Bloggers: Here's How to Overcome Writer’s Block! - 6 Mojo-Boosting Tips

GETTING STARTED is always the hardest part of writing.

Once you're in the flow, the sentences come pretty quickly.

It's kinda like a stalled car. It's much easier to push once it starts to roll. But getting it rolling -- that's the tough part!

It's the same with writing. As Steve Merrick says:

I have found repeatedly hitting my head with a mallet doesn't help at all, so I am open to suggestions.

:)

Today I'll show you 6 great tricks to help you overcome writer's block and get your juices flowing.

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Bloggers: Here's How to Overcome Writer’s Block! - 6 Mojo-Boosting Tips

1. Start from the middle

If you have a seed of an idea, just write that. Don’t be concerned about jumping in halfway through -- just begin where you are.

START THERE!

Write as if you’ve already introduced the thought, then write some more. Before you know it, you’ll have a completed a post that's only missing an intro.

For example, did you ever get so excited about telling a story that you rushed right in, then had to back up later to set the stage for the listener?

It's the same thing with writing. Don't be afraid to get the good stuff out, then come back to frame it.

As Jean-Luc Godard says:

A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end -- but not necessarily in that order.

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2. Disconnect yourself

In our constantly-connected world, hours can fly by with nothing accomplished but checking email, text messaging, and posting to Facebook.

(Ouch!)

It can feel a bit scary -- but DRASTIC MEASURES are sometimes called for:

1. Unplug your router
2. Put your phone in airplane mode
3. Turn off all electronic attention-grabbers
4. Load your worries into an imaginary sack
5. Drop the sack in the corner for safekeeping... and enjoy the peace

The idea here is to allow a space for silence -- a place where those tiny ideas can be heard.

Yes, it will feel uncomfortable at first. DEAL WITH IT. Try to go 30 minutes, then an hour.

Practice this every day for 2 weeks, and you will be amazed at the results. Trust me.

HERE'S A TEST: Take a photo of yourself relaxing, post it to Pinterest, and note how many people express envy over your newfound serenity.

Follow the advice of Thomas Merton:

Don’t just do something. Stand there!

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3. Write somewhere else

Standard advice for writers:

Be consistent. Sit down at the same desk, at the same time, with your same favorite cup every day -- and write.

That’s all well and good… except that it doesn’t always work. Writer’s block can AND WILL show up to spoil the party.

So pack up your notebook and hit the road.

Head to the library, the coffee shop, a pub -- anywhere the muse tells you to go. Then get out your gear and start writing.

And (this is crucial) don’t leave until those keys have begun to clack. Chances are good you’ll still be tapping away when they’re ready to close.

Fine artists, for example, often get their best ideas outside of the studio. By leaving your desk and switching up your surroundings, you make room for a fresh touch of creativity.

4. Don’t use backspace

Are you ever tempted to self-edit yourself into oblivion? (Be honest here.)

STOP IT!

Don’t even THINK about editing at first. Your job is to write.

Once you’ve poured it all out, drained every last drop, emptied the bottle… THEN you can go back to shape things up.

The way to finish something is to keep going. The surefire way to never finish… is to edit.

As Red Smith says:

Writing is easy: You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.

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5. Challenge yourself

TRY THIS:

1. Open something penned by a writer you admire
2. Poke your finger on the page to randomly select a sentence
3. Copy the first half of the sentence onto your own blank page
4. Finish the sentence
5. Then write another... and another... and another

Before you know it, you’ll be heading off in a direction of your own. All you needed was a bit of a nudge.

For more ideas, check Simon Kewin's (@SimonKewin) Writing Prompts 101 page.

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6. Do something repetitive & mindless

When you’ve tried it all and nothing is working, the best thing to do is this:

QUIT!

Rather than continue trying to write, go do the dishes, vacuum the dog, lie on your back and throw a ball into the air… do anything at all.

Just DON’T DO either of these:

1. Write
2. THINK about your writing

Musicians, for example, use this technique to learn a new song.

When a savvy guitar player hits a point where it seems IMPOSSIBLE to make a chord transition or walk through a riff, it’s time to put the guitar down and do something else.

With a brief break -- maybe a 5-minute walk to check the mail or howl at the moon -- the next attempt at the previously inaccessible skill will begin to flow... almost without effort.

It just works.

Remember Jacques Barzun's advice:

In producers, loafing is productive -- and no creator, of whatever magnitude, has ever been able to skip that stage, any more than a mother can skip gestation.

The Bottom Line

The next time writer’s block dares you to make a move, pull up this article (you bookmarked it, right?) and get out the 6 big guns listed here.

If you can walk through them all -- and you STILL haven't beat the block -- let us know at: @postplanner.

We'll let you in on #7!

HERE'S THE MAIN THING to remember though:

The words are in you. They’ve always been there. Your job is to find out how to let them out.

Open a vein.

Flow.

____________________

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