5 Keys to Break the Block
Writers aren’t as peculiar as most people make us out to be. Okay, we are peculiar. But we are also like everyone else in the world (even if it is only mildly). There are days when we just don’t want to do what we need to do. Maybe our bodies are determined to write, but our minds have packed up and left the building.
This morning was one of those times when I just couldn’t seem to make a sentence – even for a blog. I tried three or four times and just kept deleting what I was writing. The idea of giving up altogether was looking like the only route to go. Instead of quitting, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes – then I took a break.
1. I read some emails and responded to them. It’s not unusual for a few comments from a close friend to jump start a memory and fire up the creative muse.
2. I made a few lists. Writing out things I need to do for the day or for the week often get my mind to formulate HOW to do them. Once the gears start turning, it is only a matter of putting it down in full sentences.
3. I looked at other’s writings. Sometimes its blogs online and sometimes it’s a how-to book that has caught my eye. I have even been known to glance at a magazine or two. The goal is to distract the mind from thinking it has to write.
4. I visited the past. Reviewing what I have written in my own blog has inspired more than one additional entry. The great thing is I can backlink to that inspiration article (so that new visitors can find some material they might otherwise miss).
5. I just wrote. When I have distracted myself for a few minutes, then it is time to give it another go.
Writing is like riding a bike. If you haven’t done it in a while (like since you went to sleep) then you might be a bit wobbly at first. You could even fall off a few times. But if you keep getting back on and trying again, eventually you will be cruising around like a pro.
Kathryn Lang writes full-time at the Successful Freelance Writer.
Learn more and begin your own journey to break the block by CLICKING HERE
are we on the same schedule? I’m just wondering because it seems like we write similar articles within days of each other. LOL. Today I am feeling the block. I think it’s time to get outside for some fun.
Hey Sunny – I think that most writers just face a lot of the same obstacles (which is one of the reasons we need to find ways to support each other). I hope you broke through your block!