Techniques For Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is an annoying problem that writers sometimes get, and it means that the writer isn’t able to come up with anything to write about. If you like to write, you know there are times when ideas come to you easily and you feel very creative. At some point, you might find it hard to think of any new plots or characters, or anything that really interests you. Some writers experience writer’s block for months or years at a time, and it can be very frustrating. Fortunately, there are many ways to overcome writer’s block.
The key to overcoming writer’s block is to get your creative juices flowing. Life can become mundane and boring as we live it day to day. This is actually one of the main reasons that writers like to write (to escape the real and really boring real world). This monotony can make our minds dull and we find that we actually have to work our “creative muscle” for it to stay strong.
Increase Input
One thing you can do today to overcome writer’s block is to start watching and reading the news. You could also go to the mall or a park and “people watch”. By increasing the amount of spontaneous events and information into your mind, you’ll be acquiring more information to work with. Unexpected things happen and get reported on the news, and you can build on those events. While people watching, you can find interesting characters and mannerisms for your characters. When you start thinking about new characters, you might get curious about what a character’s life is like and what they would do in situations you hear about on the news.
Record and Consider the Input
We forget most of the things we see and hear. Many of the interesting news items and the unique characters you find at the mall or in a park will slip by you if you fail to record them. A technique you can use is to carry around a small pocket-sized pad of paper, or your smart phone may have a way to type notes or record voice notes. These are all convenient and handy ways to record and remember the interesting events and people you come across.
Increase Output
Writing prompts are excellent ways to get your creative juices flowing. These are very short introductions to stories that are designed to make you curious about what happens next; then you write down what you think happens next. Writing prompts are typically one to three sentences long; here’s an example:
“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” “No!” Stacey yelled and then bit her lip; he’s only five. She would drive until she figured out how to tell him the truth, and then they would finally go home.
This writing prompt raises questions such as: Where does the kid think they’re going? Why can’t they go (as in, what is the ‘truth’)? It seems something is different about their lives that the kid doesn’t yet know about. As the writer, you get to decide all of these things. The best part is that if it gets you writing, it’s done its job; whether you write one sentence or several pages, the point is you wrote.
With enough new input and plenty of writing prompts [http://www.killerprompts.com/], you’ll be feeling creative again.