Overcoming Writer’s Block

So you get a great idea, you think it’s the best thing you’ve ever come up with, possibly the best thing the world’s ever seen, you can’t wait to write it, you write the first chapter and…

You blank.

Writer’s block.  Everybody gets it.  Sometimes it’s at the beginning of the novel, the middle, the end.  It can happen at any time.  You just can’t think of something good to write about.  Maybe you’re stuck on some hard plot question or character relationship.  Maybe you know what to write next but you just don’t know how, or you’re not quite feeling it.  And it completely sucks.

But think back to when your idea was just that – an idea floating around in your mind.  Remember how excited you were?  How you couldn’t wait to get it out on paper?  How all those characters, relationships, plot ideas, settings, scenes, and sequels just poured through your mind?  You need to get back to that place.  And the trick is getting there and staying there.

Take a break.

 

Step one: take a break.  Not from your novel, but from writing your novel.  Take some time to just think about it.  Get to know your characters better and think through the exciting scenes you have yet to write.

Create a playlist.

 

Create a playlist for your book.  Grab songs you love that you feel express things in your book.  Maybe they set the scene, the tone, or express feelings of certain characters.  It can be a mix of pop songs (maybe expressing one character’s love for another) or classical songs (like movie trailer music that sets an epic tone).  Now listen to your playlist while mulling over all your book ideas in your mind.  This gets you in a creative mood for your story and you’ll probably be excited about it all over again.  But don’t just stop.  Actively keep adding songs to your playlist – new songs will boost your creativity.

Pinterest.com!

 

Get a pinterest page and create a board for your book.  Pinterest is super addicting and pinning photos of scenes and settings and people that you think reflect your book can be a huge creativity booster.  It helps you visualize your story and therefore can make you much more passionate about it.

Read.

 

Read anything and everything you can get your hands on.  As I’m sure you know, reading is essential to writing.  You learn what’s good and what’s not and what kind of books you like reading and writing.  But also, if you start reading a great book that you completely love, it gives you the inspiration to start writing your own.  So find a great book and get reading.

 

Push yourself.

 

So after you take your break and try to boost your creativity, if you’re still having a hard time writing, it might be time to just push yourself.  All writers get writer’s block and I think a lot of the time it isn’t necessarily that we don’t know what to write about, it’s that we just don’t feel like writing.  So sit down and write.  Set a time limit for yourself.  Say, “I’m going to write for an hour, or until three o’clock, or until dinner time.”  The first five to fifteen minutes might be complete torture, but after you get over that initial jump, you’ll most likely get back into your story and want to keep writing.

So hopefully this helped and good luck with your writing!

~ Pauline