How to Cure Writer's Block
Strategies I Use to Do Creative Work Every Day
Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash
I realize not all of my readers will find this topic relevant. However, most of the strategies I lay out here are applicable to any type of creative work. Given the growing value of cognitive work in the Information Age, even workers not traditionally in creative fields are required to produce creative work. Corollaries to writer’s block exist in many lines of work. With some adaptation, you can apply some of these strategies to your own life, even if you do not write.
The Curse of the Blank Screen:
Everyone struggles with reluctance at the prospect of launching a major project, stepping into a cold shower, beginning a workout, or covering a blank canvas with a new painting. Writers are no different.
Sometimes, filling a page with words is a joy. The words flow, the sentences form themselves, and you lose yourself in the structure and nuance of language. Other times, you sit there (or stand, as the case may be), staring at a blank page, unable to put letters down. You experience that momentary panic that blanks out your mind as you search in vain for ideas. Eventually, you either get up and do something else, or crank out a draft anyway.
Some people say that writer’s block is a myth. There is truth to that. But yet it is such a common experience that we have developed an entire vocabulary around it. Calvin, the picaresque hero of the greatest comic strip of all time, actually invented a writer’s block. The idea exists within the lexicon, and if that is so, it cannot easily be dismissed.
Writer’s block is a myth in the way that the muse is a myth. If you believe in it, you can make it come true.
If you recognize that trepidation before beginning major tasks is not just common, but natural. If you appreciate that the human brain has limitations on the amount of cognitive work it can produce in a single day. If you realize that writer’s block (and the muse) is not some ineffable, consequential miracle that strikes with deep portent, but that rather it is something mundane and ordinary. If you know all of these things, you will understand that writer’s block has no supernatural significance and therefore requires no supernatural cure. In short, like most things in life, a bit of hard work combined with some clever strategies will get you most of the way to beating it.
Preparation:
Writer’s block is best avoided through preparation. Most of my strategies involve being ready to write long before I reach my keyboard. If you come to the screen with several fleshed-out ideas in your head of what you will write, the writing will flow.
In the moment, you have fewer options. At that point, you must press on or give up in defeat. Luckily, you have some time before that.
Strategy 1: Wellspring of Ideas
Creativity (usually) comes from combining disparate ideas in novel ways. Some few, truly gifted individuals think originally (Einstein, Nietzsche, Plato, Tesla, etc.). Most of the rest of us must settle for innovation that in some way derives from ideas other people already had. This does not mean replication. It means taking the ideas of others and twisting them in new and interesting ways. If cleverness involves the ability to see the world in a way that other people do not, a clever writer can write about an old idea in a new way by approaching it with a different lens.
In order to have a wellspring of ideas, you need to do a couple of things.
First, learn as much as you can about as broad a range of subjects and topics as possible. Never stop learning new information and never stop branching out into new areas. A breadth of knowledge about many topics, combined with a depth of knowledge in a few key areas, will help you approach see the world in novel ways. (It will also help you know what has already been said by someone else, and therefore is not original to you.)
Read widely. Listen widely. The Internet is a portal to the wealth of human knowledge. You can learn almost anything you want to learn, for free or at a very low cost. YouTube will teach you how to perform almost any home repair in Christendom. Free podcasts will bring you inside the greatest classrooms in the world, or let you sit in on the discussions of the top scientists, doctors, businesspeople, economists, mathematicians, and sociologists. Blog articles can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about brewing coffee, or about rebuilding civilization from the ground up when the mother of all blackouts takes out the power grid.
Second, in addition to learning as much as you can, you should make a habit of regularly engaging with high-quality creative work. Don’t just read. Read the best writers: in literature, journalism, academia, [insert your field], business, science fiction, romance, popular science, economics, and even poetry.
You can even try structural priming (just make sure to destroy any copies you make of others’ work so as not to run afoul of copyright laws). Some look down their noses on “copying out the work of other people,” but writers from Jack London to Hunter S. Thompson have reportedly practiced this technique to hone their craft.
I also recommend sampling from the best artistic work produced by nonwriters. Go to an art museum. Attend concerts. Watch the best live standup comedy you can. You never know when an idea for an article might come to you from the Mona Lisa or Dave Chappelle.
Strategy 2: Spend Time Not Writing
The muse rarely strikes at the computer screen. Or, to put it another way, in order to perform complex cognitive work, the human brain requires downtime for its subconscious to process information. And this only happens when you let your brain relax (i.e., when you perform an activity that does not require higher-order thinking – or does not overstimulate you).
In other words, in order to maximize your productivity while at your computer (or typewriter, or writing desk), you need to spend time away from your computer. Time when you are not engaged in any cognitive activity. Preferably, you would spend this time on “mindless” physical tasks: especially exercise, yard work, and household chores.
Importantly, you also need to spend some of this time unplugged from external stimuli (i.e., music, podcasts, TV, social media, etc.). It’s great to listen to podcasts to continue to educate yourself. But you need some quiet time for your mind to relax in order for it to process all the information you have accumulated.
It is very easy today to spend all waking hours bombarded by stimuli that the human brain never evolved to handle. Most people intuitively know that too much screen time (and too much sensory input, in general, including auditory) is unhealthy. At least above a certain level of saturation. It messes with sleep, circadian rhythm, hormone health, and can even interfere with daily life.
But unplugging is also important for creativity. Ideas often come when we least expect it. Not when we’re at the computer, but when we’re out on a walk, or mowing the lawn, or cleaning the kitchen. But constant digital connection can block those ideas from coming.
I’m a runner. Most days, I run for 1-2 hours outside, without any music, of podcasts, or any external input other than the sights and sounds and smells of the world around me. I don’t bring my phone. During that time, I can let my mind wander, or I can intentionally play around with ideas. I think well when I’m moving and don’t have any distractions. Running gives me time to work through ideas.
It’s not always intensely productive time. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s not. But even when my thinking is very unclear and inchoate, running allows me to clear out the BS and turn muddled thoughts into more coherent outlines. Running is not my muse. But it is time in which I can let my mind relax, let my subconscious process information, or – if I choose – actively work through the ideas in my head to form them into something coherent I can write.
You don’t have to run. But I do recommend some sort of physical activity. Movement stimulates the brain. Many creatives go for long walks in the woods or on city streets. You could bike or swim or lift weights. The gym usually has distracting music, but oftentimes I can tune that out.
It doesn’t have to be exercise. You could work around the house or work on your car. You could even take up another creative hobby: woodworking, sculpting, metalworking, glass art, or gardening. Not only will you have another creative outlet, you will be able to recharge and prepare for your next writing session.
Strategy 3: Sleep
You know what else your brain needs to process information subconsciously and continue producing high-quality, creative, cognitive work? Sleep.
Creativity doesn’t come from an erratic muse. It also doesn’t come from substances (drugs or alcohol). It doesn’t come from the ether (i.e., a mystical realm wherein ideas float around untethered waiting for creative and spiritual people to grab them). Creativity comes from the human mind. And in order to function properly, the human brain needs to sleep.
Most people need 7-9 hours. The chance that you’re an outlier is pretty slim, and even outliers at least 6 hours. Sleep is critical for all cognitive work. If you sleep enough, you will work better and get more done in the time you do work. If you have trouble staying focused, you will have more trouble putting words on the page. If you cannot stay awake, you will struggle to come up with ideas in the first place.
Strategy 4: Embrace the Grind
Even the most creative writers still struggle occasionally. At times, writing may be pure joy. But at other times, it will be hard. Sometimes you just need to push through anyway, and put words on the page no matter how hard you find it – especially if you have a deadline to meet.
By writing even when it’s hard, you will develop the discipline to write the next time it feels hard. You will eventually learn to tolerate the grind, and even in the worst cases of writer’s block, you’ll know that you can power through somehow.
Most writers have some sort of daily writing goal: either a word count or a set time period. This daily habit makes the grind easier, because writers who write every day find it easier to write every day. Habits are freeing. Discipline comes from habits and habits are what make the difference for great athletes and performers and businesspeople. The more frequently you battle with writer’s block, and overcome it, the more easily you will overcome it in the future.
Strategy 5: A List of Ideas
Write down ideas for articles, stories, plot twists, characters, editorials, profiles, and reviews whenever they come to you.
I keep multiple lists. Many writers – from novelists to columnists – keep idea lists. Whenever a new idea for an editorial, a book, or a chapter, comes to them, they write it down. This is especially useful in combination with strategies 1 and 2. Because ideas could strike you at any time, and you never know exactly where your next idea will come from, it’s helpful to have a place to keep track of them. I recommend writing down new ideas as soon as you reasonably can.
Whenever you use an idea, you can cross it off your list. I keep electronic lists, which makes them easy to update and change.
With a solid list of ideas, you will always have something to write about that will feel fresh. As long as you aren’t up against a tight deadline, whenever your current piece feels stale, you can pull an idea off your list and get an early start on it.
Basically, this idea list is your swipe file, except that you’re swiping your own ideas. Whenever you’re stuck for a topic to write about, you can turn to the list.
This leads me to the next strategy: working on multiple projects at once.
Strategy 6: Keep Many Irons in the Fire
When you have more than one ongoing project, you can switch between them to keep each one fresh. If you reach a sticking point – and you need to put whatever article or story you’re working on at the moment aside – you can take up a different project, picking up wherever you left off last. That way, you keep writing. You remain productive even if it’s on a different project.
Of course, you still need to meet your deadlines. Juggling multiple projects only works if you can stay out in front of any time pressure. For writers who work best under deadlines, this strategy won’t work, because you’ll procrastinate each project until 2 hours before you need to submit it. I don’t work well like that, and I doubt many people actually operate well that way. (But if you are one of the rare people for whom deadline pressure is the ultimate muse, I assume you probably don’t struggle with writer’s block, because – necessity being the mother of invention – deadlines stimulate your creativity. Also, when you face a penalty for not getting something done, you typically have much less trouble embracing the grind.)
You also need to be organized enough to handle multiple projects at any one time. For some people, a filing system, or an organizational software, or a calendar with deadlines marked down, or even just a well-partitioned hard drive will come in handy. Also, beyond a set number of projects, even the most organized writer (who also happens to be gifted with perfect recall) will begin to struggle to manage the project-switching.
Most people have a certain number of projects or tasks that they can hold in their head at one time. For the most part, I don’t use a filing system, or any organizational software. I can remember deadlines and work far enough in advance to meet them. But I also avoid biting off more than I can chew. If I had 10 deadlines a day, I would write them all down.
Strategy 7: Miniature Plotting/Stopping in the Middle
My last tip is a combination of two mini-tips.
First, when you reach your breaking point – at the end of the day, or when you’re about to move to a new piece – quickly jot down a few bullets laying out what you’re going to write next. Not a formal outline, just some words to jog your memory. Mine usually looks like I vomited words onto the page. We’re talking run-on sentences, semi-coherent phrases, random punctuation, illogically bulleted points (because I usually spit this out in great haste). But these bullets give me a jumping off point for when I return to writing.
For pantsers, you can still be true to your go-with-the-flow writing style and write a few bullet points. (For anyone unfamiliar with the term, novelists use the word “plotter” to refer to someone who uses outlines and “pantser” to refer to a person who writes by the seat of his or her pants.) You may write your novel in whatever direction the muse takes you. But if you have an idea of where the muse is headed next, you can jot down bullets to that effect when you take a pause, in case the muse doesn’t take you in any particular direction when you go to take up the story again. Which brings me to the second mini-tip.
Stop writing (especially if you’re pausing for the day) right in the middle. Don’t finish what you’re doing. Pause in the middle of the flow. Maybe even mid-sentence.
In his autobiographical work What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami writes about doing this. He claims that Ernest Hemingway and other writers also used to stop writing mid-flow, in order to make starting again the next day easier. According to Murakami, Hemingway advised other writers to stop writing while the writing was still fresh. Instead of finishing a thought (or a chapter, or a story), pausing with a little more in you to write gives you an incentive to start up again the next day. The other benefit is that you never start a day with a blank page (blank pages come in the middle of writing sessions, not at the end or beginning of them).
(I actually stopped in the middle of writing a sentence in the last paragraph and came back to it a couple days later.)
While I don’t always follow Marukami’s advice, when I do, I will often pair it with the bulleted list laying out my thoughts on what to say next. This is especially helpful if I am working well ahead of a deadline, and I know that I may put aside a piece of writing for weeks or months. I find that it helps me get going immediately upon taking up the piece again.
Conclusion:
No single strategy is going to cure writer’s block for you. However, by employing your own system and combining several strategies, you can usually avoid periods of unproductivity. And you can also manage the worst cases of creative block on those days when you really, really do not want to write.
The people who say that writer’s block doesn’t exist are often the ones who say they treat novel-writing as a job. In other words, they punch in and punch out and get it done, whether they want to or not. This is a good strategy when you need to meet a deadline.
However, as much as I’d like to say that writer’s block doesn’t exist, I do know that every creative professional encounters times when creation is hard, and when they struggle for new ideas. Writer’s block is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you do not believe it exists, you probably never experience it. If you believe it has mystical power, you allow it to have power over you. If you believe, as I do, that it is a mundane and easily-explainable phenomenon that almost every knowledge worker can experience in some form, you will probably favor proactive solutions, as I do.
I do not believe in the superstition of writer’s block. I do believe in doing what I can to stay productive when creative work is hard. I do believe in preparing ahead of time to write so that I never waste writing time. I do believe that practical solutions exist to practical problems, including the feeling of writer’s block.
I hope that you find value in these strategies. My hope is that this essay will be useful to as many people as possible. Please feel free to share your own experience with writer’s block (or creative block, or accountant’s block, or engineer’s block, or MD’s block), as well as any strategies you use to overcome it, in the comments. Please share this essay, as I would like it to reach the eyes of as many writers as possible.
I made this essay free so that as many writers as possible could read it. I would like to ask you, my readers, to share this essay. Either on social media, or through email, or via text, or in conversation with friends and family members. I hope that you enjoyed it, even if you don’t write. My goal is that it be of use to a wide audience. If you have other strategies you use to overcome creative blocks, please feel free to let me know in the comments.