Writers Block Solutions

I never imagined I would find myself needing writer’s block solutions. I love writing and it usually comes so easily to me.

So when I sat down in front of my computer Monday morning I was completely dumbfounded when I drew a complete blank.

I mean nothing, not a single solitary idea came to mind.

The longer I sat there trying to come with an idea the more negative thoughts started creeping into my head.

I knew this wasn’t good and was only going to make it worse and of course, it did.

I was in panic mode now. I mean we have two websites and I usually easily write three posts for one site and two posts for the other site each week. That isn’t a lot. Just one article a day and I am usually done working by lunchtime.

Not this time.

Lunchtime came and went and I still no ideas so I spent the afternoon poolside with some of our grandchildren who came to visit as they are in our one household bubble. I figured the break might be good for me since I was only frustrating myself in front of the computer.

Tuesday morning comes along and still nothing.

The longer this goes on the more negative is creeping into my mind, definitely not a good sign.

I ended up spending time cleaning up some pages on my site but didn’t write a single word of new content.

Again the grand-kids came over after lunch so I spent some fun hours with them.

Wouldn’t you know it, the same thing happened on Wednesday.

Uuuggghhhhh. This is upsetting me now.

Three days with no new content on either side. I begin doubting whether I am even able to be a successful blogger.

Halfway through the morning, I decided to research the writer’s block solutions.

I found a wealth of helpful hints.

Finding this information made me realize that I wasn’t alone. Other people have experienced writer’s block as well.

So now I am writing a post about my experiences with writer’s block and sharing what I found to help combat it.

Different Types of Writers Block

You Can’t Come Up With an Idea. You stare at the screen with a big fat nothing, you keep typing and erasing but just continuously have a blank page. You are stopped before you even get started. You just stare at the blank screen until you just can’t stand to sit there anymore. This is a part of what I struggled with all week. Writing exercises can usually help with this type of blockage. Try imagining a certain part of your life turning out differently and write about that, just to start the creative juices flowing again. Or write a completely mean satire about someone who recently made you angry, no you won’t give it to them or publish it. You are just trying to jump-start the creative flow.

You have lots of ideas but just can’t decide on what to go with so the ideas peter out. This is tricky. You may start then lose interest after a few paragraphs. I find that oftentimes the coolest ideas seem to be the ones that peter out and the lame ideas are the ones I tend to be able to run with. Funny how that happens. The best thing to do is save all those ideas in a file and come back to them in a year or so. Maybe by then, you will have ideas on how to make them work. Often when this situation occurs, you are just a few hours or days away from finding an idea that will work and you can run with it.

You`re stuck in the middle somewhere. You may or may not have an outline. Either way, you just can’t seem to figure out what happens next. Or maybe you have two cool ideas but are unsure of how to go from one scene to the next. Try just going off in a new direction and see where that goes. It may link the two ideas in a cool way you hadn’t previously thought of.

You keep thinking people will think your story or article sucks and you feel paralyzed. You can’t move forward with your writing or publishing because you are so afraid some reader is going to tear it apart and fill your site with negative comments. Fear is powerful and paralyzing. Chances are your ideas are nowhere near as bad as you are imagining them to be. Try to do a quick write and see where the story goes then put your inner critic to work another day when you revise it.

Sometimes we get stuck when revising. This is when you want to get the revisions done so you can get on with publishing but you can’t see past the big blocks of text. There is no shortcut for this block. You just have to look at your text from different angles and see what works best. It takes time and sometimes you just need to take a break and look at it later.

Ways to Find Ideas to Write About

My favourite way to come up with ideas is to write a list of question words:

• who
• what
• when
• where
• why
• how

Using that list and keeping your niche in mind add phrases to those words. Let`s use the travel niche for an example:

• Who is the best companion for travelling?
• What do you earn from travelling?
• Why would someone like to travel?
• When is the best time to travel?
• Where should you travel next?
• How to travel without spending money?

Don’t be critical of your ideas, you are just brainstorming. Do this a few times and you will have several ideas you can run with. Save the rest for future articles.

Another thing that sometimes works for me is to read some of my old ideas, sometimes I find topics within an old article that I could expand upon my writing a whole new article about that subject.

Check the comments on some previous posts, have they asked any questions. Perhaps you could write an article answering the most popular questions.

Try googling your niche and see what suggestions pop up as google tries to guess what you are typing.

Take a paper and pencil and just scribble down anything that comes to mind. Something may come to you when you least expect it.

Some Suggestions to Write About

Try writing about a personal experience such as how or why you got started in this niche.

Or something about a strange or unusual thing that recently happened to you.

Maybe it is your birthday, or the anniversary of your current website, you could write about that. Talk about how far you have come in the past year, what are your plans for the future.

What about writing about what inspires you and keeps you interested in continuing with your blog/site.

Write about people you admire.

Maybe start a post series, then every week you write the next post in the series.

Write a post about gifts someone in your niche would appreciate.

Perhaps a list of favourite books, songs or movies.

Keep a notebook handy at all times and when an idea strikes, jot it down to work on later.

Stop- writing for readers and write something that interests you. It won’t hurt your site to write one article just because you like that topic, so go ahead and write for yourself.

Try a Different Medium or Location

If you usually write at your computer try using a pen and paper for a change.

Or change location.

The benefit of being a blogger is that you can work anywhere so grab that laptop and head outside or down to the beach.

Sometimes a simple change of scenery can get those creative juices flowing again.

Or better yet, try that paper and pen at the local park.

We have a great park by the marina here that I love to go and watch the boats coming and going. Taking pen and paper or a laptop with me ensures I can write whenever inspiration hits.

Take a Break

If you have tried the above suggestions and nothing seems to be helping, take a break.

There is no point in becoming more frustrated, that is just adding to the pressure and creating a bigger block.

Take some time and go do something else, do something you love then come back and write about what you did, that just maybe what you need to jump-start that creativity.

Don’t be hard on yourself, just take the break.

The break could be the rest of the day, a weekend, a week.

Take the time you need to come refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.

Conclusion

While it is extremely frustrating to experience any form of writer’s block, you are not alone and that is why we discussed Writers Block Solutions.

Most writers have or will experience it at some point in their careers.

Within this article, I discussed many options to help alleviate writer’s block and get that creativity flowing again.

I find using the question words or personal experience most effective for me.

I am thankful for my experience with writer’s block only lasted several days but I know it can last days, months or sometimes even years.

Sometimes you just need to take a break and come back with a fresh mind.

Above all don’t be harsh on yourself when you experience writer’s block.

It happens, try different methods and find something that works for you, I did.

I would love to hear about your experiences with writer’s block. Feel free to share your own experiences or tips in the comment section below. Thanks for reading.