Writer’s Block Isn’t Real

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Writer’s Block isn’t real. Now that is a BOLD statement. How many times have you sat staring at either a blank page or have gotten halfway through a scene only to find that the well of creativity has run dry with no sign of rain in the sky?

I have been there. Many times. As a writer of several novels, novellas and short stories ranging from crime, dark fantasy and horror, plus tonnes of social media posts and blog posts and articles, I have at least some authority to comment on this topic.

But we have to escape the notion that ‘Writer’s Block’ is actually a real thing. It isn’t. It’s something that we tell ourselves. It’s a lie. A ruse. A collective scapegoat that writers use to make their current predicament feel better. We attach some kind of romantic, creative notion to it that if only we could overcome this block in our brains, we could create our masterpiece.

Luckily for you, I have a toolkit which will not only break you out of your current bout of imagined writer’s block but also make sure you are never crippled with it again.

Step Number One – You’re the problem here.

The story isn’t the problem. Nor is the keyboard, the mouse, the screen or the word processor you’re using. It’s you. Sorry, not sorry. The problem is you have given the fabulistic idea of writer’s block its power. You need to take that back.

You need to understand that writer’s block isn’t real. It doesn’t exist. It’s something we tell ourselves is real to allow ourselves to not have to do the work that is required. It’s resistance, procrastination, or stress. But it isn’t an abstract idea as a brick wall being put around your brain and your creative ideas are being held ransom and you have to hit the siege at the right moment to free them.

Stop thinking that immediately. Your mindset is the problem. Rid it of its power by acknowledging that writer’s block is nothing but a creation of your own mind.

Step Two – This Isn’t the Finished Product.

You’re likely stuck on the first draft of a project. This is because you have this idea in your head that you must write perfectly the first time and that the delete and backspace buttons don’t exist. It’s called a draft for a reason. You can make mistakes. Write utter shit. Write storylines that can be omitted later and remove scenes and dialogue that don’t work. This is why we edit.

Step Three – The Pressure Cooker

Remember when you had that exam that you hadn’t been studying for for the six months you had leading up to it, and then you hit the books the night before? That’s because the proverbial axe was looming over your head on the chopping block. It’s time to apply this same mindset to writing in the pressure cooker.

Don’t give yourself all the time in the world to write a scene. Give yourself just fifteen minutes.

You will be amazed at what just fifteen minutes of concentrated effort can create. By using this method, I have crammed out thousands of words in a day consistently.

Set a timer for fifteen minutes and write anything and everything that comes out of your brain. Even if the words are quite literally, ‘I can’t think of anything to write.’ This will get the engine in your mind running again and will allow you to put words onto paper.

Step Four – Stop, Drop and Roll.

When the fifteen minutes are finished, stop what you’re doing, drop the project immediately and roll away from the desk. Create distance. Leave the room. Go outside if you have to, but step away from the project even if that’s mid-scene or sentence, and do whatever you like for five minutes.

This will give you both a breather and will create the connections in your brain that when you are sitting at the desk, it’s work time. Not phone and social media time. Not relaxation time, but purely and utterly time to get to work. That way when you sit down at the desk or the laptop or hell, at your work pad, your brain will switch into creative mode and not ‘sitting here staring at the computer mode.’

Step Five – Repeat.

Do the process again as many times as you need to. Keep track of your word count amounts. Make a game of it. Try to beat the record of the last sprint.

For more writing tips and a free story, sign up for my newsletter. Follow me on social media and let me know how you have found this post. I wish you the best with it.

P.S – I wrote this blog in fifteen minutes using this method!

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-          Jay Darkmoore