by Katherine Blackwood

Created on: July 16, 2008

Whether you're an experienced, professional writer or a novice, chances are you have, or you will, experience the dreaded writer's block. Here, prevention is the best medicine. I find that writing every day, even if it's only for five or ten minutes, helps ward-off this horrific feeling. If even one day passes where I don't write, I'm sure to feel the effects the next day like a really bad hangover.

Another technique to avoid writer's block is to work with your biorhythms. For instance, I am completely incapable of writing anything coherent between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. It's essentially a waste of time for me to even try. However, during this time, I can most easily brainstorm ideas and organize these ideas for my various writing projects. The actual writing comes most easily for me either in the morning or after 9 p.m. Figure out how your mind works and try to work with that schedule. You'll find that you can be overall more productive, and you'll learn to avoid those times of days when writer's block is most likely to set in. However, if you find yourself afflicted with writer's block, there are some techniques to help you overcome it.
Blank pages and blank computer screens are fear-inducing substances! Just write something, anything even if it's just the title of the piece you're working on. If you're lucky, the physical act of writing or typing even the simplest of phrases might get you passed the writer's block. If you don't have a looming deadline, try writing about a different subject. Anything to get the creative juices flowing!
Brainstorm ideas. Write whatever comes to mind, stream-of-consciousness style. If you have too many ideas jumbled around in your brain, fighting for priority, it can be overwhelming. Your mind just has too many things going on at once, so it becomes as blank as your computer screen. However, getting all the ideas down on paper will ensure that you don't forget anything and will free up brain space for the actual act of writing. Once your brilliant ideas are right there in front of you, you'll be better equipped to prioritize them and group them together into coherent structures. It's like trying to add 25 + 67 + 48 + 13 together in your head. Isn't it much easier to figure out when you have the numbers written out in front of you?
Change your environment. Instead of writing at your desk at home, try writing in the park or at a caf. If you're writing in your office, try facing a different wall or window. Sometimes just having something different in front of your face when you look up from your writing is enough to spark your creativity.
Distract yourself. Go for a walk, take a shower, go get a drink of water, wash the dishes, juggle (seriously when I was writing my dissertation, I became a very adept juggler). Perhaps having your conscious mind otherwise occupied for a few minutes will get you over the hump. Be careful with these diversions, though. You don't want to engage yourself in an activity that will take you away from your work for too long that's when you've crossed the line from distraction to procrastination.

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