Seven creative tips for overcoming writer’s block

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Aug 18, 2013 / by
Seven creative tips for overcoming writer’s block

Feeling foggy and uninspired? Unable to generate any ideas worth writing about? Finding yourself giving into each and every distraction instead of getting that crucial blog post written?

lightbulbsIf you answered yes to any of the above it is likely that you are experiencing a bout of writers block. As a blogger, it’s guaranteed that you will go through creative dry patches where ideas just won’t flow properly and, despite your best efforts, your writing lacks the depth and potency that you know you’re capable of. While writer’s block is an entirely normal phenomenon, there are few experiences as frustrating as staring in front of a blank screen when you know there is work to be completed.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to force your brain to become unstiffled and get those creative juices flowing again.

1. Expose yourself to new information

Whether it’s an industry periodical, piece of literature or your favourite blog, reading always leads to new ideas. It’s practically impossible to keep yourself in the creative zone without exposing your mind to external sources of stimulation . While researching your particular field or industry in order to generate blog articles is definitely recommended, oftentimes the most interesting ideas can come from completely unrelated sources, causing you to make brand new connections or convey information in a way that is particularly poignant and enlightening.

2. Write down anything and everything!

Stop being so self critical and comparing your work to your previous efforts. Sometimes it’s necessary to force yourself to write, even if you know that what you’re producing is less than perfect. Don’t agonise over syntactic structure or word choice, just write as much as you can as soon as you can. Sometimes the physiological associations of typing fervidly in front of your laptop are enough to open the dam gates and before you know it you have more creative ideas than you know what to do with. It is of paramount importance to get the core ideas down no matter what; there is always room for refining and editing later.

3. Blog from somewhere else

park benchChanging your working environment can often be beneficial, particularly if there are elements in your work place causing you to procrastinate. Sometimes the creative breakthrough you’ve been looking for can come from firing up the laptop at the local coffee shop or from writing your blog at the park. If changing your working environment is impractical…

4. Kill the distractions

Turn your phone to silent, close your email inbox and sign out of instant messenger. If you’re someone who easily succumbs to distractions, remove them from your working environment. Provided you have all the information to hand when sitting down to write an article, removing yourself from the internet entirely for a period of time may be a viable solution. Typically during the course of the day, we have a period of time when our minds seem to automatically kick in gear. It is crucial to be aware of when our most productive period of the day is and designate those hours to working with all distractions suspended.

5. Keep a record

The creative process works in mysterious ways. Often we can be completely stumped while sitting at the desk only to come up with the perfect idea on the exercise bike at the gym or when drifting out of consciousness late in the evening. This is why it’s important to keep a notepad (or electronic recording device, such as a dictaphone) with you at all times. You never know when your subconscious mind will provide you with the perfect epiphany!

Check out these top 10 tools for recording your ideas.

6. Reach out

If you’re stuck for ideas, try putting yourself in the position of your audience. If you were looking to read a blog in your particular field, what kind of content would you find fascinating? It’s also highly useful to take note of what terms people are typing into search engines to arrive at your blog and then design your content accordingly. Reaching out to other bloggers and industry specialists for guest blogs, interviews and collaborations can also be a great way to combine creative resources and come up with some great original ideas.

7. Take a break

Don’t wear yourself out. Too many hours spent working can be detrimental to the other areas of your life and ultimately to the quality of the work itself. Sometimes it’s best to take a well earned rest and come back the next morning re-energised and raring to go!

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