11 Tips For Ending Writer’s Block

Some good ideas to bring back your muse.

Enjoy!

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We all know the mantra. To break Writer’s Block we should schedule writing time. Go for a walk. Try a writing exercise. Set a deadline. Take a break. But what about real writers? As Oscar Wilde once said, “I spent all morning putting in a comma and all afternoon taking it out”. For those of us who, perhaps, have slightly more pressing deadlines here are some well know (and some lesser-known) tips for breaking writers block. They come with a three day guarantee, or your money back! So what’s to lose?

1. Throw a Tantrum

Scream about how you cannot write, and how you were never supposed to be a writer. Tear up your manuscript (only if you have a back-up copy!), and throw it on a bonfire. If any friends attempt to tell you that you are a great writer, disagree vehemently.

This is a fantastic method for getting rid of that feeling of irrational despair. By clearing the air, you actually help yourself break through the barrier that was stopping you from writing.


2. Get Drunk

Many great books have been written by crazed junkies and alcoholics. I am not going to suggest you take up heroin in order to write the next Naked Lunch, but I do recommend that every now and then you get nicely sozzled and then let your creativity rip.

It works by helping you detach from the ‘real world’ and all the mundane troubles that are keeping your mind occupied. If you’re planning on writing, it’s probably best that you drink alone.

3. Give Up

That’s right. Quit. You aren’t going to write that amazing novel that changes the world. You were never going to get your name listed next to Shakespeare. Stop trying for unattainable goals. Remember why you started writing? For fun. Forget your future millions, your future rabid fans, your future critical acclaim. It’s not going to happen. So get back to writing for yourself, and for the fun of it.

It will be a better book in the long run, trust me.

4. Sell-Out

Write something designed solely for the money. Completely remove any sense of artistic or creative individuality. You want glossy, shallow, slick and manipulative. You want a Hollywood paint-by-numbers, a Mills & Boon derivative, a marketers gray and soulless dream product.

How does it work? Much the same way as above - it stops you from getting overly attached to the ‘perfectionism’ of your final piece, or breaking under the expectation of greatness. Your subconscious will get involved anyway - it’s impossible to write anything without it reflecting some of your own values - but it will be working against the form, which is always a good thing.

5. Rant, Rave, and Rage

Possibly our best and easiest writing comes from when we attack something we disagree with. This might be Wal-Mart or the eating of meat, or it might be something more mundane, like people who don’t dye their roots. If you have a strong opinion about it, write about it. Have one of your characters start ranting about it, or just write an editorial of your own. Either way, you’ll find the words rolling like never before.

6. Don’t start with a blank page

A blank page is a harsh critic. Only the most inspired of sentences should mar the pristine surface. If you start with a page that already has something written on it, then you feel much more at ease.

I like to start on ‘real’ paper, and I like to be deliberately messy. I write disjointed sentences going against the line, and I doodle pictures, and I draw big balloons around my ideas. This frees me from the need to be ‘perfect’ from the start. As I go, I gradually get a sense of the atmosphere and structure of the story. The finished product gradually takes shape out of the mess, evolving into something fleshy and visceral.

7. Don’t start at the start

Writers put a huge emphasis on the opening of a book, or an article. The so-called ‘hook’ is supposed to grab readers and force them to read everything else you’ve written. So where do you start?

Don’t worry about it yet. Start writing the part that interests you the most. A story grows organically, it does not fall onto the paper already written. (Unless you’re one of those lucky ones who have a direct line to their muse… in which case, why are you reading this?) I usually start with some kind of dramatic event, which kick-starts the story for me. But I like writing dramatic events. You may prefer to start with an interesting side character, some historical background, or a beautifully described vignette.

8. Plan the story first

If you have a plan, you can start to fill it out. Write a scene here, a scene there. Then start connecting them together. A story doesn’t have to be written in a linear fashion. Now that we have computers, we have cut-n-paste. I rearrange my stories a million times before I’m done.

9. Write about something else

I get a kick out of writing completely self-indulgent stream-of-consciousness pseudo-intellectual bullcrap. So that’s what I write when my ’serious’ work isn’t happening. Since I know nobody but me is going to read it, I don’t worry about making it believable or well-written or anything.

Sometimes you find a sentence that comes out really well, and that kicks you off again. If not, at least you’ve written something.

10. Realise it’s not the Final Draft

After you have written your story, you can change the names, ages, genders, and histories of your main characters. You can alter their personalities. You can revive the dead, turn back time, and generally kick the ass of typos, clumsy sentences, and adverbs. If your main hero is a drip, but one of your secondary characters seems very intriguing, swap them over. It’s your world, and anything you don’t like, you can change. So write down your first idea, even if you know it’s not the best, and then when you have a better idea, come back.

11. Keep Writing

Even if you are reduced to spelling out baby noises. Even if you go on a long detour about how much you hate writing. Even if all you can think to do is type ‘tumpty-tumpty-tee’. It can be deleted, and as long as you’re writing your subconscious is sweating. Once you’ve written your five hundred words, you can go to sleep or go for a walk or head for the gym or vegetate with your television. The next day those five hundred words will have paid off with new inspiration. Trust me.

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Cheers!
Brian M Logan
ThatActionGuy.com
EMAIL ME HERE

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