writer's block essay due tomorrow

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How to get over writer’s block when you’re on a deadline

by Lindsay Vermeulen

Posted on August 2, 2016 in Community by Lindsay Vermeulen.

Most writers suffer from writer’s block from time to time. If you’re working on personal writing projects (that breakthrough novel is coming!), it’s just another part of the cycle. But sometimes you have to write—say, if you’re a professional writer who is on the clock, and you have strict deadlines to meet. In that case, it can be a huge problem—and you need it gone, now! If that’s you, don’t panic. Here are some easy strategies for getting over writer’s block and getting your content done on time.

Just can’t start? Try free writing

A blank page can be overwhelming. Sometimes you don’t want to spoil it. You don’t know where to start, or you’re worried that whatever you put on it won’t be good enough. The key is just to dive in, and free writing is a great way to do that.

Free writing is simple. Set a timer, sit down at your keyboard or your notebook, and start writing. You can pick however long you like—I usually opt for 10 minutes. The only rule to free writing is that you have to keep writing. It doesn’t have to be on topic, and it doesn’t have to be any good. It doesn’t even have to be full sentences. You can repeat one word over and over, as long as you keep writing. You’re only allowed to stop when the timer is done.

Free writing generates a lot of garbage, but you’ll also find that a surprising number of quality ideas slip in. And it helps you get into the rhythm of writing—so when you’re done, it’s easier to get going on whatever you’re actually supposed to be working on.

Not sure what to write about? Make a heuristic

What’s a heuristic, you ask? A heuristic is a list of questions or prompts that can help you figure out the angle of your story. Think like a reader, and write down what you’d want to know. The questions can fall into many different categories. Say you’re writing about content marketing. You might ask questions like:

What are some concrete examples of content marketing?
Who is doing content marketing, and why?
What has changed recently in content marketing?
What group of things does content marketing fit into?
How is it different from the other things in the group?

Heuristics are especially useful for writing that requires research, since they give you an idea of what you’ll need to find out. They’re also great when you’re trying to find something new to say about a popular topic.

Too many unfocused ideas? Do a brain dump

If you’re writing on a topic you already know about, the main issue is organizing your ideas. Spend a few minutes jotting down anything you might want to include, likely in point form (short notes—they don’t have to be full sentences). These can be as broad or as specific as you like. If you’re more of a visual person, try putting down your ideas in a tree or cluster.

Once you’re done, go through the list and sort the ideas into categories. Eliminate the ones that don’t fit, and add new ones that will help round out categories that are looking a little light.

And, BAM! You have an outline. You’re welcome. Now get writing.

Worried that your writing’s no good? Separate writing and editing

A lot of the time, when people get stuck writing it’s because they’re worried they’re going to do a bad job. Do you write a few sentences, reread them, and delete them? Do you freak out when you look over something you just wrote because it’s so bad? Stop.

First drafts are pretty much always terrible. That’s why we have revision. The first drafts of some of your favorite authors were probably nearly unreadable. But if you keep editing and rewriting while you’re trying to create, you’re never going to get anywhere.

So resist the temptation to reword that sentence/rearrange all your paragraphs/delete everything until you’re completely finished writing. Once you get going, you’ll get into a rhythm and find it’s a lot easier to continue. Plus, the final product will have a more natural flow than if you hammer it out word by agonizing word.

Generation and evaluation are separate parts of the writing process, and they require different parts of the brain and ways of thinking. So instead of trying to multitask and doing a half-assed job of both tasks, take it one step at a time. Write now, evaluate later. Turn off your spell-checker if it helps.

Keep getting distracted? Set manageable goals

If you think you’re going to sit down and write your whole 2,500-word paper in one go, think again. Unless you’re Jack Kerouac, you’re going to get distracted, get antsy, get hungry, and run out of ideas. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Instead of hopping on Facebook whenever there’s a lull in your creative energy, set small and manageable goals for your writing—and plan rewards for them. Maybe you’re allowed to spend five minutes on social media for every 500 words you write. Or maybe you get to go make a cup of tea and eat a cookie when you’re done your outline.

Ideally, pick a leisure activity that doesn’t require much attention or brain power—you want to be able to give your thinking a rest and allow new ideas to come up organically, instead of throttling them with too much concentration on something new.

Not enough time? Schedule, schedule, schedule

I don’t necessarily mean picking the perfect day and time to write. A lot of writers are procrastinators, and if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that whatever you’re writing is due tomorrow. You’ve got this! If you have a super limited amount of time to turn around your story, divide it up into ideation (that’s planning), drafting, and revising.

You’ll want to spend 33 percent of your time planning, 17 percent drafting, and 50 percent revising. So if you have an hour to write in, you’ll want to spend 20 minutes planning, 10 minutes drafting, and 30 minutes revising.

Yes, you read that right. There’s a common misconception that writing is the most time consuming part of the process. But that’s because a lot of the time, people don’t do a solid outline before drafting, and they do a lot of editing while they’re going (which slows them down). If you separate them out properly, you’ll find that the actual writing hardly takes any time at all.

Writer’s block affects pretty much everyone at some point, and it’s not because you’re not creative, or not smart, or not committed enough to the job. It usually happens because you care too much about doing it perfectly the first time through—which is pretty much impossible, so abandon that idea now. The best writers know that revision is an opportunity to make your piece stronger, not a punishment for doing a bad job. Take a deep breath, accept the inevitability of revision, and get writing! You’re going to be fine.

Image: Startup Stock Photos/Pexels

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Stuck on Your College Essay? 8 Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

←How to Write a Last Minute Essay

11 Tips for Proofreading and Editing Your Essay→

We’ve all had that feeling. You know you have to write an essay, a research paper, or even a story, but you can’t seem to string two thoughts together. It’s frustrating, it’s disheartening, and you don’t know how long it’ll be before inspiration strikes again.

This familiar feeling is commonly known as “writer’s block”. According to The New Yorker , it was once believed that writer’s block was caused by exhausting one’s supply of inspiration or a lack of external motivation. Now, thanks to the research of Jermone Singer and Michael Barrios, we know that there are four broad causes of writer’s block:

Excessively harsh self-criticism
Fear of being compared to other writers and their work
A lake of external motivation such as praise or attention
A lack of internal motivation such as a desire to share a story with the world

No matter which bucket your writer’s block falls under, you are certainly not alone, and you can definitely get your creative juices flowing again. Want to get over your writer’s block? Here are some proven techniques that will help re-inspire your writing.

Tips For Overcoming Writer’s Block On Your College Essay

1. freewrite .

A lot of people get stuck on the idea that what they write has to be perfect, and that pressure keeps them from writing down anything at all. If you find yourself feeling that weight on your shoulders, just take a step back for a minute. Give yourself some leeway to write whatever you want on the topic that you’re writing about, even if it’s grammatically incorrect or irrelevant. Just writing something down can often give the mind something to work with, and it can often lead to further inspiration.

Keep in mind that this freewriting can take whatever form you want it to. It can be full sentences, bullet points, even phrases randomly placed on a sheet of paper. Whatever gets your brain thinking in some capacity is a good step in overcoming writer’s block.

2. Respond to Brainstorm Questions

What if your writer’s block is so bad that you can’t even come up with a topic or subject for your essay? If you need a place to start, try thinking about something that is not directly related to your college essays. The easiest things to brainstorm are things that you know, like yourself. Here are some easy brainstorm questions to get you thinking:

Who are my favorite characters on TV, Literature, and movies? Why are these my favorite characters?
What is something that I would join a multi-day protest march for? Is there actually anything that I am passionate about?
Say I had to start a business selling something, and I would achieve the average level of success (financially, socially, etc) within that business, what would I choose to do?
What nonprofit or cause would I volunteer for assuming I could not choose an activity that I’ve already done or an activity available in my school?

While these questions may not be immediately relevant to the college essay you’re trying to write, they are introspective questions. So the more you think about answers to these questions, the more you are reflecting on yourself and your goals. If you can start writing down your answers, then you’re already well on your way to writing a personal statement or explaining your interests and passions to colleges.

3. Talk It Out With A Friend

College essays always ask you to reflect on yourself, and who knows you better than some of your closest friends? While they shouldn’t write your essay for you, they can be a good sounding board for ideas while giving you some ideas of their own. Try contacting someone you trust and asking them how they would answer the essay prompt if they were answering it for you. See what comes to their mind. They may bring up an interesting approach to an essay that you hadn’t even thought about, or remind you about an aspect of yourself that you hadn’t already considered. Their ideas could help spark your ideas.

Keep in mind, this doesn’t have to be a friend. It could be a close relative, a neighbor, or even a teacher. You just need to talk to somebody who knows you well and can give you insight on how you should approach the essay, not how they would.

4. Read a Memoir or Listen To a Podcast

Inspiration tends to fuel inspiration, and what better way to get inspired to write a creative essay about yourself than to read/listen to others’ creative essays about themselves. Perhaps listening to people tell their stories will give you some ideas on how you can tell your story for your college essays.

People share their stories in a variety of ways, both offline and online. You could read the personal memoir of someone who inspires you, or of someone whose story you relate to. If you want something that takes a little bit less time, you could listen to a podcast or watch a TED Talk of people telling their stories. Some other places to find inspiration are The New York Times’ Modern Love column or stories from The Moth . Most of the above are short and quick and could possibly spark inspiration for your own essay.

5. Change Your Environment

Maybe it’s not that you lack ideas or inspiration. Maybe you just can’t, for whatever reason, seem to get your ideas down on paper. That’s totally normal, and there’s a chance that your environment has something to do with it. If you’ve been brainstorming in your room for hours or if you’re not comfortable wherever you are, it’s going to be very difficult for you to be able to write creatively and vulnerably.

Try going somewhere else to write, preferably somewhere with fresh air and sunshine. A simple change of scenery can be surprisingly helpful in getting your brain to work again and letting the creativity come through. As long as you’re peaceful and comfortable wherever you go, it’s a good place to be writing.

6. Get Some Exercise

It is commonly accepted that exercise releases endorphins and other helpful chemicals that stimulate your brain and keep you happy. In this way, exercise can be very beneficial in the writing process. If you’re feeling frustrated because of your writer’s block, exercise can lift your mood and give you a much-needed break. If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, the chemicals in your brain can help spark some creative inspiration for your essay.

Of course, it might be a little bit difficult to go for a run or get exercise if you’re staying at home. Just remember that no form of exercise is better than another, and exercise doesn’t have to take up a lot of space. Do some jumping jacks in place, find an apartment-friendly workout video online, or just put on some music and dance in your room. The key is to get your body moving.

7. Use a Pen and Paper

Most students type their essays on computers instead of writing them down, and this makes sense. Almost all college applications are submitted online now, and it’s easier to share your essays with others for editing.

That being said, typing your essays may not be the best idea if you’re experiencing writer’s block. The blank screen in front of you may be a psychological deterrent to your creativity, and the internet may serve as a huge distraction.

If you find yourself unable to come up with something to write on a computer, try going old school and writing your ideas with a pen and paper. If you don’t have any of that around, try jotting down some ideas on a dry erase board or chalkboard. Writing your ideas instead of typing them encourages you to jot down shorter ideas and think in an entirely different way. This can be a beneficial switch for your brain as you attempt to overcome your writer’s block.

8. Work On A Different Section

Who says that you have to write your essay from start to finish? If you are having trouble coming up with the beginning, write the end or start somewhere in the middle! If you have an idea of what you want to say and how you want the essay to flow, you can write it down in whatever order you want. Write down the parts that come easiest to you and circle back to the parts you haven’t quite figured out yet. This way, you’ll at least have something written down, and you can use that something to inspire you to write the other parts of your essay later.

Again, your essay does not have to be perfect on the first draft. If the different parts of your essay don’t seem to fit together because you wrote them at different times, that’s okay. At least you’ll have all of the parts written down, and you can edit from there.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

What Causes Writer’s Block

What causes writer’s block: a personal example, what is writer’s block: a deeper look, overcoming writer’s block: the standard advice, overcoming writer’s block: when the standard advice isn’t working, overcoming writer’s block: directly accessing creativity, how to overcome writer’s block: working with root causes, working with writer’s block: embodiment and connection, working with writer’s block: meeting our parts, courses to help you overcome writer’s block, “why do i have writer’s block”: what causes writer’s block.

In general, writer’s block is not caused by simple problems with easy solutions, such as “being too busy” or “not having anything interesting to write about.”

In general, writer’s block is not caused by simple problems with easy solutions.

These superficial issues can seem to be causing our writer’s block, if they’re the only ready explanation at hand. But if those were the real and only causes, we could easily get rid of writer’s block with simple advice like, “Wake up earlier,” and “What interests you? Write about that.” That advice doesn’t work, because these aren’t the real causes of writer’s block.

In the 1970s, two researchers at Yale studied writer’s block , and concluded that it had four main causes:

Feeling constrained and creatively blocked by the “rules” of writing.
Seeking external validation and attention through one’s writing, and becoming disappointed and angry if not getting it.
Feeling not good enough and paralyzed by self-criticism.
Feeling afraid of having one’s writing compared with the work of others.

These sets of issues have been labeled “apathy,” “anger,” “anxiety,” and “social hostility,” but to me that has that overconfident 1970s Ron Burgundy feel to it, rather than being a useful description of these people’s inner worlds.

Whether or not these are the official four causes of writer’s block, you can see what they have in common: they reflect places where our psychology makes writing fearful or unpleasant.

Fundamentally, writer’s block occurs when an element of our psychology makes writing fearful or unpleasant.

I can share why I sometimes have writer’s block, based on what I learned in a yoga-and-writing session earlier this year with our instructor Nadia Colburn :

That agonized handwriting (getting to emote in your handwriting is a big benefit of freehand writing) reads “DESPAIR. I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.”

Later in the session:

This reads, “I WANT TO GIVE WHAT IS PERFECT LIKE HE DID”

So, of the four options above, my issues with writer’s block are largely reasons 3 (paralyzed by self-criticism) and 4 (afraid of having my writing compared with the work of others).

In my case, “I have nothing to say” means the following: my personal interest is in spiritual writing, and I don’t feel far along enough in my own spiritual journey to be able to contribute anything the world really needs. So “Feeling not good enough and paralyzed by self-criticism” does fit the bill. “Despair” is an additional bit of what that feels like in my case.

“Like he did” refers to a personal favorite spiritual writer, whose writings feel to me like a very high bar that I don’t know if I’ll ever approach—in which case, why am I adding yet more inferior words into this world? So, “Feeling afraid of having one’s writing compared with the work of others” does fit, although in this case it would be me doing the comparing.

Let’s look at writer’s block more deeply. As we can see in my example, writer’s block is not a simple issue of needing a jolt of excitement or discipline. Instead, as The New Yorker reports in an article on writer’s block : “Many symptoms of writer’s block are the kinds of problems psychiatrists think about.”

I would say this more straightforwardly: writer’s block is a topic within mental health.

Writer’s block is a topic within mental health.

Please don’t take that the wrong way. By mental health, I mean “our level of inner well-being,” and, for all of us, it varies , for reasons . For example, although I’m great one-on-one, I am personally terrified of crowds of new people. So, depending on the situation (it varies ), I struggle with people, and those struggles are for reasons which I only partly understand. This is the kind of thing I’m referring to, and it’s the shared experience of everyone who’s ever lived.

There is still sometimes stigma around acknowledging that our minds actually do struggle. So I want to emphasize that I don’t feel that my own or anyone’s experiences of writer’s block are in any way an occasion for self-blame, shame, or stigma.

Rather, I’m simply saying that, just as our psychology can help us or hinder us in our other life pursuits—meeting friends in a new place, recovering from a career setback, and so on—it can help us or hinder us in our writing. In other words, writer’s block is about how we feel about ourselves and our world.

Writer’s block is about how we feel about ourselves and our world.

In my own case, I have no trouble writing , as far as that goes. What has tended to block me is my sense of inferiority, unreadiness, as a writer of spirituality, which I never even fully noticed until the workshop with Nadia. It’s an emotional block.

As the Yale researchers found, most experiences of writer’s block follow this theme. Writer’s block is not about writing per se , but about our feelings around writing: feeling judged by others, feeling rejected, feeling inferior, feeling stupid, feeling hunted by self-criticism, feeling stifled and oppressed, feeling alone.

Writer’s block is not about writing per se , but about our feelings around writing: feeling judged, rejected, self-critical, and so on.

The role of writing itself is simply that it triggers those feelings in some people. We’re disciplining ourselves to find words that seem worthy to write down, and then sharing those words out for others to scrutinize (or ignore!). Many parts of that process can be very heavy emotionally. If the process activates painful feelings in us so strongly that we can’t proceed, we call that writer’s block.

If writing activates painful feelings in us so strongly that we can’t proceed, we call that writer’s block.

Based on this knowledge, let’s look at some advice for overcoming writer’s block. Simple behavioral fixes really can help with writer’s block in some cases, and not in others: it depends exactly what’s causing it for you. We’ll look at different approaches below.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

The standard advice for writer’s block offers simple behavioral fixes.

The standard advice for writer’s block focuses on simple behavioral fixes and optimizations, such as:

Break your writing project into manageable chunks. For example, you can set a timer for a set number of minutes and “do nothing but write” during that time. Take refreshing breaks between sessions.
Eliminate distractions. For example, you can disable your internet access as you write.
Don’t get caught in perfectionism as you write a first draft; remind yourself that the draft doesn’t need to be perfect, or even good.
Find a physical environment and time of day where you feel most inspired and creative, and make it a habit to write there and then.
Establish a ritual around your writing. For example, you might have a particular song or drink when it’s time to write.
Do something calming (meditate, stretch) before you start writing, to soothe any anxiety you feel.

If these types of straightforward advice solve your writer’s block, that’s great: whatever its cause may have been, you’ve found a way to work with your system to move past it.

If simple fixes don’t work for you, you’ll need to change your approach.

However, if the fixes above don’t work, you’ll need to change your approach. When these behavioral fixes do try to engage the deeper causes of writer’s block—the internal challenges we discussed above—the result is advice like this :

“Consciously stop any non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones. Rather than labeling yourself a ‘bad writer,’ think about what parts of the writing process you excel at (idea generation, conclusions, sentence style , etc.) and plan to allot more time for the steps that take you longer.”

To my eye, this is not very curious about the writer’s inner world. It feels like ignoring calls from a collections agency one-by-one as they come in (call up one of your friends instead!), rather than figuring out what the agency wants and what to do about it.

If the standard advice for how to overcome writer’s block isn’t working for you—as it hasn’t for me—then read on.

The New Yorker article acknowledges the deeper causes of writer’s block, but describes the Yale researchers finding a moderately successful fix for writer’s block that doesn’t address those causes. The fix has to do with producing dreamlike mental images:

“These writers would sit in a dim, quiet room and contemplate a series of ten prompts asking them to produce and then describe dream-like creations. They might, for example, ‘visualize’ a piece of music, or a specific setting in nature. Afterward, they would visualize something from their current projects, and then generate a ‘dreamlike experience’ based on that project. In multiple cases, the exercises led, over time, to the alleviation of writer’s block—even in the absence of therapy… Emotional blockages did exist. But he was wrong to assume that, in order to move past them creatively, writers needed to address their emotional lives. In fact, the process could go the other way.”

I think this is valuable advice, from the following standpoint: we don’t have to heal ourselves first ; the writing itself can be healing.

We don’t have to heal ourselves first ; the writing itself can be healing.

But I find the broader implication—that, yes, you can just ignore the causes of your fear of writing by accessing your creativity directly—to still be rather ignorant.

The article expresses dismay that everyone’s mind is different: “Unhappy writers, it seemed, were unhappy in their own ways, and would require therapies tailored to address their specific emotional issues.”

The objection seems to be, “Who’s got time for that?”

“Therapy” here means “professional talk therapy”—you would need to pay for a person’s time, and there’s no guarantee it would work. Under those conditions, I suppose I agree with the objection. It still seems rather dismal.

If, after we’ve “tried everything,” our writer’s block continues to haunt and confuse us, it’s likely because we’ve been trying behavioral fixes for what is ultimately an inner, personal conflict in how we experience ourselves and our world.

If our writer’s block continues to haunt and confuse us, we’ve likely been trying behavioral fixes for a deeper inner conflict.

As an example, let’s return again to my own writer’s block. Is setting a kitchen timer and taking regular breaks really going to help me with the following dilemma: Why would I want to put more inferior words into the world?

Timed or untimed isn’t the issue, nor that I write without a set writing ritual, or with access to the internet. Again, I’ve been struggling with an emotional block, something so painful in how I feel about myself and the world that it shuts down my writing.

If we want to work with those directly, how do we do it? Read on.

Not coincidentally, I first even noticed my writer’s block directly—saw it for what it was, including its causes—in a workshop that combined the very energetic embodied practice of kundalini yoga with short episodes of freewriting.

I’ve written about the experience here , but overall I’d like to advance a few things that are extremely important to the positive result I had, both in Nadia’s description of her teaching and in my own experience:

Come Into the Body

To feel into the things we carry, we need to feel into our bodies. We as a culture are needing to come out of the rational-head-on-a-stick model we inherited, as useful as it can be.

So much of our emotional life is in the body. Our feelings are called “feelings” rather than “musings,” because we feel them, physically.

In particular, the body stores our trauma: the things that scare us for reasons we don’t understand (or, more precisely, don’t remember), which is a topic utterly relevant to writers’ block.

Our traumas, large and small, are deeply embodied. Just changing our thoughts or attitudes won’t address them, and this is why we can’t simply talk ourselves out of writer’s block.

That our traumas, large and small, are deeply embodied, and not addressable by trying just to change our thoughts or attitudes, is a finding so important that it is the title of the seminal book on trauma: The Body Keeps the Score . This is why we can’t simply talk ourselves out of writer’s block.

In Nadia’s workshop, we spent minutes just getting into full experience of our bodies, and the writing came from there. Nadia’s direct advice is as follows:

Here’s more detail on that same advice from a later workshop I attended with her: “When we’re writing we often disconnect from our body; see if you can stay connected to your body and your breath as you write, so you’re not just writing from your head, but from lower down.”

Feeling and Writing into Blocks

Nadia says, “Yoga gave me tools to unlock what my body was carrying.” This doesn’t have to be through yoga, but the idea is that writer’s block , or any other emotional-energetic block in the body, is not something to route around or ignore. Instead, it’s something to feel into, kindly.

Any energetic block in the body is not something to route around, but something to feel into, kindly.

This involves directly experiencing the energy block, in the body, as part of a gentle, embodied practice like Nadia led. Then, as you feel into the block, you can give it voice, through writing itself. The jagged handwriting I shared at the top of the article started as energy: as feelings in the body (tension in the upper stomach, constriction my throat), which then found words to express themselves. The reason the letters are so jagged is because I was allowing this energy to flow and shift, including through my hand as I wrote.

You can write into blocks to explore them, and this is an important method of letting the why of your writer’s block express itself, as happened in my case.

Blocks as an Energy Source

You’ll also find that the energy stored in emotional blocks—including writer’s block—can power your writing.

Again, writer’s block isn’t really a bland, “I can’t find cool things to write about”-type experience. Instead, it’s an “I feel like I’ll never be good enough”-type experience, or “I know I’m better than other people, and I don’t want to give them a chance to disagree by criticizing my writing”-type experience, or any of the other inner conflicts on or off the Yale researchers’ list.

All those cases have something in common: they’re very painful! There’s a lot of energy there.

When your writer’s block reveals its actual source and nature, you’ll likely have plenty to talk about.

When your writer’s block stops being a random weird thing you banish with an egg timer and a favorite cola, and reveals its actual source and nature, then it’s quite likely that you’ll have plenty to talk about. You may also have plenty of energy to do the talking, as with my jagged handwriting.

To explore any of these elements, you can look at Nadia’s teaching, or any other process that combines deep bodily awareness with writing into blocks.

I can’t do full justice to it here, but I’ve been reading a book called No Bad Parts , by Richard Schwartz, and applying its exercises in my own life. It’s changed both my perspective and my day-to-day life by an extreme amount—perhaps more than any other book I’ve ever read.

The book’s core thesis (and of the broader literature known as Internal Family Systems, IFS) is that our minds are not single but multiple: we have many “parts,” each in their own role. By the time we reach adulthood, many of these roles are stuck and confused.

Imagine a normally nice person who has “a mean streak” or “a bad side.” The idea is that that “streak” or “side” is real : it is one of many parts of that person, with its own goals, fears, and perspectives. It is not just an odd and inexplicable “habit” affecting a single, coherent individual.

How does this apply to writer’s block? Well, writer’s block is similarly “odd and inexplicable.” How could a person who loves and values creativity find their own creativity blocked? How come we keep telling ourselves to “just write it, it doesn’t matter what other people think”—and yet we never do? It just doesn’t make sense, if we’re the single, rational, straightforward unit we often assume we are.

Writer’s block happens when we can no longer silence parts of ourselves—that are bound up in shame, inferiority, craving the approval of others, fearing rejection, and so on—enough to keep writing.

After exploring the perspective in No Bad Parts (known as Internal Family Systems, IFS), it’s impossible not to see writer’s block in terms of parts of ourselves—parts that are deeply bound up in shame, inferiority, craving the approval of others, fearing rejection, and so on—feeling so much pain and conflict when we write that we cannot continue.

In general, we’ve never even noticed these parts for what they are (as I hadn’t with the energies I was voicing in Nadia’s course), let alone begun the healing process of reconnecting with them. When we can no longer silence these parts enough to keep writing, we call it “writer’s block.”

Parts Give More Detail

Working with writer’s block using this perspective is very similar to what I did in Nadia’s workshop. The only difference is looking at the conflict in my body not just as an energy, but as a part —a miniature personality. The emotional block I felt is not “my” overall sense of inferiority (which I don’t have!), but is within a system of feelings and beliefs held by a part of me.

This part feels inferior, and is in conflict with other parts of me—say, the parts that would love to write a book, or that feel that what I might have to say may not be perfect, but it is surely worth saying.

Crucially, this part, and all parts, are a friend, not an enemy. The book title says it beautifully: No Bad Parts . When a part is in pain, I don’t need to convince it otherwise, silence or distract it so I can do what must be done, or anything else aggressive, hostile, or bypass-y. I need to listen, and discover why it feels that way.

You can actually communicate with your emotional blocks—including whatever is giving you writer’s block.

The big discovery here is that you can actually communicate with your emotional blocks—including whatever is giving you writer’s block. They aren’t just energies unspooling in the body, but they have stories, fears, goals, and perspectives of their own, which you can actually learn!

That process of reconnection and discovery—which unfolds through energy moving, as happened to me in Nadia’s course—is the healing process itself. It also makes a great energy source for writing, as I mentioned above.

If you want to get into this, I strongly recommend reading No Bad Parts . Do the exercises in the first few chapters. (The book is front-loaded in the value it delivers, which is nice.) From personal experience, it has really addressed my own writer’s block.

If you do get into this, please proceed with caution: it is like opening pressurized containers, to an extent that has repeatedly surprised me. Make sure to have good supports around yourself.

Many students of ours take our classes to find community, accountability, inspiration, and other forms of support. If you’re looking for another way to tackle your writer’s block head on, take a look at these courses on embodiment and journaling:

Courses on Embodiment

Sing the Body Electric: Poetry of the Body
Telling the Stories Your Body Holds
Writing the Body: A Nonfiction Craft Seminar
Writing Chronic Illness

Journaling Courses

These Fragments: From Journal Pages to Personal Essays
Where the Diary Ends and the Essay Begins
Creating the Visual Journal
From the Source: Journaling for Self-Knowledge and Creativity

Courses for Inspiration

It Starts with Play: Get (Back) Into Writing
Finding Inspiration in Dreams

You can also take a look at our upcoming online writing courses .

Working with Writer’s Block: Final Thoughts

No one wants to suffer writer’s block. So we ask, quite understandably, “How to overcome writer’s block?” “How to get rid of writer’s block?” and so on.

On the other hand, given its actual underlying causes, trying to “cure” or “banish” or “get rid of” a severe case of writer’s block, without addressing those causes, could be a bit like looking for a trick to silence the hungry kittens in your pantry so you can get back to composing your violin sonata. Even if you succeed, the whole thing is rather sad.

In this article, I’ve given you a detailed description of the causes of writer’s block, and a lot of options for addressing it—from the simple and straightforward to the profound and weird. In general, I’d say try simple first, just on the off chance you have a mild case. If that isn’t working, get weirder, and you may find yourself healing your actual issues too.

I hope this helps you, and happy writing!

Frederick Meyer

15 comments.

Thank you so much for this article, Fred. I’m glad I’m not alone in finding the standard advice unhelpful! Very keen to explore your suggestions.

Thank you so much, Kerry! 🙂

appreciate the article.

curious if i know the writer; Frederick, did you ever spend time at a retreat center in Vermont?

Yes, same person – hi Greg, wonderful to see you! 🙂

This is unbelievably relevant to where I am in my writing journey at the moment. For me, “Feeling constrained and creatively blocked by the “rules” of writing” and “Feeling afraid of having one’s writing compared with the work of others” are contributing factoring to my own writing block. There’s so much to unpack, and this is going to take several re-reads to fully digest this. Incredibly useful – thank you Frederick!

Thank you very much, George!

The only item on your list that I suffer from, in part, is being locked by the rules of writing. Mostly my writer’s block comes from indecision and an inability to craft a story with all the elements of character description, character arc, goals, a compelling conflict and antagonist. I steer away from themes involving police procedurals and legal stuff since I know very little about them and they seem overworked in the market. But thanks for your post.

Thank you, Robert! Yes, that sounds maybe like a “how-to”/overwhelm issue rather than necessarily a deeper internal block. Or, maybe: not knowing how to proceed is causing overwhelm (I’d get overwhelmed trying to repair a motorcycle even if I was excited to), so it’s technically an emotional block, but an easy one to address since the main need is additional knowledge.

We have a self-guided course on novel writing , as well as many online courses on fiction storytelling . Have a look! We’re happy to offer specific suggestions anytime (you can just contact us through our contact page).

Thank you, Frederick, for this informative and well-written article on writer’s block. I have no doubt that once you overcome any confounding emotions, you will be able to write well and deeply on a subect as infinite and vast as spirituality.

I look forward to reading more of your writing.

Thank you so much, Rebecca! I really appreciate your encouragement. 🙂

Thank you for this article, Frederick. It is exactly what I needed to read at exactly the right moment. I’m sure I will re-read it many times in the coming weeks as I contemplate all that it holds. I always find value in the articles you write, but this one hits such a chord, I had to comment and say thanks.

Thank you so much, Carol! 🙂

The most thorough investigation into writer’s block I’ve read. I’ll be reading it again, too. Thanks, Fred!

Hi, Donna—thank you so much! 🙂

Wonderful, it open the gates !

Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block

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Most writers experience writer’s block at some point in their life, at various stages of the writing process. Often a solution can be found by speaking with your instructor (if you are a student) or a writing tutor. But there are ways to combat writer’s block on your own, too! When you’re having trouble figuring out what to write next, consider these common types of writer’s block and try the strategies that sound most promising.

If you're having trouble finding a starting place for the assignment...

Brainstorm topics that are interesting to you. Use the invention strategies suggested by a tutor or teacher to generate questions or thoughts that serve as useful starting places.
Write down all the primary ideas you'd like to express and then fill in each with the smaller ideas that make up each primary idea. This can easily be converted into an outline .
If your paper involves conducting research, you can look for places where you disagree with another thinker’s claim or feel more work needs to be done. Identifying gaps or conflicts in the existing conversation around a topic is often a great starting place.

Example: You’ve been asked to analyze a television commercial. You remember three commercials that you found interesting and re-watch them, taking notes on details that stand out to you. You freewrite for five minutes on each of the three commercials, and discover that you have much more to say about one than the others. You focus on that one, expanding your freewrite into the an outline for the entire essay.

If you have a topic and an outline, but can’t think of an interesting beginning…

After the paper is completely drafted, you can get all the sections in the correct order and read it start-to-finish to ensure that transitions are smooth.

Example: You have to complete a lab report and hate writing the “Introduction” section. In order to complete the project on time, you overcome your anxiety about writing that section by first writing the “Materials,” “Method,” and “Results” sections. You write the “Introduction” last, reorder, and revise holistically.

If you’ve chosen or been assigned a topic that bores you…

If you’ve chosen a common topic just because you thought it would be easy to write on, reconsider: it’s easiest to write about something in which you have a personal interest.
If you can’t change the major scope or goal of the assignment, try to understand why you’re being asked to write it. What knowledge will you gain from completing the assignment? What skills will you be able to practice? Who would benefit from reading my finished product, and how would that positively change that community?

Example: You work for your campus newspaper and have been assigned to write an article on an upcoming career fair. Although at first your editor asks you to simply inform students of what companies will be represented at the event, you find that you’re much more interested in profiling a certain company that’s new to the fair. You talk to your editor and get permission to write the article that engages you more.

Example: The same scenario as above, but your editor tells you that you have to write the original, more general article. Although it’s boring to you, you reflect that you’ll gain practice presenting a mass of information in concise language, certainly a useful skill for a journalist. Additionally, there are thousands of students on campus who would benefit from the information your article will cover. This motivates you to write the article.

If you don’t understand the assignment…

The better you can articulate the source of confusion, the more help others can give you.

Example: Your composition instructor has asked you to write a Digital Literacy Narrative. The assignment sheet provides a definition of “digital literacy,” and you have some class notes that further clarify the concept. But after reviewing these materials, you’re still not certain if your instructor would allow you to write about how you learned to use different coffee-making technologies, as they aren’t traditionally considered digital devices. You go to your instructor’s office hours to ask if this topic would be acceptable, taking your annotated assignment sheet and class notes with you.

If you’re worried that you’ll write the wrong thing…

Remember that the first draft is not the final draft. If you’re not sure that an argument will pan out, just start writing it and see where it takes you. You can always delete paragraphs that don’t work out later, but the best insights often come from pushing yourself into uncertain territory—if you never feel unsure about your claims, you’re probably just reproducing existing findings!
If you’re worried that a small detail is incorrect, that’s okay in the draft phase. Rather than spending a lot of time checking every small detail as you go, just leave a note to yourself to check your sources later. Or, leave the troublesome paragraph for later and work on a section that you’re more confident writing about.

Example: You’re writing a paper on King Henry VIII and can’t remember off the top of your head whether he beheaded two or three of his wives. The answer to this question wouldn’t change your major argument either way, so you decide it’s not important to look up right now. You write “two,” highlight it, and leave a note to yourself to check this minor supporting fact against your research notes later.

If you’re worried that your sentences aren’t polished enough…

Remember, again, that the first draft is not the final draft. The sooner you get some words on the page, the more time you’ll have to edit your prose for clarity and style later. Complete an entire draft before you start editing on the sentence level.
If you find yourself consistently obsessing over individual sentences as you go, try dimming or covering your laptop or computer monitor’s screen so that you can’t see what you’re typing. You can also try writing in a notebook and typing up your work later.
Consciously stop any non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones. Rather than labeling yourself a “bad writer,” think about what parts of the writing process you excel at (idea generation, conclusions, sentence style, etc.) and plan to allot more time for the steps that take you longer.

Example: You’re writing a paper on the effects of all-nighters on college student’s health. You can’t think of the word “deleterious.” After a few seconds of futilely scanning your brain for it, you write “super harmful,” knowing that you can find the more professional word later.

If you’re so stressed out that you can’t seem to put a word on the page…

Take a short break! If you’re close to a deadline and worried about losing track of time, then set a timer for ten or fifteen minutes and use that short window to relax before getting back to work. Stretch, move away from your desk, and don’t neglect your sleeping and eating schedule. It’s much harder to write if you’re sleep-deprived or dehydrated.
If you have several days left before your deadline, break the assignment into manageable parts. Set measurable writing goals for yourself, like writing without interruption for thirty minutes every day, or writing a certain number of words by a given deadline.
Finally, ask for help! Writing is most stressful when you’re doing it by yourself for a long period of time. Asking a tutor or a friend to talk through your ideas can help you get some perspective on the assignment, and remind you that it’s nothing to be anxious about.

Example: You have a week before an important job application is due and you’re anxious that the search committee will dislike your cover letter before you’ve even written it. Since you still have plenty of time before the deadline, you plan to work on it for just thirty minutes every day. You talk to a friend who helps you make a list of reasons why you’re qualified for this job, and you stick to your writing schedule.

If you’re easily distracted when you open your computer to write…

Try temporarily disabling your internet access. Take your laptop to a space that doesn’t have internet access. Draft by hand in a notebook and type up your work later. Or, simply turn your computer’s wifi detector off, or put your document into full-screen or “Focus” mode: these obstacles are easy to overcome, but the time it takes to make the few extra clicks to open an internet browser is sometimes enough to stop yourself.
You can also try setting a timer forcing yourself to do nothing but write for a short period of time. Even a ten-minute focused writing session can help you break through initial writer’s block and build momentum on your project.

Example: You start to work on your paper, and after writing one sentence feel the impulse to watch just one YouTube video. However, as you have wisely decided to take your computer to the house of a friend who doesn’t have internet, your browser gives you a frowny face and an error message. You return to your paper and keep writing.

How To Overcome Writer’s Block (20 Tricks That Really Work)

When it comes to writer’s block, you don’t want to play around. You want to deliver a knock-out punch.

Here’s how to overcome writer’s block:

You overcome writer’s block with the Writer’s Block Destroyer System. In this system, you identify the specific type of writer’s block, apply the customized solution for your specific type of writer’s block, and test the effect. If needed, you apply 20 alternative strategies and retest.

In this article, you’ll learn my foolproof system for overcoming writer’s block.

If you follow the steps, I can virtually guarantee that you will never have to worry about writer’s block again.

What Is Writer’s Block?

Man struggling to write—How To Overcome Writer's Block

Table of Contents

Anyone who has ever tried to be creative knows that it is not always easy.

For some, the blank page (or canvas, or whatever) can be so intimidating that it’s hard to even get started. This is often referred to as “creative block” or “resistance.”

To put it simply, writer’s block is the inability to write .

It can strike at any time, whether you’re a professional artist or just trying to doodle a bit in your spare time.

Writer’s Block Symptoms

The symptoms of writer’s block include:

Not writing
Frustration
Extreme expectations
Unreaslistic standards
Severe self-criticism
Lack of overall creativity
Decreased motivation
Second-guessing yourself
Indecisiveness

What Causes Writer’s Block?

There are a number of different theories on the subject.

Common causes of writer’s block:

Procrastination
Unprocessed emotion

Some say that it’s simply a matter of fear: we’re afraid of not being good enough, or of not living up to our own standards.

Others believe that it’s a form of self-sabotage, an unconscious way of protecting ourselves from failure. Your resistance might stem from a habit of procrastination, lack of motivation, or lack of clarity.

Whatever the cause, creative block can be a very real and very frustrating experience.

The good news is that there are ways to overcome it.

How To Overcome Writer’s Block: The Complete System

Right here at the beginning, I want to go over the complete Writer’s Block Destroyer System.

Here is the system:

Identify the Type of Writer’s Block (Hint: There are at least 6 different types)
Apply the Correct Solution
Test the Effect
Apply 20 Alternate Strategies

Each step in the process is incredibly important.

If you skip a step, you might end up unintentionally lumping new resistance on top of your existing writer’s block.

Nobody’s want’s that.

Step 1: Identify The Type of Writer’s Block

When you want to know how to overcome writer’s block, the first thing you need to know is the type of writer’s block.

For a long time, I thought there was only ONE type of writer’s block.

After all, we don’t say “writer’s blocks” (plural)—mostly because it sounds really weird. But what if I told you that there were more than one type of writer’s block?

What if not everyone experienced the exact same type of block? What if not every block you experienced was the same?

There are 6 main types of writer’s block:

Too many ideas

Character Confusion

What Happens Next

Emotional Blockage

Let’s quickly deconstruct these 6 types of blocks.

Identifying the correct type of block is the first step in the system. If you don’t know what type of resistance you’re facing, then you might be trying to fix the wrong problem.

Usually, in vain.

As you read about each of the six types of writer’s block, see if you can remember times when you might have experienced them.

I know I have .

One of the two most common types of writer’s block is not having any ideas.

It can be paralyzing, but it need not be for long. This usually happens when a writer is trying to come up with a story or article to write. It’s when you struggle to grasp even the first thread of creativity.

The writer stares into space, groping for something, anything that might produce a strong, workable idea.

Too Many Ideas

The other most common type, this block is the opposite of the first block. In this form of resistence, a writer is overwhelmed with story ideas.

They have too many options and succumb to selection paralysis.

They ask themselves, “What idea should I choose? I like all 200 of them!”

Sometimes writers get blocked in the middle of a story.

This can happen for a variety of reasons, but one common reason is that the writer loses track of the essence of the character.

They don’t know how a character will react to specific story events.

What Happens Next?

A related block is not knowing how the story itself will proceed. This is the “What happens next?” block.

A nonfiction or fiction writer can face this form of resistance.

Even a blogger might not know how to extend a 500-word article into a 1,500-word blog post.

All too often, there is an emotional reason behind the block.

The reason, while possibly related to the story, usually involves non-story events, experiences, and people. The writer is blocked due to unresolved emotions in their personal life.

I actually think this is the most common form of writer’s block.

Pain Point

Sometimes the subject matter or plot point in the story is so personal that he writer cannot go on.

This could be related to a broken relationship, death, violence, loss, or something altogether different. The main focus of this type of block is that the writer connects on a deep level with the pain of the story.

The pain prevents the writer from moving forward with the story or piece of content.

Step 2: Apply the Correct Solution

Now that you have identified the type of writer’s block, it’s time to apply the solution.

“I don’t have writer’s block. I have writer’s hurdles and I jump them every time I sit down at the keyboard.”—Christopher Kokoski

There are specific, effective responses to each different type.

The truth is, you probably do have an idea. Lots of them. You just don’t know it.

Here are a few things you can try. Read the back cover blurbs of 20 published novels or nonfiction books. You can go to the library, a bookstore, or just browse Amazon.com.

Brainstorm how you could combine any two or three of those ideas, or take a different slant on them:

Twilight and Bourne Identity
The Longest Ride and Harry Potte r
A biography of Leonardo DaVinci and The Rock

Next, write down five of your strongest beliefs about life (i.e., people are good, love always prevails, etc) and five things that you hate (i.e. violence against animals, abuse of children, diseases, etc).

Now, consider a character or perspective who believed the very opposite of you.

What kind of character would that be? How did they come to hold those polar opposite views? Ask, “What if?” What if a kid wanted to kidnap his parents and was right? What if your boyfriend was a serial killer? What if zombies were super-intelligent?

The problem here is with prioritizing your ideas.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Which story or idea do I feel strongest about?
Which story or idea has the most commercial appeal?
Which story lends itself to the most conflict, drama, or character change?
Which story or idea can be easily summed up in a sentence or two?

Also, poll friends and family or your social media followers on which idea sounds best. Get feedback and then go with your gut.

This type of writer’s block usually impacts fiction authors (novels, short stories, screenplays, or fanfiction).

The solution is to g o back to the basics of character creation.

What is the character’s biggest goal? Biggest fear? How have they reacted to previous story events? What is their internal conflict that relates to the external story conflict?

What can they do to resolve both conflicts?

What would any other person do? Look at their experiences, backstory, and personality. What is the next logical step or action? Or, conversely, what would make things worse?

Have the character do that. It’s probably more interesting.

Go back to the basics of story or idea creation.

For nonfiction, ask yourself:

What is the question I’m wanting to answer?
What’s another context? (Different price, different season, different speed, different use case?)
What else does the reader want to know?
What else does the reason need to know?
When does XYZ happen?
Where does XYZ happen?
Why does XYZ happen?

For fiction, ask yourself:

What is the main conflict?
What is the main goal?
What options haven’t the characters tried to resolve the conflict or solve the goal?
What has the antagonist been up to?
Have they been passive or actively working against the protagonist(s).
What could they do next to stop, hinder, or destroy the protagonists?
What bad thing could happen?
What could go terribly wrong?
W hat could be even worse?

Ask and answer these types of questions and you will likely be on your way to happy writing.

First, i dentify the emotion that is blocking you.

Do an emotional scan of your body, especially for anger, anxiety, and sadness (or depression). These three feelings often challenge people in general.

Once identified, embrace and express the feeling in healthy ways.

Talk to someone, meditate, pray. The key is awareness and compassionate expression. Once the emotion is naturally released, you will often be able to write.

Usually, this block begins to dissolves as soon as you acknowledge the pain. Then, it’s all about choosing to process and push through the discomfort so you write.

One note: most great stories and pieces of content feel uncomfortable to write.

The discomfort is a good sign that you are delving into the depths of the theme and character change. If you discover any unresolved pain from the past, try the emotional blockage solutions.

Step 3: Test the Effect

You know the solution worked when you can get back to writing.

You typically feel better, lighter, and more relaxed. Other times, you might feel excited to get back to the story, essay, or blog post. You might have intense motivation.

The litmus test is, Can you write?

If you find that you still feel blocked, it’s time to throw one of the next 20 strategies at your creative resistence.

Step 4: Try 20 Alternate Strategies To Overcome Writer’s Block

How to overcome writer’s block?

Here are a collection of other solutions you can use to dissolve writer’s block forever. Experiment with them. See which ones work best for you or for the particular block you are currently facing.

Check out these 20 alternate writer’s block cures:

Move your body —Science is clear that changing our body changes our mood. Go for a walk, do yoga, lift weights, dand ance.
Get creative —Try sketching the next scene for your story , article, or essay.
Skip the scene —Write a later scene or section and come back to the current one later.
Write about the block —Write anything. Just get your pen, pencil, or keyboard fingers moving.
Roleplay —Act out the scene. Be all the characters.
Get silly —Be goofy. Get into a kid’s frame of mind. They are creative geniuses.
Get bored —Boredom is another scientifically-based method of triggering genius-level creativity.
Get happy —Research shows that happiness is the breeding group of insight and innovation.
Write in a blue room —The color blue is associated with a playful, creative mind.
Make a mess —Studies have concluded that people who work in a messy environment come up with more creative ideas.
Relax and don’t rush yourself —Trying to will yourself into creativity often backfires brilliantly.
Surround yourself with inspiration —Put up pictures. Talk to fascinating people.
Use the copy and paste method —Manually re-write your favorite poem, long quote, or page from a novel (just don’t publish it).
Read about something random —Fill your mind with lots of possible connection points. Your creative brain can merge dissperate ideas into something fresh and exciting.
Challenge your brain —Work on a puzzle. Write something hard. Give yourself a challenge that wakes up your muse.
Buy a plant —Research shows that people who live and work in natural environments become more creative.
Take a cat nap —Sometimes sleep revitalizes a sluggish brain.
Do something new —Novel experiences are more likely to get you into the flow state of creativity.
Turn on ambient noise —Soft background noise invites creative thinking.
Use automatic creativity tools —Take advantage of technology to break free of writer’s block. You can consider these your writer’s block help generators.

Right now, my two favorite writer’s block help generators are:

Jasper AI Writer
Nuance Dragon Speech to Text Software

Step 5: Retest the Results

Repeat the earlier step.

Odds are, if you have made it this far through the system, you are well on your way to writing your story , essay, report, or article.

That’s how you overcome writer’s block.

Remember: the only success that counts is, Are you writing ? If so, that’s winning.

If you’re looking for an instant cure to writer’s block, check out this video:

How Long Does Writer’s Block Last?

Writer’s block can last a few minutes or a few years.

The length of writer’s block is often determined by the depth and severity of the cause, whether or not you face the cause, and how you attempt to resolve the cause.

Writer’s block will last longer if you ignore the cause.

Your resistance will also go on and on if you do not correctly identity the right type of blockage and apply the correct solution.

On the flip side, your creative speedbump can be over in a matter of minutes or days if you go through the Destroyer System.

This Is How Not To Overcome Writer’s Block

Here are five things NOT to do when you’re struggling to write:

Watch TV —It may seem like a good way to take a break, but watching TV will only make it harder to focus when you sit down to write again.
Play video games —Like TV, video games can be a major distraction. If you’re trying to overcome writer’s block, it’s best to avoid them altogether.
Scroll through social media —Social media can be a huge time suck. If you find yourself scrolling through Twitter or Instagram when you should be writing, close the app and focus on your work.
Wait for inspiration —Inspiration is great, but it’s not always reliable. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just sit down and write.
Make excuses for yourself —When we give ourselves permission to remain blocked, we turn our creative energies against our own goals and dreams. It’s basically creative self-sabotage.

Final Thoughts: How To Overcome Writer’s Block

The bottom line is that you overcome writer’s block by facing and freeing the underlying cause of your creative resistance.

Once you let go of what’s holding you back, you’ll be unstoppable.

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American Psychological Association (Journal of Creative Behavior) Academia.edu

How to Overcome Writer’s Block in Simple Steps

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Table of contents.

Writer’s block feels like an insurmountable barrier, a frustrating impasse where you feel stuck and words refuse to flow. It’s not just a dilemma for novelists or journalists; it plagues most writers, from students to professionals.

This common challenge, however, isn’t a dead end. Overcoming writer’s block is achievable through practical techniques and mental shifts.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies that will teach you how to get rid of writer’s block and continue writing more.

What is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block is a common yet complex challenge that every writer faces at some point. Writer’s block is more than just a temporary inability to start writing; it’s often a symptom of deeper issues such as fear of failure, perfectionism, or a lack of inspiration.

It can stem from internal pressures, like self-doubt, or external factors, such as unrealistic deadlines. At its core, writer’s block is a psychological hurdle where a writer cannot produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. This block can manifest in various forms, from the inability to start a new project to struggling with the existing work.

Understanding that writer’s block is a normal, albeit frustrating, part of the creative process is crucial. Acknowledging it as a common experience among writers can be comforting and is the first step toward overcoming it and making your creative juices flow.

How to Get Over Writer’s Block?

Overcoming writer’s block often starts with tangible, actionable steps. These strategies don’t require exceptional skill, just a willingness to try new approaches. However, we first need to understand the nature and underlying causes of writer’s block.

Each technique is designed to be easily implementable, offering concrete steps to get your best writing back on track.

1. Establish a Consistent Writing Routine

Commit to a specific time each day for writing. This could be early morning, during your lunch break, or late at night, depending on when you feel most productive. Keep this time sacred and free from distractions. To make it a habit, start with just 20 minutes daily and gradually increase the duration.

2. Create a Conducive Writing Environment

Organize your writing space to inspire creativity. This might mean decluttering your desk, adding inspirational quotes or art, or changing your lighting to something softer or more energizing. If you prefer writing outside your home, try different locations like libraries, parks, or coffee shops to find your ideal setting.

3. Embrace Freewriting

Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and just write something down without pause. Don’t worry about grammar, structure, or even staying on topic. Let your thoughts flow freely. This exercise can be useful for generating ideas or overcoming the fear of a blank page. You can start with prompts like “What I want to say is…” or “The thing I find most challenging is…”.

4. Incorporate Regular Breaks

Implement the Pomodoro Technique: 25 minutes of focused writing followed by a 5-minute break. During your break, step away from your writing space. Engage in non-writing activities like stretching, a quick walk, or a brief meditation. These short breaks can refresh your mind and improve focus.

5. Stimulate your Mind with Physical Activity

Incorporate a form of physical activity into your daily routine. A 30-minute walk, a yoga session, or light stretching can invigorate your body and mind. If you find it challenging to exercise, consider integrating activities into your writing, like walking while brainstorming ideas or doing a few yoga poses during breaks.

What are Mindset Shifts to Combat Writer’s Block?

In the battle against writer’s block, shifting your mindset can be as crucial as any practical strategy. Let’s explore how changing the way you think and talk about writing can unlock new levels of productivity.

1. Embrace Imperfection

Accept that first drafts are not meant to be perfect. It’s essential to understand that initial writing aims to get ideas down on paper, not create a masterpiece immediately. By allowing yourself to write imperfectly, you lower the barriers of perfectionism that often halt progress. Encourage yourself to write freely, knowing that revision and refinement are future steps where perfection can gradually be approached.

2. Focus on the Process, Not Just the Product

Learn to find joy in the act of writing itself, not just in the finished piece. This shift in focus can alleviate the stress of outcomes and deadlines, allowing you to immerse yourself in the present moment of crafting your work. Celebrate small writing victories, like solving a tricky paragraph or crafting a beautiful sentence. This approach helps maintain a positive attitude towards writing, making the process more enjoyable.

3. Develop Resilience to Criticism

Build a mindset that views feedback as a valuable part of the writing process, not a personal attack. Cultivate the ability to separate your self-worth from your work, understanding that criticism is often aimed at improvement, not diminishment. Learning to appreciate constructive feedback provides a new perspective on your previous work too, helping you grow as a writer. Developing a thick skin and an open mind towards criticism can transform discouraging comments into tools for personal development.

4. Break Down Large Projects into Smaller Tasks

Viewing a large writing project as a series of smaller, manageable tasks makes it less daunting. Breaking down a project into components like research, outlining, writing, and revising can provide a clearer path forward. This approach allows for a sense of accomplishment with each small task completed, steadily chipping away at writer’s block. It also helps organize your thoughts and manage your time more effectively, making the writing less overwhelming.

5. Rekindle your Passion for Writing

Reconnect with what made you love writing in the first place. Whether reading inspiring works or recalling past writing successes, reigniting your passion can push through mental barriers. Try exploring new genres or writing styles to keep your interest fresh, or revisit old works to remember the satisfaction of completing the first draft of a piece. Sometimes, stepping back and remembering why you started writing can provide a strong motivational boost to overcome writer’s block.

6. Seeking External Help

While personal strategies are vital in overcoming writer’s block, sometimes the key lies in seeking external help. This section explores the various avenues through which you can find support and inspiration beyond your efforts.

7. Join Writing Groups or Workshops

Participating in writing groups or workshops can provide a sense of community and support. These gatherings offer a platform to share your work, receive feedback, and engage with fellow writers facing similar challenges. They can also provide accountability, helping you stay focused and committed to your writing goals. Look for local writing groups in community centers or libraries, or join online communities where you can connect with writers globally.

You can join Squibler’s community to group up with potential writers.

8. Attend Literary Events and Author Talks

Immersing yourself in the broader writing community through literary events, author talks, and book readings can be incredibly inspiring. Listening to experienced authors share their journeys, challenges, and insights can offer new perspectives and motivate you to push through your block. These events often provide networking opportunities, allowing you to build connections with others in the writing community.

9. Seek Professional Guidance

If writer’s block persists, consider seeking professional help from a writing coach or therapist specializing in creative blocks. A writing coach can work with you to develop strategies tailored to your specific needs and challenges, offering guidance to help you move forward. If your writer’s block is deeply rooted in anxiety or other psychological barriers, a therapist can help address these underlying issues.

10. Use Online Resources and Forums

The internet is a treasure trove of resources such as communities and finding the right writing tool. Online forums, writing blogs, and websites offer tips, prompts, and advice from experienced writers and editors. Engaging in these online communities provides help and ensures you feel less isolated when a few sentences away from a finished paper.

11. Collaborate with Peers

Sometimes, collaborating with family members, a friend or another writer helps overcome writer’s block. Joint projects or co-writing sessions can spark creativity, offering a fresh perspective on your work. Collaboration with professional writers also brings a sense of shared responsibility and can be fun to re-engage with the writing process.

Top 6 Inspiration Boosters to Beat Writer’s Block

Writer’s block often dissipates when new sources of inspiration and creativity enter our orbit. This section explores various ways to reignite your creative spark and find inspiration for your writing.

1. Read Widely & Diversely

Dive into various literary genres and other good writing styles and learn more about famous writers. Reading outside your comfort zone can introduce you to new ideas, perspectives, and writing tools that can spark your creativity and cure writer’s block. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or even technical writing, each style offers unique insights and ways of thinking that can rejuvenate your writing.

2. Use Writing Prompts and Challenges

Writing prompts and challenges can jumpstart your creativity by providing a starting point or a specific focus. These can range from single words on the page or phrases to complex scenarios. Participate in writing challenges like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) or use writing prompt apps to keep your creative juices flowing.

3. Explore other Forms of Art to Get Past Writers Block

Art, music, and cinema can be profound sources of inspiration. Visit a museum, attend a concert, or watch a thought-provoking film. Different art forms can stimulate your senses and emotions, often leading to unexpected ideas for your writing.

4. Engage in Mindful and Reflective Practices

Practices like meditation, journaling, or even long walks in nature can provide mental clarity. These activities allow you to reflect and process thoughts and emotions, often leading to breakthroughs in your writing.

5. Travel and Experience New Cultures

If possible, travel to new places or immerse yourself in different cultures. These experiences can broaden your horizons, offer new settings and characters for your stories, and provide a wealth of sensory details to enrich your writing.

6. Connect with Nature to Overcome Writer’s Block

Spending time in nature is a powerful strategy for many writers who have trouble writing. If you don’t know how to get rid of writer’s block, the beauty of the natural environment can provide a peaceful backdrop for imagination. Whether it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the mountains, or just sitting by a lake, nature can be a great source of inspiration.

After all these, divide your project into small manageable tasks and try writing at least one page in an internal editor to overcome writer’s block. You can also try visiting a coffee shop to write and avoid falling asleep.

How to Leverage Technology to Boost Creativity?

In an era where technology intertwines with almost every aspect of our lives, it can be a powerful ally in overcoming writer’s block. This section will explore how various digital tools and applications can enhance your writing, offering innovative ways to maintain productivity.

1. Digital Writing Tools

Digital tools like Scrivener, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word offer more than just word processing; they provide organizational and structural features tailored for writers. Squibler excels in organizing complex writing projects, allowing you to rearrange sections and keep notes and research.

It’s a perfect AI tool for fiction writing that creates new content or wraps up existing drafts. Create characters, items, and scenes as elements that Squibler uses to create tailored, fictional content.

Google Docs is a different writing tool that offers the convenience of cloud-based writing, accessible from any device, encouraging flexibility in where and when you write.

Squibler is an AI writing tool that allows you to enhance your work and boost efficiency by 75% due to its smart AI capabilities. You can create drafts, rewrite, generate ideas, and even write your whole book in one single command to the smart writer.

2. Idea Generation Apps

Apps such as MindNode, Evernote, or Trello can be instrumental in brainstorming and putting your best ideas together. MindNode is excellent for visual mind mapping, helping you visually plot out ideas and how they interconnect. Evernote is a digital notebook, perfect for jotting down thoughts, snippets of dialogue, or descriptions whenever inspiration strikes.

Trello can track different stages of a writing project, from initial ideas to completed chapters, keeping you organized and focused.

Squibler’s Generate and Ask Me Anything tools are another great way to fill in the blanks in your writing. Let’s say you want to add more description to your surroundings or drama to a dialogue. Squibler offers dedicated tools for both and other situations with its smart adaptive technology.

3. Distraction Blockers

Distraction-blocking tools like Freedom, Cold Turkey, or LeechBlock help maintain focus by blocking distracting websites and apps during your writing time. These tools are invaluable for writers who are easily distracted by the internet and social media.

4. Writing Prompts and AI Assistance

Online resources offer writing prompts that kickstart your creativity when you’re having a creative block. Websites like Writing Prompts, Tumblr, or r/WritingPrompts provide many scenarios to inspire new stories. AI writing assistants can help generate short story ideas, suggest story directions, or even help with writing blocks by providing written examples based on your prompts.

Again, Squibler arms you with the necessary AI tools when facing writer’s block, but you want to wrap up the chapter for your next novel. You can grow your thought process with its “Generate a Scene”, and “Ask me Anything” tools.

Harnessing the Power of Writing Rituals

Writing rituals can transform the daunting task of facing a blank page into a welcoming routine. This section explores how personalized rituals can establish a conducive writing mindset, enhancing creative flow and productivity.

Personalized Rituals

Creating personalized rituals before writing sessions can set the tone for a productive workflow. These rituals could be as simple as brewing a favorite cup of tea or coffee, arranging your workspace, or lighting a scented candle. The key is consistency; these small acts signal to your brain that it’s time to focus and sit down to write. Over time, these rituals become ingrained, turning the act of writing into a more automatic and less daunting process.

Mindfulness Practices

Incorporating mindfulness practices into your writing routine can significantly aid in clearing mental clutter. Practices like meditation, deep breathing exercises, or a short mindfulness session before writing can help center your thoughts, allowing you to approach your writing with a calm and focused mind. These techniques are particularly useful for writers who struggle with anxiety or overthinking, common contributors to writer’s block.

Pre-writing Routines

Engaging in pre-writing routines helps transition your mind into writing mode. This could involve reading a few pages of a book, free-writing in a journal, or reviewing notes and outlines for your current project. These activities warm up your creative muscles, making diving into the more focused task of writing your manuscript or article easier.

Setting the Scene

The physical environment where you write affects how effectively you can work. Tailoring your surroundings to be inviting and distraction-free can enhance your writing experience. This might mean a clean, organized desk, a comfortable chair, optimal lighting, or background music that helps you concentrate. A well-set environment boosts your mood and supports concentration.

Reflective Writing

End your writing sessions with a short period of reflective writing. Take a few minutes to jot down what you accomplished, any challenges you faced, and how you feel about the writing session. This practice helps you acknowledge your progress, understand your writing patterns, and adjust for future sessions.

How to Balance Writing with Other Pursuits?

Engaging in diverse creative activities can provide a respite from writing and enrich your storytelling abilities. This section explores how balancing writing with other forms of creativity can spark inspiration and offer fresh perspectives to anyone with writer’s block.

1. Cross-Creativity Benefits

Pursuing different art forms, such as painting, music, or digital design, can stimulate your brain in new ways and help you eliminate writer’s block. These activities encourage you to think differently, often leading to innovative ideas that can be translated into your writing. For instance, the color and texture in painting can inspire vivid descriptions, while the rhythm and structure in music can influence the flow of your narrative.

2. Stories from Other Mediums

Immersing yourself in stories told through different mediums, like films, theater, or video games, provides new storytelling techniques. Analyzing how a film builds tension, a play develops characters, or a video game creates immersive worlds can offer valuable insights. This exposure broadens your understanding of narrative and can inspire innovative ways to approach your writing.

3. Physical Movement to Cure Writer’s Block

Physical activities like dance, yoga, or crafting can enhance mental clarity and idea generation. These activities involve different skills and brain functions, offering a mental break from writing while fostering a creative mindset. Physical movement, in particular, has been shown to boost cognitive function.

4. Culinary Creativity

Exploring culinary arts is another avenue for creative expression that can positively impact your writing. Cooking requires imagination, experimentation, and understanding of ingredients, like constructing a story. The sensory experiences involved in cooking – taste, smell, texture – can also inspire descriptive, sensory-rich writing.

5. Integrating Creative Pursuits into Daily Life

Make creativity a regular part of your life, not just something you do when you’re away from writing. Simple activities like doodling, photography, or DIY home projects keep your creative juices flowing. Regular engagement in such complex overwhelming tasks keeps your mind active and open to new ideas, benefiting your writing practice.

Final Remarks

As we draw this exploration of writer’s block up to a close, it’s clear that writer’s block, while challenging, is not insurmountable. The strategies and insights we writers have shared here offer a roadmap to navigate through and beyond these creative impasses.

In this journey, we’ve uncovered that overcoming writer’s block is more about practical techniques than mental shifts. From establishing a writing schedule and embracing freewriting to seeking external support and finding new sources of inspiration, each approach plays a role in reigniting the creative spark. It’s important to remember that writer’s block is a common experience and, most importantly, a temporary one. The key lies in experimenting with different methods, being patient with yourself, and understanding that every writer’s path to overcoming these obstacles is unique.

Let these strategies guide and encourage you as you continue your writing journey. Embrace the ebb and flow of the creative process and know that each hurdle, like writer’s block, is an opportunity for growth.

Here are answers to the questions on overcoming writers’ struggle:

How do you get rid of writer’s block fast?

To get rid of writer’s block quickly, try changing your environment or routine, such as writing in a different location or at a different time of day. Engaging in a creative warm-up activity like freewriting or brainstorming can also help. Taking short breaks to relax or engage in physical activity can refresh your mind and spark new ideas.

What is the main cause of writer’s block?

The main cause of writer’s block is often psychological, stemming from fear of failure, perfectionism, or self-doubt. Stress, fatigue, and external pressures can also contribute to the inability to write. Additionally, a lack of inspiration or feeling overwhelmed by the writing process can trigger writer’s block.

Does writer’s block go away?

Yes, writer’s block does go away, though the duration can vary from person to person. It often resolves when the underlying issues, such as stress or lack of motivation, are addressed. Using strategies to relax, inspire, and structure your writing can help expedite the process.

Why am I having bad writer’s block?

You might be experiencing bad writer’s block due to high levels of stress, unrealistic expectations, or burnout. It can also stem from a lack of confidence in your writing abilities or feeling overwhelmed by the scope of your project. Identifying and addressing these underlying issues can help alleviate severe writer’s block.

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Writer’s Block for Students: The 3-Step Cure

By Jordan Dotson
Updated: March 1, 2023

Did you know that writer’s block is a myth? Yes, that’s right, a complete and utter myth. There isn’t a single professional writer anywhere in the world who experiences this phenomenon known as “writer’s block.” How would newspapers ever function if journalists were constantly worried about their brains shutting off? It makes no sense, right?

What, then, is this phenomenon? Does it happen in other fields? Do programmers suddenly black out when they have to finish some code? Do chefs stare blankly at cast-iron skillets and wonder what to do with the eggs? Do pianists bang their head against the keys because their fingers don’t know what to do?

No, of course not. Never.

Why then do so many students claim “writer’s block” when they delay working on a research paper or application essay?

More importantly, if you’re staring at your laptop screen, biting your nails, growing ever anxious because you have absolutely no idea what to write…what can we do to solve the problem?

Well, if this has ever happened to you, you’re in luck. Because I’m about to banish “writer’s block” from your vocabulary forever. Read on, and we’ll turn you into a lean, mean writing machine who can function with grace and lucidity in even the most high-pressure situations.

What Is Writer’s Block Really ?

Curiously, the writer’s block myth stems from another myth – that of the “muse.” The ancient Greeks believed in nine goddesses of inspiration – the muses – who would fly giggling down from Mount Olympus, place their pretty fingers on someone’s forehead, and cause them to explode into feverish bursts of poetry, music, dance, or astronomy.

This idea became a bit of a meme in 18th century Europe. In the artistic movement known as Romanticism , poets all but worshipped the idea of free artistic expression. In his Lyrical Ballads , William Wordsworth said that poetry should spring from “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Thus, a bunch of pale, limp-wristed, consumptive poets spawned the myth that we still struggle with today: the idea that writing just bursts forth from nothing in a fit of muse-prompted inspiration.

But herein lies the problem: what if you’re not a full-time poet?

What if you’re not a “writer,” per se, at all?

What if you’re a genomics researcher who hasn’t written a paper in years, but who needs to bang out 3,000 words on the history of shotgun sequencing?

Why would Clio, that lovely muse of history, ever bother to stop brushing her hair and come down to inspire an undergrad science student? She wouldn’t. She’s too busy worrying about the historians who’ve been practicing their writing craft for years.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a muse for coding, neuroscience, data analysis, or microbiology. There are no muses for financial accounting, nursing, or aerospace engineering. In fact, there are no muses at all for confused undergrads, because muses only visit people who are prepared to receive them .

Writer’s block isn’t simply not knowing what to write.

It’s not being prepared to write .

From now on, I want you to consider this new definition of “writer’s block:”

An anxiety-inducing form of procrastination, experienced only by novice writers, who don’t know which step to take next because they don’t have a well-practiced method at hand.

Luckily, if you can accept that definition, then I can tell you exactly how to eliminate writing anxiety and start producing real, valuable work.

Writer’s Block for Students: The Cure

All successful writers are masters of 1) planning, 2) time management, and 3) focus. The first is easily the most important. But without 2 and 3, the words never make it to the page – at least not in a clear and stress-free way. By mastering these concepts in order, you ensure that when you sit down to write, your muse will be there waiting for you, hair brushed and giggling and holding her glowing fingertip in the air.

Your freshman writing teachers undoubtedly taught you about the importance of outlining. You undoubtedly ignore this advice every chance you get. I don’t blame you. Outlining is a pain.

But the thing is…outlining has a powerful purpose, and it’s a far lesser pain than trying to write without an outline at all. It allows you to structure your thoughts without worrying about grammar, style, and MLA requirements. We say that outlines are the skeletons of essays. This is true, but I hate the analogy. It’s much more important to think of outlines as roadmaps .

Google Maps is great because you type in the destination, and it tells you exactly where to go next.

Creating an outline has the same function. It allows you to figure out, step-by-step, what to write next. Not creating an outline is the same as stepping on the gas before you’ve even figured out the destination.

“But Jordan,” you say. “Google maps already knows the steps! I have to write a statement of purpose for a thesis-based master’s degree, and I have no idea what the steps are!”

Not true, friend. I’ve already listed the steps for you . All you have to do is follow them. Why try to reinvent the wheel when I’ve already spent a billion hours engineering a race car for you?

But what if you’re writing something else? A research paper? A diversity statement ? A graduation speech? What is my next step then?

As I often tell my younger students, drafting outlines, creating your roadmap, is where the real intellectual work takes place. When I wrote my own master’s thesis, the actual composition of sentences only took about two hours. No joke. I’d already spent a semester gathering research and moving the evidence and citations around in an insanely detailed outline. When I sat down to put these pieces together, to “write,” it certainly felt like I had a muse sitting on my shoulder. But in truth, I’d been preparing for months. There was no thinking involved. Everything was laid out for me.

This, then, is your next step: sit down and prepare. You’re not William Wordsworth. You have no muse. None of us do, and no one ever writes anything of value in a single flash of inspiration. As H.L. Mencken said:

“In my own somewhat narrow experience, the value of writing seems to be in inverse proportion to the ease of writing. Whatever flows freely and bubblingly turns out to be sorry stuff a week later.”

Your next step is to make an outline. Or Google existing outlines. If you have to write a research paper, you can’t do better than this wonderful guide and outline from the famous Dr. Peterson.

“Okay, Jordan. Great. I need to outline. You’re a real genius , aren’t you? But outlining is a big task too, and I still feel anxious and ready to procrastinate, so what gives?”

Don’t worry, friend. Our next step, if you actually try it, is going to blow you away.

2. Time Management

If you haven’t read the work of Cal Newport, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Dr. Newport is a Computer Science professor at Georgetown who’s written extensively in the past few decades about what it takes to become an elite performer in knowledge-work fields.

In How to Become a Straight-A Student , he detailed an extraordinary method for “time blocking” that the best students in the world use, in some form or another. I recommend this book to EVERY undergraduate I know (and any hopeful graduate with a subpar GPA).

In So Good They Can’t Ignore You , he explains how to build a truly impactful and rewarding career in fields that require deep thought. I recommend this book to EVERY graduate student I know.

Finally, in Deep Work , Dr. Newport revealed the time-blocking and focus-enhancing habits used by the greatest writers, artists, and academic researchers. I recommend this book to EVERYONE.

The magical key in all of these books is this: writing, or any kind of intellectual effort, is massively enhanced when we eschew multi-tasking and work in dedicated “time blocks” that have a hard end. Essentially, it means working according to a schedule much like your typical high school day.

“A 40 hour time-blocked work week, I estimate, produces the same amount of output as a 60+ hour work week pursued without structure.” — Cal Newport, Author of Deep Work

You can find a primer on time blocking here . You might also be familiar with Pomodoro Technique , that beloved study method of med school students everywhere. But instead of explaining what time blocking is, I want you to understand its effect on your brain.

When we sit down to write in a dedicated time block of 1-2 hours, something magical happens. Anxiety vanishes. The stress of deadlines dissolves completely. The dopamine drip of social media grows numb.

Suddenly, you enter “writing mode.”

It seems simple, but it’s incredibly powerful, and you can’t really understand until you experience it.

This simple act of scheduling, of dedicating a limited block of time to the task at hand, shuts down competing stimuli in our brains. It’s kind of like how, in high school Calculus class, you weren’t thinking about your AP English homework. You were focused explicitly on Calculus until the bell rang.

When my students begin using this technique, 100% of them marvel at how it helps them get work done. Even better, they love how, almost magically, it leaves them happier and more relaxed at the end of the day.

This, then, is the second key to eliminating writer’s block. You’ve already got a plan. Now, give yourself one hour to flesh it out.

Don’t say: “I’m going to work on my essay now.”

Say: “I’m going to work on my essay for one hour .”

Then, at the end of the day, schedule in another dedicated hour the following day.

Don’t sit around waiting on a muse. They don’t exist. Instead, just sit down and get work done for one hour . Don’t worry about the end result. That only builds stress. Just focus on working for one time block. Your only goal is to work until the alarm goes off.

This is the method used by virtually every high-output and high-quality writer in existence, and it’s exactly how you’ll conquer writer’s block.

Want to get insanely effective with time-blocking? I highly recommend Dr. Newport’s manual Time-Block Planner . I use it myself every day, and it’s how I manage to write novels and blog posts and edit hundreds of essays without ever slowing down or feeling anxious.

Time blocking itself does wondrous things for our focus. BUT…we can go further.

The muse myth persists because, occasionally, writers do experience creative bursts when the words flow out unobstructed. It’s a supernatural feeling you never forget. For me, it happens about once a year.

At least, it used to happen once a year. Now it happens nearly every day .

That’s because every morning, when I sit down for my 2-hour blocked writing session, I insert my AirPods, set my phone on airplane mode, and then turn on Focus@Will .

I’ve already written about how this miraculous app can improve your focus by 200-400% when coding or studying. The effect is uncanny. It’s a perfect complement to time blocking for two reasons:

The app’s neuroscience-driven music prevents your mind from reaching two dangerous states: distraction and habituation. Distraction arises when outside tasks (or phone notifications) poke at your mind. Habituation occurs when your grow bored with your surroundings, or the task at hand. Both are almost impossible with Focus@Will.
The app has built-in, infinitely customizable timers, to suit any length of scheduled work block. When you reach the end of your time block or Pomodoro session, the alarm goes off, and you breathe a tremendous sigh of satisfaction.

(In fact, my alarm just went off, so the rest of this blog post I’ll happily write tomorrow. The last hour passed by so quickly and easily, I hardly noticed.)

If time blocking makes us more productive, brain entrainment apps like Focus@Will make the world disappear . You write within a silo of undiluted focus. You become a writing machine.

Interestingly, it also allows for significantly longer blocks of “deep work” time.

Since 2015, I’ve tracked my writing and editing every day. I note start and finish times, subjective feelings of productivity, as well as the total number of hours per day, per week, and per month. After reviewing this data, I found that when I “free write” without Focus@Will, I can concentrate for about 75-90 minutes. At that point, my brain starts to feel heavy and I have to take a break.

But with Focus@Will, I work for two hours straight, and never feel mentally drained when I finish. In fact, I usually have to force myself to quit working when the alarm goes off.

Is Focus@Will necessary? No. Writers worked perfectly fine for thousands of years without fancy apps. But it does help tremendously when you’ve got a lot of work to accomplish in a limited period of time. It provides the closing thing I’ve ever found to a writing superpower.

The 3-step cure for writer’s block is this:

Plan: Only begin work when you have a roadmap/outline to follow. If you don’t have one, then this is your first task – begin compiling your roadmap. Break the task into smaller and smaller chunks. Give yourself easy wins.
Manage Time: Schedule finite periods of time in which you’ll work on writing and writing alone. Start with one hour. But when that hour is done, stop working. Take a break, or take the night off. Don’t start again until you’ve scheduled another time block with a hard end point.
Focus: Do yourself a favor and check out the free trial for Focus@Will . Quickly, you’ll understand what it feels like to have a muse poke your brain and send you off on a whirlwind of productivity. It will make your time blocks doubly effective.

Honestly, it’d be nice if we did have muses who could inspire us with flashes of intellectual brilliance. But, at the same time, it’s nice knowing that “writer’s block” doesn’t exist, and that we can become writing machines with only a little preemptive planning and digitally enhanced focus.

No excuses, folks. You’ve got a lot of work to accomplish. Now you know how to get it done, beautifully and efficiently, just like a thousand Greek bards and high-achieving intellectuals before you. Just promise me you won’t be like those pesky Romanticist poets. The world already has too many faux-artists sitting around complaining and waiting on a muse, and I know you can achieve so much more.

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Writer’s Block: Definition, Causes, and How to Overcome It

by Antony W

August 5, 2024

There has never been a time when writing was a singular event. It’s a process with many moving elements and it requires creativity, practice, diligence, and attention to details.

Sometimes writing takes more time than initially perceived, and it’s easy to hit a breaking point and get lost in the process. It’s that moment when you feel as if there are no more words to put down or ideas that flow well that you experience what we call a writer’s block.

Writer’s block isn’t particularly a bad thing. However, it can be a frustrating experience, particularly if you’re trying to write a last minute essay or a research paper due in less than 48 hours.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about writer’s block, from what it is and how to manage it so that you can get your assignment completed faster and submitted on time.

What is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block is a common scenario where you stare at a blank page for a long time because you can’t find the right words to start an essay or a research paper .

The problem isn’t limited to best-selling authors and upcoming news writers alone.

Even students of different academic levels find themselves unable to complete their writing sometimes.

To be clear, being stuck in your writing doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad writer.

There are times when you’ll lack the right words to express an idea or an argument and that’s completely fine. That’s because writer’s block is a phenomenon you can easily control.

What Causes Writer’s Block?

While there are many reasons why you may develop a writer’s block, the following tend to be the most common ones:

1. You Have Ideas but You Can’t Easily Express Them

There’s nothing worse than having brilliant ideas for your essay or research paper but not know how to bring them to light.

You can easily feel disappointed if this ever happens.

Sometimes taking a short break from writing is all you need to give your mind the ability to reflect on and express those ideas.

Other times, talking to someone who has been in a similar situation can guide through expressing your thoughts and making your ideas clear .

2. You Don’t Have Enough Ideas

Have you ever found yourself just trying to figure out ideas you can use to defend claims in your argument but felt rather stuck?

Maybe you’re about to advance your learning but you can’t quite figure how to write a college essay for an admissions committee?

Or maybe you’re an IB student struggling with writing a TOK commentary because your mind doesn’t allow you to express the real-world context of your objects?

There is a high chance you don’t have enough ideas to explore, hence the cause for experiencing writer’s block.

It’s easy to feel shut and seemingly lost if you don’t have enough ideas to express. However, it’s important to keep in mind that writer’s block is only temporary and it’s not an indication that you’re a poor writer.

3. You Have Many Ideas

You can have too many ideas for your research paper or persuasive essay and not know where to start.

Not knowing where to start makes it hard to determine which idea to include in the essay – and exactly what to leave out.

Having too many ideas create confusion, mostly because it’s hard to bring forth the best ideas that you already have.

It often results in FOMO (fear of missing out) as there’s an uncertainty that you might fail to bring out the ideas that can take your writing to the next level.

4. You’re Not Utilizing Your Freedom of Expression

Sometimes you experience writer’s block because you’re afraid of what people will say or think about your writing.

In academic writing in particular, you worry too much about what your professor will say about the construction of your arguments, the expression of your ideas, or the style of your writing.

Fear of the unknown causes a resistance to writing, which may make it difficult for you to write the things you know you should write.

Each time you develop emotional resistance, you create an opportunity for creative resistance, which can easily cripple your ability to write excellent assignments.

5. You Have Too Many Personal Commitments

You so much want to write that position paper , dissertation, term paper , or whatever assignment it is and submit it on time.

However, you have additional responsibilities that easily distract you and you just can’t focus on getting your assignments done.

Sometimes you feel as if you have limited resources, and let’s not even get started on the idea that you have finite time within which you want to complete quite too many things besides the writing.

If anything, your personal commitment can play a big role in promoting writer’s block.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Here’s how you can overcome writer’s block and get that school assignment completed within the respective deadline:

Take a Break

It’s easy to lose focus and objectivity if you write the same piece of assignment nonstop for hours.

Take a break in between your writing sessions.

Doing so not only keeps writer’s block in full control but also lets you generate new ideas that you can include in your writing.

Use an Outline

Always create an outline before you start writing.

As simple as an outline may look, it’s a powerful writing tool that allows you organize your ideas and thoughts in an order that makes them easy to explore further in your paper.

With the help of an outline, you end up writing only what really matters and completing the assignment in time.

Ask for Writing Help

If you can’t write at all, and you have an urgent assignment that you would like to complete, it’s best to ask for help. Help for Assessment is a good place to start. We will help you evaluate and refine your ideas for any kind of paper and then help you through the writing process to get your assignment completed. Click here to get started.

About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Writing a Paper: Writer's Block

Writing is a process, not a singular event. It is rarely an automatic occurrence and requires diligence, creativity, and practice. If you feel lost in the process of research, take a look at our strategies for critical reading and note taking. If you are stuck, here are tips for helping you put words onto the page.

Before you begin writing, take 20 min to construct a thesis statement with some of our prewriting strategies. Taking the time to prepare will give you direction and focus. A blank page does not mean that you are searching for the right word or words to begin your essay; it often means that you have no plan. As a scholarly writer, you should show up to your paper or computer full of information you have found in your research. Your goal is to compile a wide and deep knowledge base from which your own ideas will flow.

Find a Suitable Environment

Turn off your internal editor, write nonstop for a set period.

Find a timer or stopwatch, and set it for 1 min. Then, like a sprinter, type or hand-write nonstop until the time is up. Even if you type the letter A over and over again, you are still typing something! You are still defeating the blank page. Next, set the timer for 2 min, then 5 min, and repeat the process, with 1-min breaks in between. Soon enough, you will be surprised by what you see on the page!

Set Realistic Goals

Sometimes the blank pages in front of you can be incredibly intimidating—especially if you know that you are required to fill 25 of them. Rather than tackling the entire paper in one sitting, set goals for yourself. Setting goals will help you to work at a reasonable pace and form the paper in increments and pieces. Set time goals, such as these:

I will freewrite for 5 min.
I will work on the body paragraphs for 2 hr today.
I will complete my outline by Friday.
I will finalize my thesis statement by 3 p.m. today.

Hold yourself accountable to your goals.

Giving yourself a break (whether for 10 min, an hour, a day or two) will help clear your mind and make your words appear fresh on the page. Some ideas need time to develop without conscious thought—not all time spent away from the computer is unproductive time!

Change Perspective

Bounce ideas off classmates, friends, or family members. Ask general questions to people who are familiar with your topic. What seems important to them? What background, terms, or other ideas will they need to know in order to understand your message? Do they disagree with your argument or the points you make? If so, why?

Summarize your own work. In the margins of your paper (or using comment bubbles), write a one-sentence summary of the purpose of each paragraph. Review your summaries to get a clearer idea of your direction, the overall flow of the paper, and how far you still need to go.

Take another look. Ask yourself a few questions:

Is this information necessary?
Does it add to my argument?
What message am I trying to convey?
Are these ideas contributing to that message?
What ideas could I be missing?

When in doubt, read more on your topic—it is never a bad idea to go back to your sources and expand your knowledge when you are trying to work your way out of writer’s block.

Freewriting Video

Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

Prewriting Demonstrations: Freewriting (video transcript)

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Five Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block (On A Deadline)

by Guest Blogger | 21 comments

There are guest posts and articles and content for the book’s website and content for my own website — all of which (honestly) seem to be saying the same thing.

Sometimes it feels like the subject is getting tired, and my writing is falling flat.

Sometimes I feel more “blocked” now than I did when I was writing the manuscript.

And when it comes to dealing with writer’s block in this part of the process, the things that worked when I was writing the book itself don’t seem to be working anymore. I used to follow my muse, go on an adventure, find an inspiring environment, go for a walk, or listen to a great album.

But now the deadlines are tight and I’m exhausted and my muse is gone and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. I can’t wait on her anymore.

So, in the midst of book promotion and this very different season of writing, I’m discovering new techniques for overcoming my writer’s block. They’re less creative, and more practical, but they’re actually working for me really well.

1. Know what you want to say.

My book is creative non-fiction, so when I was writing, I often sat down to my computer without really knowing what I was going to say. I would just type away, allowing the characters and memories to take me where they were going to take me. This worked really well for writing my book but, in this season of writing, it isn’t working at all.

In fact, it’s keeping me stuck.

I could sit down and stare at the blank page for hours.

So I’ve had to start coming up with a really clear picture of what I want to say, and how I want to say it, before I sit down to write. It’s a deviation from my “normal” writing routine, but maybe that’s part of why it’s helping.

2. Think about your audience.

To be honest, when I was writing my book, I didn’t think too hard about my audience. That might be bad, or wrong, but it’s true. If I was writing to anyone, I think I was writing to a younger version of myself.

But now that I’m writing promotional material for the book, that strategy is derailing me. I have to think about how to connect what I learned in my story to an audience wider than myself (shocking, I know). So when I sit down to write an article, I try to think really carefully about who is going to be reading.

What information do they need?

How does the message of my book connect with them?

What would I say to that person if I were sitting across from them at a dinner table?

Usually, when I think about that, it helps me know how to communicate the same message, in a new and unique way. And as a happy benefit, the message is becoming richer and more mature and even more meaningful to me in the process.

3. Don’t try to write something awesome.

Nothing stops up my creativity faster than sitting down to write something amazing . Do you know what I mean? It’s like all of a sudden I’m a deer in headlights. I couldn’t write something good to save my life.

During this season, I’m reminding myself that not everything I write (or publish) will be the best thing I’ve ever written. Especially on the Internet.

And that’s okay.

I want to write awesome things. But if everything I wrote was awesome, it would take the struggle and beauty and sweetness and magic out of the process.

4. Read something old you’ve written.

Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your touch as a writer? It’s the weirdest thing, but I swear all writers must feel this way. Sometimes when I can’t write something worth reading I think to myself: Well, I must have lost my touch.

Or, worse — What if I never had it?

One of the things that helps me overcome this sensation is to read something old I’ve written. Usually, I like to look at something that was never published — something from my journal — because it reminds me of how naturally the writing process comes to me. It takes the pressure off and gives me the confidence I need to move forward.

5. Focus on the task at hand.

If you’re anything like me, you get distracted by anything and everything that comes across your path. You could sit down to write an article about elephants, and within 30 seconds you could have moved from elephants trunks to trunks of car to the trunk of your car where there’s a book you forgot about that you’ve been wanting to read.

Before you know it you’re reading when you should be writing.

This is what makes you a great artist. But it can also kill your productivity.

During this season, I try not to allow myself to be distracted — or overwhelmed — by all the tasks that need to be accomplished. I just take one task at a time. I focus on the task at hand. Because this is the only way the tasks get accomplished. It’s the only way I’ll ever meet my deadlines.

How do you overcome writer's block and meet your deadlines?

It’s time for you to overcome that writer’s block. What is a writing assignment (self-imposed or otherwise) that can’t seem to finish, or you’ve been putting off for too long?

What are you trying to say?
Who is your audience?
What distractions do you need to remove?

You’ve got this. Now go focus on the task at hand.

Write for fifteen minutes. When you're time is up

Guest Blogger

This article is by a guest blogger. Would you like to write for The Write Practice? Check out our guest post guidelines .

21 Comments

Social media IS the distraction right now. I’m chit-chatting when I should be writing. I suppose, at least I should be in practice for when the time comes to promote my book. Maybe even have a trail of people waiting to read it. My main benefit though, is finding critique partners.

James — social media can be my biggest distraction! When I get serious about completing an assignment, I have to sign-off of all things social. It’s a great tool, but sometimes it gets in my way.

Great post and one that I am keeping close at hand. I did my 15 minutes and could really use so feedback.

What am I trying to say? Good question and one that eludes me. My husband’s biological mother had 13 children and abandoned all of them without a backwards glance. I wrote a book for the seven kids we did find so they had some understanding of the research it took to find them and what I had learned so they would all have the information. It was not my best work but the kids have names, dates, and testimonies from people who had information. They also learned that all the adults in their lives lied to them. Now, I want to expand it into a creative non-fiction story. The more I share the story, the more I find others who have similar missing pieces in their lives. I am shocked at how many people had biological parents who also abandoned them in the late 1940’s, and 1950’s. It’s a much larger issue than I originally thought. So, I am at an impasse. The book I wrote is from my husband’s viewpoint but whose story is it really?

Sounds interesting and explores an uncommon topic.

I’m not much of a non-fiction fan, but it sounds like something I would give a chance.

Sounds really interesting, and unique. Thanks for sharing!

Think of asking your husband this question: If someone experienced what you experienced, what would you want them to know? Maybe the answer to that question will at least point you in the right direction.

Good idea. His perspective is unique anyway because he was raised by a cousin in the family.

I second Allison’s suggestion. Ask him a lot of questions.

It occurred to Charlie that a talkative person such as Helen might have had other reasons to tell Cliff what she saw. She may have been hiding behind adorable horn-rimmed reading glasses with rhinestones and a tidy bush of gray hair, but behind all that, in her eyes, was a gossiping little girl.

“He didn’t react so well. Cursed at me. He sobered up quickly after I told him. I watched his expression change from drunken bliss to anger, almost malevolent, you could say. He had a lot of that bubbling inside—anger, that is.”

“You told him his wife was cheating on him? Wouldn’t that fall under that category of ‘none of your business?’”

Helen fell silent. A look of stinging hurt came over her face and she switched her purse to the other shoulder.

“You don’t know anything about it,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on here with you and your boy, but how dare you—“ She was interrupted by a shattering window from the living room. The two ladies jumped back and stared; nothing appeared to be wrong—the window was empty, the room was dark inside. Nothing was different at all except for the glass littering the porch. Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but choked instead.

Hot it’s so hot out here.

She grabbed her shirt and fanned herself with it, coughing meanwhile.

“Charlie, what is it?” Helen watched in shock. She started toward Charlie to pound her on the back, but stepped away instead. Before long Charlie was on all fours, hacking violently. Helen went to her now, put a hand on her shoulder, worried, and Charlie slapped her arm away, then rolled onter her side and trembled.

This is great, Karl! I’m impressed, and so honored that my post helped you get this out.

You should be proud. This is a great first draft.

Somebody threw something through the window, I’m guessing. Poison? A Molotov Cocktail? Interesting story. Would love to hear more. Exceptional for a first draft.

I see you’re looking for critiquing partners. This little nugget here is actually nearing the end of the story. I’d be more than happy to share it when I’ve completed it. Good guesses you had, but not quite what happened 😉

Always. I edit along the way, so in-progress critiques help me out a lot.

I’d be more than interested to hear it.

Good guesses? You don’t have to flatter me. A Molotov Cocktail was not even remotely a good guess. It was just a satirical one.

You’re right. That was not a good guess. So, do you want to trade emails, or. . .?

Yeah. You can email me at [email protected]

I’ve been procrastinating finishing the concise and precise overview of the second book in duology (Is that even a word?) I’m writing, but I wouldn’t get far in that in fifteen minutes, and it’d make for a boring post 😛 I’ll find something else that I haven’t been really avoiding, but not particularly paying attention to…. *Rummages in disheveled stacks of unfinished novels* Ah, here we go… Started this one forever ago.

“So I’m an ally? Your definition of ‘ally’ must be a hell of a lot different from mine, because I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include kidnapping, and forced changes of species. Not to mention life and death situations to ‘test’ my capability,” I growl, the words leaping unbidden from my mouth. My tone sounds bleak, and carried an underlying layer of hostility.

Frost narrowed his cobalt eyes at me, but evidently realized that I was a hopeless case. Or perhaps he saw my point.

“Come. You must sleep. Tomorrow, you’ll begin accelerated training, as will be needed because of your nativity of our ways. You’ll begin with the lessons every pup learns, perhaps a little more honest as you are far from innocent,” Frost said calmly. I looked at him incredulously. It was true, innocence was not a trait I’d possessed for years. Too many eye-opening experiences at too young an age.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I muttered sarcastically, aware that Frost was the Alpha.

“Fraenen.” The semi-familiar voice floated up beside me, sharp and low. I whirled around, head down, tail erect and eyes narrow.

“What?” I ground out, looking at Flash with open distaste.

Flash glared. “I said, Fraenen. That is the proper Wyeir word for leader or Alpha, as you humans put it.” He spat out the word ‘humans’ like it was poisonous.

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you for that delicious morsel of information. Now please go away. I don’t particularly like you.”

Flash wasn’t impressed. “You should show more respect. Your stuck like this. Make the most of it,” he murmured with an uncharacteristic lack of bitterness.

I looked after him with a dull grief. It was true; my chances of becoming human again with these lot in charge were slim to none. But I wasn’t going to just settle in and help them like I didn’t care. No, I would show just how unhappy I was with this predicament.

You got changed into a werewolf? Or a lizard? Something with a tail? Ha ha. Not bad. If I might criticize one thing–you change from present tense in the first paragraph to past tense thenceforth. Should stick with one, unless you have a compelling reason to use both. You use dialogue well. Many writers do not.

Oh *Facepalm* Yeah, I have trouble with that 😛 It’s just when I’m reading, I get used to one thing, and then I switch to writing, and it just… Switches. She was changed into an ‘Elemental Wolf’, which is the indigenous species of wolves who have a species connection with the basic, natural elements. Hence, the name 😉 And thanks!!!

sooooooooooo… my personal statement for my law school applications has been my everest. i’ve outlined, obsessed about it, written notes, started various drafts that have been left incomplete. today, i thought, “before i dive into the personal statement, i’ll do a writing prompt” from the site, something i hadn’t done in a looooong time.

this one seemed most fitting. in the fifteen minutes i managed to get through the opening anecdote/story:

Twice in one day I was approached by unfamiliar men. One was displaced, if not homeless, and he asked if I could help him by getting him something from McDonald’s. There wasn’t one nearby but there was a deli cafe — the kind that offered a salad bar, cold foods, hot foods — that kind of deli.

He settled on a burger, only seeking my approval several times. Aside from insisting he select water instead of soda as his beverage, i let him order anything on the menu.

i decided to sit with him for a little bit as he ate and asked him to share his story. “I got a room in Yonkers,” he said, but apparently had issues with his roommate that compelled him to leave.

As our conversation continued, my suspicion that David might suffer from mental illness grew. He had complained of back pain so before I went on my way, I asked if he would mind my praying for him. He let me pray, and so I did — I asked God to heal his pain, and to show David that he loved him, and to resolve the issues he faced.

I felt a strange tension between actually having done something and that something coming short.

I’ve begun to lose count of the men and women I’ve passed by on the street since I’ve moved back to New York City from suburban northern Virginia and had grown weary of the accompanying guilt.

————

Thanks for this prompt, Allison! So many great books written by friends I’ve got to read. 🙂

I have been experiencing an epic toothache for the last week, and there is nothing like pain to throw you off of anything that takes concentration. But this morning I am going to write something and this is it.

“He’s here! I just saw his car in the parking lot,” Bernice said hoarsely with a look of stoic panic on her sharp little face.

“How’d he know we was here,” Charlene joined Bernice in a thinking pause. They came up with nothing.

“Round up the kids and take them to the play park. I’ll get rid of him,” Charlene was suddenly in command, which came easily to her. People did what Charlene said to do. I just happened that way. It was that way with her parents, her friends and her children. Now her ex-boyfriend was going to find out.

Charlene, a tiny knot of sinewy wires filled out in the places men usually liked, took hold of the piñata bat and marched toward to parking lot. She spotted him sitting in his vintage corvette lounging with a cigarette hanging over the driver’s door in a hand the size of a baseball mitt. He filled the front seat with former high school linebacker physique. He sat forward and reached for the door.

“Stay right there mister,” Charlene growled, the word mister could have easily been replaced with maggot. “I was hoping we could do this the easy way, but I see you don’t listen too well. It is over.” She stepped to within striking distance and he noticed the bat.

“Now wait Charlene. Let’s not get ugly about this.”

“You started the ugly. I am just here to finish it,” She said raising the bat as he threw his arm up to protect his face. The bat came down on the rearview mirror hard enough to leave a good dent and send glass flying.

“Jesus, you are a nut. All right I’m outta here. I just wanted to say sorry to Berny, but I see you is not as reasonable as yo’ sister.”

“Damn straight, Chuck, and she don’t wanna hear sorry she jus’ doesn’t wanna see your face again. Got it.”

“I got it. If I woulda known she had a crazy sister I woulda never hit on her. You’re a real nut job, lady.”

The corvette screeched backwards and then forwards. She knew he wouldn’t swear in front of her, but he was swearin’ in the car all the way home.

Good job! I like the characterization of Charlene with her actions and accent. Is Chuck his name, or is that what she calls dudes when she’s angry? 😛 He could use a little, what’s the word, intention. Purpose. He seems kind of flat. He reacted to his VINTAGE CORVETTE being hit with a baseball bat a little too calmly to be believable. And tooth pain is terribly miserable. I cringed when I read that.

Most of the above; I think writer’s Block can creep in anytime. The problem is that we often give it this name and make it over important when really we are suffering from tiredness of writing around the same idea for too long.

I have allowed myself to be diverted from writing for several days at a time sometimes and then discovered the only way back into actual writing is to sit down and start writing anything. I remind myself that if it’s rubbish then I can delete it or i might just discover that I have written something worthwhile.

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Writer’s Block – Causes, Tips & Strategies

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Writer’s block is a challenge faced by many, whether you’re a seasoned novelist or a student working on an academic essay . This frustrating barrier can hinder creativity and productivity, making it difficult to put thoughts into words. In this article, we will explore practical tips to overcome it, with a particular focus on academic writing . Whether you’re struggling to start a research paper or finding it challenging to continue your thesis , these steps will help you regain your writing flow.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Writer’s block in a nutshell
2 Definition: Writer’s block
3 Causes of writer’s block
4 Strategies to overcome writer’s block

Writer’s block in a nutshell

Writer’s block is a psychological barrier that prevents many writers from starting or continuing their work.

Definition: Writer’s block

Writer’s block is a psychological condition that affects a writer’s ability to produce new work or continue existing work. It is characterized by a significant reduction in the ability to generate ideas, compose coherent thoughts, and express oneself through writing. This condition can vary in intensity and duration, ranging from a brief interruption in create flow to a prolonged period of inactivity . The causes of writer’s block are varied and can include psychological, emotional, and environmental factors. Overcoming writer’s block often requires a combination of strategies to address the underlying issues and reinvigorate the writer’s creative process. Writer’s block has impacted many writers, whether they are writing novels, songs, poems, or composing music.

Causes of writer’s block

Writer’s block can stem from various factors, which can be psychological, emotional, or environmental. Here are some common causes of writer’s block.

Psychological

Environmental.

Below are three psychological factors that can cause a creative block.

Perfectionism

For many writers, perfectionism is a common issue that can cause creative stagnation since the writer is overly concerned with producing flawless work . This obsession with perfection can lead to excessive self-editing, procrastination, and a reluctance to move forward with writing projects.

Perfectionists often set unrealistic standards for themselves, which can stifle creativity and hinder progress. The fear of not meeting their own highly set expectations can paralyze a writer and prevent them from even starting a new piece or completing an ongoing project. Many students have amazingly creative ideas, yet keep staring at a blank paper when trying to put them into words.

Fear of failure

The fear of failure is another significant contributor that torments writers’ minds. Some may worry that their work will be judged harshly or that it will not meet the expectations of their audience. This anxiety can create immense pressure , making it difficult to put pen to paper.

The fear of producing subpar work can lead to avoidance behaviors, where writers delay or abandon their projects altogether. This fear is psychologically rooted in the desire for external validation and the dread of negative feedback , which can interfere with the writing session.

Surely, we all have doubted our abilities at some point. In a writing context, self-doubt involves a lack of confidence in one’s writing abilities. Writers may constantly question the quality and value of their work, which leads to a cycle of negativity that hinders productivity.

This lack of confidence in their writing skills can be fueled by previous rejections , comparisons to other writers, or internalized criticism . Self-doubt can make it challenging for writers to completely believe in their ideas and persist through the writing process , resulting in stalled progress and a mountain of unfinished projects .

There are several emotional factors that result in writer’s block. Some are mentioned below.

Stress, whether related to a writing project or other aspects of life, can significantly impact a writer’s ability to focus and create. High levels of stress can lead to mental exhaustion , making it difficult to generate new ideas or continue with existing projects. The pressure to meet deadlines , coupled with personal responsibilities, can overwhelm writers, which can cause them to feel paralyzed and unable to write.

Depression and anxiety

Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety can sap energy and creativity. Depression often brings feelings of hopelessness and a lack of motivation , while anxiety can cause overthinking and fear of judgment. Both emotional conditions can be paired with psychological factors, which can further reduce the ability to produce coherent and engaging content and cause writing anxiety, even for writing experts.

Continuous writing without adequate breaks can lead to burnout, which is characterized by both physical and emotional exhaustion . Burnout can diminish a writer’s passion for their work, resulting in a lack of inspiration and decreased productivity. It typically stems from overworking and now allowing plenty of time for rest and recuperation.

Three reasons for environmental factors causing writer’s block are explained below.

Distractions

A noisy or chaotic environment can disrupt concentration and flow, making it difficult for students to immerse themselves in their work. Distractions from family members, electronic devices, or background noise can break a writer’s train of thought and lead to frustration and decreased productivity.

Lack of structure

An unstructured writing routine can contribute to writer’s block. Without a clear plan or schedule, many writers may struggle to find the time and motivation to write. This lack of organization can lead to procrastination and inconsistent writing practice, making it harder to develop and maintain momentum.

Poor workspace

An uncomfortable or cluttered workspace can negatively affect a writer’s productivity. A disorganized environment can create a sense of chaos , making it difficult to focus . Additionally, physical discomfort from an unsuitable chair, desk, or lightning can distract from the writing process, leading to reduced efficiency and creativity.

Below is an image that encompasses all causes mentioned above.

Strategies to overcome writer’s block

Many people use the term “writer’s block” as an excuse for the factors mentioned in the preceding paragraph , instead of identifying what is really stopping them from confident writing. This blanket term is essentially counterproductive since it doesn’t help figure out what the issue is. Below, we’ll go through helpful tips that can help you defeat your “final boss” and successfully write and finish your work before the deadline.

“I don’t even know where to start…”

Start a brainstorming session where you can freely jot down any ideas related to your topic without worrying about organization. Perhaps you can even ask friends or family members for ideas, suggestions, or what they would be interested in regarding your topic.

It’s important to start planning by creating a basic outline or a mind map because then you can finally start writing something down. You can also use the free writing strategy, where you start a timer and write down anything without pausing to think or worrying about grammar.

This can overcome the initial barrier, and if you can’t think of a first paragraph, why don’t you just skip it for now and start with the second one? For additional information, we have an article on how to write an introduction or how you can easily come up with research questions .

“The topic I’ve been assigned is boring…”

Frame the task as a challenge to find the interesting parts of a seemingly boring topic. Discuss your topic with classmates or friends to gain new perspectives and understand the relevance of the topic and how it affects different communities.

Consult your supervisor and discuss the extent to which the assignment can be adjusted. If changing the main objective of the assignment is not an option, try to understand the underlying purpose of the task.

“I’m worried that my work isn’t good enough…”

Give yourself permission to write something bad. Your first draft is not your final draft, you can go over your entire draft multiple times as long as you don’t look at a blank page. Every so often, a word vomit draft phase is precisely what you need because no work is perfect. Aim for progress, not perfection .

It often helps to share your work with teachers or peers early in the process to get constructive feedback, then use that to make improvements. You should focus on the learning process and the knowledge you’re gaining, rather than just the final grade after you submit your project on time.

“I struggle to focus and get easily distracted…”

Find a quiet place to work where you can minimize interruptions. If you are unable to go to a quiet environment , get some noise-cancelling headphones. Eliminate distractions by turning off your phone, disabling notifications on your devices, or using browser extensions to block distracting websites. It often helps to break your work into manageable tasks.

You don’t have to write your whole academic paper right now. Set a writing schedule; write a little bit, go over it again, and maybe you’ll get more ideas during the editing process. You can also look up writing prompts online to jumpstart inspiration.

We have listed all strategies to avoid writer’s block in the image below.

How do I get rid of writer’s block?

You can try the following strategies against writer’s block:

Start brainstorming ideas
Begin free writing with a timer
Divide your project into smaller tasks
Read and research to get inspiration
Look up writing prompts online
Eliminate distractions
Use mind maps to organize your ideas
Discuss your ideas with others
Understand the relevance of your topic

What causes writer’s block?

Writer’s block can have many factors:

Depression or anxiety

What does writer’s block feel like?

When experiencing writer’s block, you can feel a sense of irritation at not being able to produce any writing, which can cause self-doubt and a lack of motivation towards writing. Many writers start procrastinating because of their lack of creative flow.

Why have I had writer’s block for so long?

Many writers hold unrealistic standards and persist in perfectionism, which can make it difficult to break free from writer’s block. This can cause persistent negative thinking or constant pressure from themselves, which in turn can make it challenging to relax and write freely.

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The Most Common Causes of Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is a disease that affects many people. There are many symptoms and preventative measures to take, but today we’re here to talk about the most common causes of writer’s block. The torment afflicts many, so it’s important to know that you’re not alone.

There are a multitude of reasons you might be feeling stopped up in your idea center. The most common causes of writer’s block are as follows:

Fear of failure.

Nothing gets an otherwise competent writer to clam up like the worry that whatever he/she makes will not be good enough. You find the task at hand, in this case a college essay, so overwhelming that you just don’t start it.

This often launches students into the throes of what we like to call the PROCRASTINATION DOOM LOOP, an endless cycle in which you convince yourself that the terror and unease you feel with regard to writing your essay will be mitigated or even subside completely if you push the task off until tomorrow. Of course, when tomorrow arrives your fear is only heightened because you have even less time than you had yesterday to brainstorm and edit. So stop worrying that it won’t be good enough and feel confident that it will be better if you start today than it will if you start tomorrow.

Lack of time = Moar Stress.

Students can also feel blocked as a result of not having enough to do or having too much to do. Most likely you will be working on your college essays over the summer or at the beginning of your senior year of high school and both scenarios can breed college-essay-related lethargy. Why sit down to freewrite when you can float with your fave stuffed animal in the sun?

Who has time to find a topic when there are also a pile of math assignments and a history project to complete? Still, sticking with the essay writing process throughout both the busy and slow times in your schedule keeps your creative muscles warm and makes you less likely to run into a disheartening block along the way.

Constant Distraction

You may also feel constantly distracted. How are you supposed to put together a coherent thought, forget a cohesive story, if you’re constantly checking your Twitter feed for alien conspiracy theories , causes of global warming , or drama from that crazy Christmas party?

Wait, who’s texting you now? And did your BFF 4 LYF just snap you a picture of a bunny that was adopted by a deer in the wild? Socialization is important (especially when it involves cute animal pics) and social media is an ingrained part of our lives and culture – still when it’s time to get serious about writing your college essay, silence the noise and give yourself some room to develop ideas without the constant lure of alerts and notifications.

Although those are the 3 most common causes of writer’s block (and you can probably relate to at least one), whatever has got you unable to write can and will be defeated!! Don’t be afraid to write sentences even if they aren’t the best sequences of words you’ve ever brought together. You can write now and edit later. That’s the beauty of leaving yourself enough time to get the job done!

Are you a visual learner? Check out our video on the best cures for writer’s block !

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Tags: admissions essay , cause of writers block , chapman essay , coalition essay , college admissions , college admissions essay , college essay , college essay advising , common app essay , dartmouth essay , duke essay , essay help , essay problems , essay tips , harvard essay , michigan essay , princeton essay , stanford essay , u chicago essay , upenn essay , usc essay , writer problems , writer's block , writing , writing help , writing problems , writing tips , yale essay

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I have an essay due in 24 hours and writer's block???

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COMMENTS

4 Proven Ways to Keep Writer's Block From Ruining Your Essay
4 Proven Ways to Keep Writer's Block From Ruining Your Essay. T-21 hours, 33 minutes, 4 seconds, and counting. You've officially shifted into panic mode because your paper is due tomorrow, and so far all you've written is your name. We've all been there, crippled by writer's block and unable to compose a single coherent sentence.
How to get over writer's block when you're on a deadline
Set a timer, sit down at your keyboard or your notebook, and start writing. You can pick however long you like—I usually opt for 10 minutes. The only rule to free writing is that you have to keep writing. It doesn't have to be on topic, and it doesn't have to be any good. It doesn't even have to be full sentences.
Stuck on Your College Essay? 8 Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block
Keep in mind that this freewriting can take whatever form you want it to. It can be full sentences, bullet points, even phrases randomly placed on a sheet of paper. Whatever gets your brain thinking in some capacity is a good step in overcoming writer's block. 2. Respond to Brainstorm Questions.
Writer's Block: What Causes Writer's Block, and How to Overcome It
What Causes Writer's Block, and How to Overcome It
Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block
Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block - Purdue OWL
7 Ways to Easily Overcome Writers Block and Accomplish More
There are a few ways to help to cure writer's block before it strikes. Start projects early so that you have the longest possible timeline. Break the process down until you have tasks that take 5 to 15 minutes to complete. Start thinking about what you want to write before you sit down to write it.
Overcome Your Writer's Block: Essay Writing Tips for Students
Writer's block is a psychological condition all too familiar to many high school and college students. It can strike anyone. It manifests as a paralyzing inability to write, whether it's starting a new piece, continuing an existing one, or finishing an essay that is past due.
How To Overcome Writer's Block (20 Tricks That Really Work)
Step 2: Apply the Correct Solution. Now that you have identified the type of writer's block, it's time to apply the solution. "I don't have writer's block. I have writer's hurdles and I jump them every time I sit down at the keyboard."—Christopher Kokoski. There are specific, effective responses to each different type.
What Is Writer's Block? How to Overcome Writer's Block With Step-by
What Is Writer's Block? How to Overcome ...
How to Overcome Writer's Block in Simple Steps
1. Read Widely & Diversely. Dive into various literary genres and other good writing styles and learn more about famous writers. Reading outside your comfort zone can introduce you to new ideas, perspectives, and writing tools that can spark your creativity and cure writer's block.
Overcoming Writer's Block: Strategies To Keep Your Essay Flowing
Eliminate Distractions. Distractions can impair concentration, productivity, and project beginning. To reduce distractions, disconnect electronics, tidy your desk, and set aside time for ...
How to Overcome Writer's Block When on a Deadline
Take periodic breaks to refresh your mind. Throw away any bad writing you create. Use the ideas from the bad writing for the greater good. This last point is so important. Yes, this type of writing may end up being tossed away. However, it can often kick-start the breakthrough you need to break your block.
Writer's Block for Students: The 3-Step Cure
The 3-step cure for writer's block is this: Plan: Only begin work when you have a roadmap/outline to follow. If you don't have one, then this is your first task - begin compiling your roadmap. Break the task into smaller and smaller chunks. Give yourself easy wins.
How to Get Over Writer's Block to Complete an Essay : r/writing
then, look it over. Take the parts that aren't super terrible and build on them. Contrary to what you might believe, the beginning does NOT have to be the first part you create. Some papers start at the end, some start in the middle. It just depends. Get the damned thing out and see what you've got and go from there. 1.
Writer's Block: Definition, Causes, and How to Overcome It
Writer's block isn't particularly a bad thing. However, it can be a frustrating experience, particularly if you're trying to write a last minute essay or a research paper due in less than 48 hours. In this guide, you'll learn everything you need to know about writer's block, from what it is and how to manage it so that you can get ...
PDF TCC Writing Center: How to Treat Writer's Block
Writer's Block often accompanies the "up against the wall" feeling that strikes you at 2:00 am on the morning your essay is due at 9:00 am. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are most good essays. Verbalize your ideas . Since most students have had more experience talking than writing, try to verbalize your ideas.
Academic Guides: Writing a Paper: Writer's Block
Then, like a sprinter, type or hand-write nonstop until the time is up. Even if you type the letter A over and over again, you are still typing something! You are still defeating the blank page. Next, set the timer for 2 min, then 5 min, and repeat the process, with 1-min breaks in between.
Overcoming Writer's Block in College Essays
The project appears futile and you see no way you'll complete it in time. This is also known as writer's block: a problem that plagues college essay writers, especially during the finals week. Fortunately, almost all students get past this difficult point and complete the paper on time, even if it calls for an all-nighter.
Five Ways to Overcome Writer's Block (On A Deadline)
Usually, I like to look at something that was never published — something from my journal — because it reminds me of how naturally the writing process comes to me. It takes the pressure off and gives me the confidence I need to move forward. 5. Focus on the task at hand.
Writer's Block
Below are three psychological factors that can cause a creative block. Perfectionism. For many writers, perfectionism is a common issue that can cause creative stagnation since the writer is overly concerned with producing flawless work.This obsession with perfection can lead to excessive self-editing, procrastination, and a reluctance to move forward with writing projects.
The Most Common Causes of Writer's Block
Lack of time = Moar Stress. Students can also feel blocked as a result of not having enough to do or having too much to do. Most likely you will be working on your college essays over the summer or at the beginning of your senior year of high school and both scenarios can breed college-essay-related lethargy. Why sit down to freewrite when you ...
I have an essay due in 24 hours and writer's block???
14. Original post by RosieAppleLemon. I have done a lot of reading, feel like I know a lot.... about 45 sources for a 2500 word essay. It's a third-year essay, so very important. I just have really intense writer's block right now. And it's due tomorrow evening.
I have a mental block at writing papers, essays after a year ...
I have a mental block at writing papers, essays after a year of not writing. I have a writing final tomorrow and I've done all the reading that's involved in it. I'm not that confident going in because of the reasons below. The problem with me is I take a EXTREMELY long time to think of a good introduction (usually thinking of creative ways to ...

How to get over writer’s block when you’re on a deadline

Just can’t start? Try free writing

Not sure what to write about? Make a heuristic

Too many unfocused ideas? Do a brain dump

Worried that your writing’s no good? Separate writing and editing

Keep getting distracted? Set manageable goals

Not enough time? Schedule, schedule, schedule

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Stuck on Your College Essay? 8 Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Tips For Overcoming Writer’s Block On Your College Essay

2. Respond to Brainstorm Questions

3. Talk It Out With A Friend

4. Read a Memoir or Listen To a Podcast

5. Change Your Environment

6. Get Some Exercise

7. Use a Pen and Paper

8. Work On A Different Section

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Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block

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If you're having trouble finding a starting place for the assignment...

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How To Overcome Writer’s Block (20 Tricks That Really Work)

What Is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s Block Symptoms

What Causes Writer’s Block?

How To Overcome Writer’s Block: The Complete System

Step 1: Identify The Type of Writer’s Block

Character Confusion

Emotional Blockage

Too Many Ideas

What Happens Next?

Pain Point

Step 2: Apply the Correct Solution

Step 3: Test the Effect

Step 4: Try 20 Alternate Strategies To Overcome Writer’s Block

Step 5: Retest the Results

How Long Does Writer’s Block Last?

This Is How Not To Overcome Writer’s Block

Final Thoughts: How To Overcome Writer’s Block

Related Topics

How to Overcome Writer’s Block in Simple Steps

Generate Full-Length AI Book Instantly

What is Writer’s Block?

How to Get Over Writer’s Block?

1. Establish a Consistent Writing Routine

2. Create a Conducive Writing Environment

3. Embrace Freewriting

4. Incorporate Regular Breaks

5. Stimulate your Mind with Physical Activity

What are Mindset Shifts to Combat Writer’s Block?

1. Embrace Imperfection

2. Focus on the Process, Not Just the Product

3. Develop Resilience to Criticism

4. Break Down Large Projects into Smaller Tasks

5. Rekindle your Passion for Writing

6. Seeking External Help

7. Join Writing Groups or Workshops