Writing Tips: How to Deal With Writer’s Block

Writer’s block. What is it? Is there a cure or a special remedy, like herbal tea? Or a stiff shot of booze?

I’m using humor here, but I understand that getting hit with writer’s block when you’re trying to write is no laughing matter. It can be devastating when it happens and you can’t seem to shake it no matter what you try. I know, I’ve been there. But never for more than a day. That’s right. In fifteen years of writing novels, I’ve never experienced writer’s block for more than a 24-hour period because I developed several tips and tricks to help get me unstuck quickly when it does happen. These tips work for me, they work for my writing friends who use them and they can work for you. And they can work whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction.

The most important tip is to not blow it out of proportion when it happens. I honestly think some writers can’t write because they think they’ve got writer’s block. In other words, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Having said that, all creative writers eventually get stuck now and then. But those moments, agonizing though they may be, should never have to last more than a day. Usually, no more than a few hours.

The first time I experienced something like this was while working on my first novel, Sisters and Lovers, and I decided that it was NOT going to stop me from making progress. A big-time New York agent had expressed an interest in working with me when the novel was finished, and I was determined not to let my momentarily malfunctioning mental state hold me back. And it didn’t. I think my determination to plow forward when it first hit me early in my career set a positive pattern for how I would deal with it in the future.

Over the years, I’ve developed some very useful tips that get me through writer’s block every time it strikes.

More Tips for Dealing With Writer’s Block

Writing Tip #1: Don’t fight it. Get up and do something else. Make some tea, have a glass of wine. For minor cases, a short break works like a charm. I’ll often sit back down at the keyboard after 10-15 minutes away and get right back into the flow.

Writing Tip #2: If a short break doesn’t work, take a longer break. No, not for several days or weeks. You’re not getting off that easily (I think people sometimes use writer’s block as an excuse when things get a little tough). I’m talking a few hours. Forget about the writing and go do something else. Read an unrelated book, do some housework, go for a walk or drive, flirt with your lover. Just don’t think about your writing.

Now sit down and get back to work. Ninety percent of the time, one of the above two methods works for me. It seems that when you put the writing aside, the brain quietly goes to work and unties all those gritty knots. It’s strange, yes, but it has worked for me countless times.

Writing Tip #3: Once in a while, you get really stuck, and 10 minutes or even a couple of hours just won’t free you. This may mean that you need an overnighter; that is, you need to sleep on it. Try it. You’ll be surprised to find that when you wake up in the morning and sit at the keyboard (or wherever it is that you write) the problem you were having the day before has vanished, your mind has cleared and the writing flows smoothly once again.

When I told a friend who was experiencing writer’s block about the overnighter and she tried it, she was amazed at how well it worked for her. I think you’ll be surprised, too.

If any of you have tips for coping with writer’s block feel free to share them here with us.

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