Defeating writer's block

Hey!

One of the most common symptoms of being a writer is the disease of "writer's block." It is the killer of good ideas, the void that makes writers put down their pens and stare mindlessly out into the open. Writer's block causes a headache among their patients, even hearing the name probably brings up some past memory of a half-finished story that still haunts you today.

For me, this same thing occurred. I started writing a novel a while ago and, after getting around a third of the way through, I didn't know where to go with it. After spending an obscene amount of time staring at a blank page, I gave up. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't see a way forward.

The reason for this is shared among most other suffers.

I had failed before I had even started writing.

💀Skeletons in the closet

What I needed to do before even starting was to plan ahead. This doesn't mean to outline every single detail of your novel so that you have no desire to actually write the full thing. By this, I mean that you should have a bare-bones outline - a skeleton - in which to follow.

There is frequent debate over what is better - planner or pantser, architect or gardener etc, but they are both useful. For me, I sit in the middle.

I feel it is best to outline your plot so you know where you are going, or at least in which direction you are headed. My characters, however, I only briefly outline the most important details. For them I feel it is best to let the writing at the time dictate most of their actions. This helps them feel natural and not overly 'robotic.'

🗒️Writing prompts

While people look down on these, I think writing prompts are a great tool - not for an entire novel idea, but just to get you going. They are great to get you to simply write and put pen to paper (or fingers to a keyboard).

There is an abundance of these online for you to choose from, so if you are ever stuck, find one of these and just write.

🔂Consistency is key (duh..)

I know it is repeated so often that it is almost grating to the ears, but it is true. Consistency is the biggest tool for beating writer's block. Every time you sit down to write, your brain has to re-engage itself and work out what you plan to write. The more often you do this, the less time it'll take to focus.

Let's say that you haven't written for a few months and you want to get back into it. You have sat down and decided you want to write a novel but have no ideas. Stop. I know it's tempting to start a new project, but if you haven't written for a while, I would suggest just building the habit of writing first.

If you were to take my previous comment about writing prompts, then that would be a good starting point. Set yourself the goal of writing five hundred words based on a writing prompt. Do this as often as you can. I would suggest daily, but not everyone can as they might have other responsibilities that need to take priority. So set yourself a time, and stick to it.

👾Making it a game

Another addition to this plan that can make it easier to stick to is to turn it into a game. That way it will be easier. There are many ways to do this.

For example, you could make it into a 'streak system' like what is used on the language learning app 'Duolingo.'

Or, you could track your time spent writing and words written to calculate your words per minute (WPM). From there, you could try and improve this as you go.

Either way, creating a habit out of writing is the best way to stay consistent and stop the deadly writer's block. I understand that to many people, writing is just a hobby, and that is okay. But I believe that making it part of your routine is one of the best ways to improve. And who doesn't want to get better?

That's all from me today,
Fin :)