by K L Arena

Created on: September 22, 2008

Well, it's finally happened. You've hit the wall. The block. The dreaded writer's block. Maybe it sneaks up on you slowly, while you're distracted by fixing that glaring grammatical error three pages into your project. Maybe the block smacks you in the forehead the minute you open your word processor. Whatever the story, there it is, front and center. Your only story. Glaring white space. It spreads across the screen, bright and happy, and making you want to strangle something. Writer's block can make even the most easygoing writer come unglued.

But before you smash that fancy laptop you told your spouse was a career investment against the wall or start tormenting the cat, here are a few ideas that may help demolish the villain in your midst and get you back to 60 words per minute.

1. Step outside. Take a walk, mow the grass, or go for a swim. Sunlight helps the body produce vitamins and improves your mood. Get some fresh air and let your mind wander. Yes, wander! Don't think actively about your current writing project, but let your brain roam. Take in the sights, sounds, and smells around you. When writer's block hits, sometimes we obsess over the problem, but often the mind solves a problem when we're not actively thinking about it.

2. Get a good, energy-producing snack. Avocados are sometimes called a brain food. Try some homemade guacamole with chips. Whole grains are also great for long-lasting energy. Go for the good old PB&J on whole wheat. Blueberries are also a great pick. They're loaded with antioxidants and fructose, which will help give you a quick energy boost. Brain power in a berry!

3. Think outside the box. Write down five completely different approaches to the topic or scene than you've previously come up with. Don't worry about their feasibility, just get your brain to approach the subject from a different angle. Sometimes writer's block hits simply because we're in a rut that's not working. Hop out of the ditch and look at the project from a different angle.

4. Delete your last sentence, paragraph, or page. Sometimes the block strikes when we've stumbled onto a trail that doesn't lead anywhere. Deleting those last few lines and rewriting them may spark a new direction or get you back on the trail that takes you out of the woods.

5. Plow ahead, even if it ain't pretty. Force yourself to churn out some words, even if they aren't good ones. Set a timer for two minutes and make yourself type the entire time, writing whatever comes into your head. It may all be garbage the first time or two, but getting active and pressing ahead with your project may stir some new ideas or shake you free from the grip of the writer's block demon.

Writing is every bit as much a discipline as a creative process, as every writer knows. If we only wrote on the days we felt inspired, our projects would rarely, if ever, get completed. So keep pressing on. Know that we all hit the block now and again. But one of those euphoric moments of inspiration probably lies just around the bend from here. It's worth the fight to get there.

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