure on yourself. While Whitney into a hairbrush mic isn’t for everyone, find an outlet that triggers your creativity and allows you to drop your inhibitions. The time will not be wasted, it’s a simple reset into your creative mindset.

Have fun with it—isn’t that what it’s all about?

As a writer and marketing specialist, global brands call on Stefanie McAuley for thoughtful strategic-planning and effective creative writing. Not one to sit still, Stef has lived on three continents and traveled to fifty countries. Inspired by her travels and life lessons, she started sharing stories on her blog, Broad World. And, her time living in Ghana inspired the work of her first novel—coming soon! Check out her blog, Instagram, & Twitter.

Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Jeremy Keith on Flickr.