Writer’s Block is simply a part of a writer’s life, the same way scratches are a part of a cat owner’s life (or the significant other of a cat owner’s life). We as authors will inevitably find ourselves staring at a blank computer screen/notepad with no idea of what to put down. Even worse, is when you have a great beginning or middle but have no idea where to go from there. The project seems impossible and you wonder if you should’ve been a business major.

Before you pack it all up and throw your potential masterpiece out the window, there are some strategies you can use to smash through writer’s block or at least work around it.

1. RECOGNIZE YOU HAVE WRITER’S BLOCK: This might not seem like a step but I guarantee it is the most important one. It’s also a step I’ve gotten a lot better at this past year. Very often, authors waste time they could spend writing, smashing their heads against walls (figuratively or literally), trying to force out creativity that simply isn’t coming. Instead they need to step back, accept that they are stumped and change the situation. Two signs that you need to step back are when:

a. What you’re writing feels less like your actual story and more like fan fiction written by someone who doesn’t understand your characters. *

b. You have been tinkering with the same few sentences/paragraphs over and over again for over half an hour and aren’t making any progress.

Once you have recognized you have writer’s block you need to step away from the manuscript and try something else like:

2. MEDITATION: I wrote in my last blog that one of the best practices I have picked up recently was to meditate before I sat down to write. I’d also suggest meditation if you simply don’t know where your story is going next.

Sit comfortably, back straight, eyes closed and breathe in and out, focusing on the air entering and leaving your body (for more details, pick up a book on meditation). Don’t try to figure out your story, don’t mentally tinker with the plot. If any ideas of how to move forward pop up, accept them, place them aside and keep on breathing. Trust that you’ll remember them when you are done.

After five to ten minutes have passed, return to your project. If it’s still not working out for you, you can always try:  

3. EXERCISE!: Your brain is tired, time to use other muscles. Go for a walk or a run (my wife and I often train for marathons together). I often lift dumbbells between chapters (not that it shows, I still have noodle arms). Just getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine or even the rain can give you the refresher you need. And once again, don’t focus on the story. Think about something else, listen to your iPod. You’d be surprised how often I get back from a walk around my neighborhood just to find that everything has fallen into place, as if a deeper part of my brain has been working on the story. Let you subconscious do the heavy lifting for a while.  

4. WORK ON SOMETHING ELSE: Another strategy I’ve picked up recently is if I can’t figure out a chapter, I can always jump to the next scene that’s clear to me. So if I don’t know how the drug deal in the seedy motel is going to go down, I can just skip to the stand-off at the ice cream parlor (for the record, these aren’t actual scenes in my novel). If this just isn’t your style, you can always move over to a different story or poem or pick up a book or do research or work on a blog (guess why I’m writing this post right now).

And if none of this works for you there’s always:

5. MINDLESS TASKS: Hey, I bet there’s a bunch of dishes in the sink that need to be taken care of or some laundry that needs to be folded. Just step away from your manuscript for half an hour and work on those things with music playing in the background. Try not to think about your writing and come back to it with a mind that’s a little more refreshed.

By now you’ve probably picked up on a common theme. If you hit writer’s block, recognize it, accept that you aren’t going to figure the story out at this exact second and step away for a bit. Give the creative side of your brain a break and then come back to it half an hour to forty-five minutes later. And that last part is key. Always make sure you come back. Unless you have already fulfilled your writing goal for the day, always return. Step away, meditate, go for a walk, do some laundry and then make sure you get your butt back in that chair. None of the strategies I’ve listed should take up the rest of the day, they aren’t an excuse to give up, they are just a brief distraction to take you away so you can return victorious.

I’m going to end with an anecdote. It’s corny but I’ve been told it’s helpful. Several years ago I was working as assistant to the director on an independent movie. My very first task on my very first day was to open a door in the office that had been painted shut (WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD!) I pulled and pulled at the door. Then inspected it, verified it was unlocked, verified that it did in fact open inward and then pulled some more. At last one of the other women working in the office came along, glanced at the door, pushed it inward – which cracked the dried paint – and opened it like it was no big deal.

And that right there is a portrait of how to get around writer’s block. You’re pulling and pulling and pulling (trying to force the story out of you) but all you need to do is push in the other direction for a little while (work on something else, fold some laundry) and when you pull again it will open right up.

*I swear I do not mean this as an insult to fan fiction.