How to overcome writer's block

So you know all about it? You start writing and it’s going OK. Then you dry up. You can’t go on. And then you call it ‘writer’s block’.

Giving it a name seems to legitimise it.

Well, here’s my take on writer’s block, and you can run with it or ignore it.

The first thing is to be very clear that it is not actually real. Writer’s block does not exist. I absolutely do not believe in it. Sometimes I am slow, yes. Sometimes getting thoughts on paper is tedious, yes. But writer’s block? No. There is no such thing.

When you’re at a roadblock and finding progress tough, you can dig yourself into a hole. And then things get worse. And any thoughts you have about not being able to progress, become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

To avoid all that, you have to take action. The action I take is to leave the keyboard and pull out a writing pad and pen. That simple change usually solves the problem and I return to the keyboard after a few minutes.

If it’s still not working, I leave my office and take a two minute break. The change of scenery normally does the trick. Finally, if all else fails, I take 15 minutes to walk around the block. And then I am right back into it.

Essentially, with all these tricks, what I am doing is changing things to give the mind a chance to refocus. Mostly, these simple techniques are not necessary. Few hold ups occur when you are solid about the key truth: that you don’t believe in writer’s block. Believe me. It does not exist.