Overcoming the Dreaded Writer's Block

The Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney writes, “Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite:/ "Fool!" said my muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write."

If only that were as easy as it sounds in a rhyming couplet.

I hate writer's block with a burning passion. I had never, ever had writer's block until I started writing fan fiction during the course of my misguided teen years. Personally, I think fan fiction is a recipe for writer's block; the majority of the thinking is done for you by the original author. But that's a story for another day.

What do you do when you get writer's block? There are scores of suggestions on the internet. Some of them make sense, some of them are...well...out there. But don't worry, you are not at all alone.

Personally, I find writer's block is not always a complete inability to write, but can often be the inability to write anything good.  The ideas fail to flow, the words don't come together as they should, and the concept seems improbable at best. There are few things more frustrating than sitting down to write and knowing as you're writing that it's complete crap.

I should mention that none of these are guaranteed to work, but the list I'll share has typically worked for me. It also differs between fiction and non-fiction (I'll elaborate on that below).

1. Relax. Stress could well be what stranded you in a literary wasteland in the first place, and continuing to stress will only take you further in. Grab a cup of tea, take a nap, go for a walk, take a bubble bath, do some breathing exercises. Find something that works for you.
2. Reflect. Read over what you've already written. If you haven't written anything, look at a past piece of writing and get a sense of what went well before.
3. Re-task. Do something else for a while. Focusing your mind on another task can allow your subconscious mind to continue to mull it over, and your subconscious works much, much faster than your conscious mind. You may well find that inspiration will strike after you've stepped away. (It often happens to me just after I've decided to put my writing away and go to sleep.)
4. Recharge. Emotional/mental stress is not your only enemy. Make sure you're taking care of yourself physically. Take a nap, even if you think you can't afford the time. Drink lots. Eat something. Exercise. Exercise in particular can release hormones that can help you relax and focus. Your body and your creativity have a symbiotic relationship; one can affect the other.
5. Reload. It may be that your creativity is low because you haven't nourished it. Using your imagination is not the only way to tap into creativity. Spend time immersing yourself in music, art, television, film, and, most especially, books. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading to creativity, and the best part is that the majority of what books teach you about writing is unconscious. No studying required! If your writing project is non-fiction, particularly an assignment, spend some more time looking at similar projects, or reading over your research notes. I often find that the more familiar with the material I become, the more the piece begins to fit itself together in my head.
6. Relate. Talk to someone! If you're an introvert (like me) you probably love being holed away, but unless your writing is for yourself, other people will eventually be interacting with your work, whether it's through editing, reading, or grading. One of the best ways to gauge the tenability of your piece is to share it with others as you work on it. Ask for ideas and feedback (hint: find an editor! Like me! :D). I'm very fortunate in that I have two friends who are fantastic to sit down with me and talk over my ideas and concepts. They'll put up with my babbling and idea-popping for hours!
7. Return. After you've taken a break, get back at it with a vengeance. Find a way to separate yourself from distractions and then spend at least one hour working.
8. Recognise. This applies to fiction more than non-fiction, I think, but there are times when a story just will not be rushed, and you have no recourse but to slowly coax it out, bit by bit. If it's that sort of story, you can try to force yourself through, but I find it's more productive (and more healthy) to let it happen at its own pace.
9. Be relentless. One of the worst mistakes you could make is giving up. Keep working. Discipline yourself to finish what you start. Believe me, that's far easier said than done, but it's incredibly important.
10. Be reasonable. If you're expecting your first chapter/paragraph or even your first draft to be brilliant, you are putting yourself under entirely unnecessary pressure, because it just won't happen. If it did, my job wouldn't exist! Make your writing goals and expectations of yourself reasonable. You will never find the perfect idea by expecting it to appear in your lap neatly wrapped. Brilliant ideas are diamonds that you labour to dig out of a mine. Expect it to be hard work, and learn to be tolerant of yourself and your mistakes.

I'll end off with a quote by Blaise Pascall which neatly sums up much of the proverbial struggle of writing: "The last thing we discover in composing a work is what to put down first."