by Kris Koments

Created on: September 29, 2009   Last Updated: September 30, 2009

Learning to cope with stress is one reason an individual might begin writing. But what happens when the stress of writing begins to hinder your creative flow?

To the writer, it's an all too familiar experience and a very unpleasant one. When a writer loses concentration for a long period of time or is experiencing an unusual amount of stress, it can sometimes be a preface to our blockage. Generally though, stress is a symptom of writer's block, not the cause.

Below are some causes of writer's block and a few ideas to help combat this 'writing disease'.

*Fatigue

Fatigue isn't an unusual symptom for the writer to experience and quite possibly, isn't a symptom at all. If it weren't for fatigue, one might never write! However, if you find that lack of rest is taking its toll upon your writing ability; it's time for rest.

*Dead-lines

Deadlines are something every writer covets. We want dead-lines. For us, dead-lines mean jobs and jobs mean our bills get paid this week. On the other hand, some writers find it more difficult to write under pressure. They choke.

*Choking

Choking, often referred to as writer's block, is a natural phenomenon that occurs when the brain acknowledges external pressures. We create this within our own thought process through worry, much like we create our stories. Worry, as expected, creates an atmosphere to doubt.

*Worry and Doubt

Worry and doubt, both of these in conjunction with one another can create favorable conditions for writer's block. A thoroughfare of unwanted critique within our brain that allows us full reign to second guess our ideas, sentence structure and grammar to such a degree that nothing is acceptable. This is writer's block.

*Much ado about nothing

Some researchers find that too much monitoring (of your thoughts) can stimulate your brain towards worry and self-doubt, rendering the knowledge based area of your brain insignificant. In other words, focus on the here and now moment. Concentrate on what you do best, which requires little concentration. It's like riding a bike, you may crash occasionally, but you'll never fall off.

Too much concentration (worry and doubt) can cause you to pay way too much attention to the things you 'could' be doing wrong, rather than focusing on what you 'are' doing right! Focusing on grammar and formatting rather than what you are writing can also breed frustration.

*Edit later; write, now

Editing and writing go hand in hand, however, not necessarily side by side. Write at your leisure, edit for dead-line. Save the choking for the editing phase of writing. In order to keep those idea juices flowing, don't interrupt them with thoughts of dangling participles or run on sentences. Save that for later.

Once the root of the problem has been identified you will be much more equipped to handle those brief encounters with the writer's worst enemy, the block.

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