One of the best ways to tackle Writer's Block, is to write anyway. Writer's Block may be caused by the fear of not producing something worthy to fill a blank page, or it means you are stuck. One of the best ways to overcome The Block is freewriting.
Freewriting is just what the word suggests. You may use a predetermined topic, such as a prompt or idea, or you may begin with no plan. Start with the first thing that pops into your mind and write for ten or fifteen minutes, without stopping, without editing spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Do not worry about "rules." Forget about what your English teacher drummed into your head. Think of this as play time. Allow yourself to write junk. Be silly. Have fun. Dig deep. It doesn't even have to make sense. Tell your internal censor to shut up. If you get stuck, rewrite the last line until something else comes to mind. Do not stop writing no matter how difficult it is. Write through it. If you gather momentum and the words start pouring out, even after the fifteen minutes is up, keep writing until you come to a natural stopping point. Forget about the time. Receive it as a gift.
Some days will be energetic, and on other days, it'll feel like wading through molasses. You may not always have good writing sessions, but it's important to practice daily. I remember when I writing friend was ill, she made herself write, anyway. She wrote for three minutes. Only three minutes? It was some of her best writing. Write for three minutes or for thirty minutes. It doesn't matter. Just write. Maybe some days you may not feel like writing. Make yourself do it. Set your timer for three minutes. It might be good. It might not. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you do write.
I'll bet you're wondering why deliberately ignoring "the rules" of writing as in freewriting can be so helpful in developing the writing craft. Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff address this issue in their book, Nothing Begins with an N': New Investigations of Freewriting. They also address why freewriting invites "some of our best writing and thinking." Some of the reasons they list are:
Writing is usually judged or graded, but freewriting is not.
Writing is usually for an audience, but freewriting is private, thus safer.
Writing is supposed to be more "important and dignified" than speech, whereas freewriting allows you to let the words be less important and careful.
Elbow and Belanoff also say while freewriting "removes the difficulties of regular writing," freewriting is not easy. Probably the hardest part of freewriting is to keep writing, to not stop until the prescribed time is up. Did you know that when you take away the distraction of trying to construct perfect sentences, to make your writing totally coherent, you can focus your energies on what you really want to say? Freewriting works because you're not allowed to stop. Therefore, you can allow yourself to get caught up in the momentum, the stream of consciousness flow. How many times have you been in the midst of an animated conversation, and for one reason or another, you're interrupted? It's hard to get back to the conversation. Sometimes you lost your train of thought, or the energy has died. Not so with freewriting. No stopping allowed.
So what do you freewrite about? If you're stuck in the middle of a story or novel, you can pull yourself out of the "good" writing, the carefully constructed sentences, paragraphs, and dialogues and freewrite about a character, situation, or the problem you're having with the story. Use the freewrite to play out the different options, and if they don't workso what? You don't have to put it in your story. Or maybe you just want to get to know a character better. Write your character's stream of consciousness thoughts, dreams, motives, wants. Ideas will come to you. Then you can get back to your story or novel.
You may also use the freewriting for writing articles, essays, and memos. Maybe you have a topic for an article, but you don't know how to narrow it down. Freewrite all the possibilitieseven the seemingly ridiculous ones. And what about the memo? Begin by freewriting, "What I really want to say" and go from there. Not too long ago, I had to write a letter of resignation. It was a task I dreaded. I couldn't figure out what to say or how to start. Before I wrote my formal letter, I wrote everything I really wanted to say to this horrible boss. The things were too crude and unprofessional to include in my formal letter. But getting those feelings out on paper first helped me write a gracious, professional letterall the while I was giggling in my mind.
You can use freewriting as a warm-up before doing your "serious" writing. Or freewrite just to keep writing daily. Create a random prompt generator. Write a list of writing prompts ahead of time and choose one randomly each session. Use index cards, colored paper, or whatever else. Write one prompt on each. Put them in a bowl, basket, hat, or whatever else suits you. I've included a list of prompts in the back of the book. Use these to get started or create your own lists. Other suggestions for prompts:
Make a list of song titles or book titles.
Make a list of first lines of books, poems, or songs.
Write each letter of the alphabet on a card or along one side of the paper. Beside each letter, write the first word that comes to mind beginning with that letter.
Pull out random words from the dictionary, any book, newspaper, or magazine.
Sources of prompts are endless. They're as limited as your imagination.