by Joan Inong

Created on: May 01, 2009   Last Updated: December 30, 2011

Every writer has experienced writer's block at some point. The mind stops thinking, the words stop flowing, and the creative process is halted. These blocks do not last for a set period of time. Some writers get over them  in as little as a few minutes; others take years to finally get back to writing again.

There are, fortunately, methods that may help ease these periods of non-writing. We must say "ease" because there is no way to prevent these lulls in writing. Each and every person experiences some lull in whatever they do, whether it is writing, working out or dieting, painting, etc.

First, writers are not all the same. Each writer will be sensitive to some forms of inspiration which may differ from the next writer's forms of inspiration. That said, it is easy to see why writers will have different non-writing periods.

One of the greatest poets of all time, William Wordsworth, had periods of non-writing in his later career. He wrote one poem, and would not finish it for another two years. His colleague, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, also experienced such lulls, but mostly due to the fact that he used opium and wrote his poetry while on an opium-induced high. At any rate, Wordsworth was not able to get through his lulls because he "lost" his creativity during his golden years.

The writing process is a long one. Writing a novel does not imply an easy task. It can take years, sometimes decades to finish a novel. Writer's block also does not imply that the writer has some sort of weakness or vulnerability. It just means that the writer needs to pause, think, and rethink. Sometimes, writer's blocks can be helpful in the process of writing. They are, in a way, necessary to writing the best that you can.

When you get a writer's block, don't panic. The first thing that you should do is put everything down. Turn the computer off. Make sure that you walk away from wherever you have just been working. Then, think of something else that you can do that will completely take your mind off of your writing. This will allow you to refresh your mind. And, since a refreshed mind is a mind ready to work, taking this little hiatus from writing will allow you to write better.

Before you start getting back to your work again, write down any ideas that came to your mind, naturally, as you were away from your work. See if any of these ideas will get you out of your writer's block. Chances are, they will somehow light up an idea and you'll be writing once again.

Learn more about this author, Joan Inong.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.