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Wondering how to cure writer’s block? Try this writing ritual — the only one that helps me, an avid procrastinator.
Do you ever feel like it’s impossible to sit down and write even if it’s your favorite thing in the world?
Your mind is restless, bursting with ideas. Hundreds of words swirling around in your head but getting lost on the way out.
You can almost sense those lines on the tips of your fingers, waiting eagerly to be typed up or written down… But it’s as if your hands are tied behind your back.
I bet you know the feeling really well.
In this post, I’m sharing my favorite ways to overcome the writing slump. (After years of trial and error.)
This post is all about how to cure writer’s block.
🙆🏼♀️ What is writer’s block?
I liked the way MasterClass defined writer’s block:
Writer’s block is a phenomenon experienced by writers that is best described as an overwhelming feeling of being stuck in the writing process without the ability to move forward and write anything new.
RELATED POST: How to Get Out of a Creative Block: Try This Meditation (+ Video!)
🙇🏻♂️ Writer’s block “symptoms”
Among the most profound ones are:
- Procrastination — Check out How to Overcome Procrastination and Laziness (+ Guided Meditation)
- Anxiety
- Lack of focus
- Fear of imperfection
- Frustration
- Overflowing with ideas but not being able to get any out
It all boils down to desperately wanting to write but not being able to… And usually, moments like this make us want to cry.
Cry from our own helplessness, from the desperation of our imprisoned ideas, from pity for our inner writer.
But what if I told you that these moments are perhaps the most important?
It’s when we laboriously collect all the creative power we have within us and channel it into just even getting started… because we know deep inside we can’t not create.
It’s when we challenge ourselves to stay dedicated to our passion, plan, or purpose. Whatever it is to us.
It’s when we build evidence for self-worth as creators.
Anyways… They do say that coming out as the winner in your own mind games is the hardest task. Once I stepped on a journey of healing my creativity, I could totally see that.
RELATED POST: How To Start Writing As a Hobby (For Self Love And Creativity)
📝 How to cure writer’s block: 3 powerful tips
Here’s a gentle writing ritual that makes me a stronger player.
Firstly, I get the motor started by coming up with a few lines about something that caught my attention that day.
Whether it’s a haiku or a simple sketch, I pick something that flows naturally without any effort.
One day it’s about a fear of not being cool, another day it’s about a beautiful bar here in New York where I went on a date. Sometimes, it’s about a cup of tea in front of me.
After that is done, I get down to the main course.
I start my writing session with a part I’m most excited about. Something that I know exactly what to write about.
It doesn’t matter if it makes any chronological sense — I can always move things around. The goal here is to catch the wave.
Every so often, I have these especially difficult days, when none of the above gets me going.
If that happens to you too, here’s my tip number three: Write a list of the reasons why you chose to write or create in the first place.
Remind yourself:
- How good it feels to write, finish a piece, and hit “Publish”;
- How good it feels to be creating;
- How good it feels to be overcoming anxiety and staying true to yourself;
- How good it feels to be getting closer to your goal or dream;
- How good it feels to be able to share your piece with people and get emotional feedback;
Remind yourself of all the evidence that you’re on the right path when you’re doing it.
My personal list of reminders is on the wall behind my workspace. It serves as a firm but gentle hand that pushes me back to my art once I’m off the track.
I see it every time I get up from my desk, so there is no escape.
Once I started keeping my WHY’s before my eyes at all times, I figured out how to cure writer’s block.
Next to the list, I also have this quote by Elizabeth Gilbert from her book Big Magic, that says:
“I’ve had to keep defining and defending myself as a writer every single day of my adult life — constantly reminding and re-reminding my soul and the cosmos that I’m very serious about the business of creative living, and I will never stop creating, no matter what the outcome, and no matter how deep my anxieties and insecurities may be.”
It’s almost a relief to know that this creative struggle will never end.
No artist I heard of — even the greatest — repelled it for good.
We’re in good company.
We’re not alone.
This post was all about how to cure writer’s block.
OTHER POSTS YOU MAY LIKE:
How to Start a Healing Journey: Do This ONE Thing
Everything is a Story (Uplifting Message to a Creative Person)
