by Paul Rance

Created on: August 01, 2010

The harder one tries, the harder it seems it is to get rid of writer's block. But it affects all writers and poets from time to time, so you're in good company!

Take a Break

When a writer or poet is trying hard to get a task completed, it can be hard to take a break - especially when writer's block is setting in. Just a break of a few minutes, though, can get rid of writer's block. Thinking about something else will allow the mind to come back to an unfinished task with a new perspective.

On any occasion that you are struggling over one particular part of what you are writing, then see if you can write a different part, and something that you envisaged to be later in the poem, chapter, essay, article, etc.

Rearrange Your Schedule

If you have set aside a time period for completing a task, then writer's block can become particularly stressful, but you should then try and rearrange your schedule. While you are actually working on something quite mundane, the dark cloud that is writer's block can often disappear.

Try and not get too flustered when the words dry up. You can try and write your way through things, but be relaxed when you are doing this. A lot of what you write may be unusable, but when you are clear of writer's block there may be parts of what you have written which you can actually modify and use.

Once you have worked out your own personal formula in how to beat writer's block, then you will not get so anxious the next time it arrives. Doing exactly the same thing to beat writer's block will not always work, but, when it occurs, as long as you step back, from what you are planning to write at a moment in time, you and your writing will benefit.

Trying Too Hard Can Lead to Problems

At all times think of writing as something that is meant to be enjoyed. As with anything, if you start getting too intense and too immersed in what you are doing, then you could come into difficulty when you are looking for that creative spark. A writer or poet needs to concentrate, but he or she also needs to be relaxed to some degree. Some writers and poets can begin to feel the same sort of problems which a 'tight' athlete can suffer from, when they are so anxious to do their best that they actually end up failing badly.

Stay calm, and don't let writer's block get on top of you. If you're calm, then writer's block will struggle to defeat you!

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