30 Surefire Ways To Bust Through Writer’s Block

Are you feeling stuck and uninspired in your work as an author?

Have you extinguished that spark of creativity that lights up your imagination and ability to write with ease?

Maybe you’ve lost track of where your writing was going, or you feel like the well of ideas has run dry.

Writer’s block affects all authors from time to time, but knowing this offers little comfort to those who are currently experiencing it. It’s a painful, frustrating place to be.

Author and blogger Jeff Goins has narrowed the causes of writer’s block down to these three common culprits:

Timing – your ideas aren’t quite well-formed enough to be memorialized in writing.

Fear – you feel way too vulnerable to put your work out into the world to be judged or criticized.

Perfectionism – you need everything to be perfect in your head before you start.

Science fiction author Charlie Jane Anders says that writer’s block is actually too broad a term for a number of different creative challenges. She breaks up the concept of writer’s block in these 10 problems:

  • Being unable to commit to a single idea.
  • Getting stuck on one part of the outline.
  • Getting stuck in the middle of the story or concept.
  • Hitting a dead end because you took a wrong turn a while back.
  • Feeling bored with characters who aren’t doing anything or material that seems dry.
  • Being paralyzed by future imagined negative reactions.
  • Not being able to think of the exact right word.
  • Thinking the story or idea was great in concept, but now seems all wrong in writing.
  • Getting stuck while slogging through revisions.

Having an awareness of what your block might be can enable you to judge how best to proceed.

Fortunately, authors have a variety of opinions for busting through writer’s block. Just remember that what works in one situation may not work in another. That’s why we at Authority.Pub encourage you to try out many different strategies to figure out what works for you.

Some are practical, some are more creative, and some are a little woo-woo. Whether or not you believe in muses and divine inspiration, don’t rule any out until you’ve tried them.

The most important part is that you do something. Don’t just sit there staring at an empty sheet of paper or a blank document on the screen. Once you get the momentum going, you will be on your way soon enough.

Here are 30 ideas on how to overcome writer’s block.

Read More