Writer’s Block Got You Down? 3 Exercises to Help You Break the Curse
“Writing about a writer's block is better than not writing at all.”
― Charles Bukowski
Okay, so I’m pretty conscious that I’ve written a few times about not forcing your writing and if it’s not happening for you, just step away from the laptop, typewriter, or notepad and pen, and spend some time living your life instead of waiting for the words.
But I’m also aware that’s not always possible.
As a freelance content writer, working with a few different outlets, it’s not always up to me when I can choose to write or not. My editors have strict publishing schedules and if I want to keep securing work with them, I need to make sure I meet those schedules. On the flip side of the coin, I have a few coveted fiction publications I’m always seeking opportunities to get published with. Often, these publications will do call-outs with themes throughout the year and I need to write something that aligns with both the requested theme and the general vibe of the publication.
Whatever your reason or motivation for writing, writer’s block can rear its ugly head - and usually does - at the most exasperating of times. At the heart of overcoming the experience is action. Any action, as long as it contributes towards or helps move you closer towards your current writing goal.
Below are three exercises I find myself coming back to because they help get me out of my own ‘blank-page-of-terror’ brain and they’re fun!
The Rule of Eight
I find this one works well whether I’m writing fiction or non-fiction. Depending on my writing goal, I’ll pick a book that aligns with what I’m currently working towards.
The Rule of Eight is pretty straight-forward:
Go to your bookshelves.
Pick the eighth book on the shelf (you can mix up which shelf you pick from if you repeat this exercise. I keep all my fiction and non-fiction books separate so if I’m trying to overcome a block for fiction writing, I’ll turn to the fiction section.)
Open the book to the eighth chapter and turn to the eighth page in the chapter.
Find the eighth sentence on that page and write it down.
This is now the start of your story or piece of writing. This exercise is just for fun, but you could keep the eight rule going and write eight words, eight sentences, eight paragraphs - mix it up.
The Five Whys
This exercise has worked best for me when trying to come up with some new pitches or ideas for non-fiction content writing.
Again, it’s a simple process:
Head to Google and type in ‘Why’ (if you’ve got a specific theme or area of writing you need to focus on you could type that too, for example ‘Why writer’s block’.
Pick the fifth answer that comes up and select the fifth article in the search results.
Read through the article and then attempt to write a 500-word piece summarising what you’ve learnt.
Pick a keyword or phrase from the piece you’ve written and return to Google, this time type searching ‘Why’ and the keyword.
Pick the fourth answer and the fourth article that comes up.
Read the article and then attempt to write a 400-word piece summarising what you’ve learnt.
You get the idea - keep repeating this process until you get down to 100-words. You’ll have five pieces of writing you can trash or expand on into full articles. I usually find by the time I’ve written the 500 and 400-word articles, I’ve found a handful of other ideas I’m keen to research and write a piece or two of my own about.
Mindfulness for Creative Blocks
It’s incredibly easy to see writer’s block as this mammoth obstacle that simply can’t be overcome. Experiencing a block can incite all kinds of anxiety and stress, and if you’re super unlucky, its best friend - imposter syndrome - will come along to join the party.
Mindfulness has steadily grown in popularity over the last few years and not without merit. I try to get a little practice in daily, but this particular version has proven really helpful when trying to get the creative juices flowing:
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and bring your attention to your breathing. Focus on your inhale and exhale and clear your head.
Allow thoughts to enter your mind but imagine them passing through, don’t let them linger.
After a few moments, bring your attention to your writing. Ask yourself - how do I feel about writing?
Allow whatever thoughts come up to pass through your mind without judgement or comment. Acknowledge and accept what and how you feel.
Now bring your focus to your current block. What does it look like? What images come to mind? (I often see a brick wall made out of black bricks.)
Imagine your creativity as a gentle wave that crashes into the image of your block. It isn’t destructive, but it is clearing the way, creating a clear space once more.
When you feel good, grab a notebook and pen, set a timer and write for three minutes. You don’t need to have any goal in mind, simply free-hand whatever comes to mind and give yourself this time to scribble down as much as you like. Some things I like to focus on to help finalise the ‘end’ of my block include:
“I’m not blocked because …”
“The path back to my writing looks like …”
“My writing helps me by …”
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” ― Stephen King
The difference between an amateur and a professional writer, as Stephen King so eloquently puts it, is the fact we just get to work. It’s easy to hide behind writer’s block as an excuse for not writing. One truth I’ve learnt is that the key cause of writer’s block is fear.
Once I accept this (and the fact that some of my writing will just genuinely be terrible) it makes it so much easier to dive straight in. These exercises almost always produce terrible writing but they allow me to get the terrible writing out of the way, so I can crack on with the good stuff.
