Oh my goodness, did that title just make you writhe in your seat a little?
If so, I didn’t mean to cause you any physical or emotional angst…
… But to show you there’s a better way.
You see, writer’s block doesn’t even have to be a thing for you.
It isn’t for me.
Because I realized it didn’t need to be a thing for me.
Writer’s block is just a self-inflicted limitation.
I’m not sure when exactly I decided this.
Probably over the years of building this blog, I know for CERTAIN that I’ll never ever ever ever ever run out of ideas!
Same with clients. I know I’ll never ever ever run out of ideas for them either.
Because I know I can be an idea-generating machine,
I just decided writer’s block wasn’t going to be a “thing” for me anymore.
Yes, you can just decide that.
Don’t get me wrong, I do have days where I procrastinate hardcore.
I do have days where the words don’t flow as easily as others.
But I just never worry that I’m going to be struck by writer’s block.
You don’t have to worry if you don’t want either.
You just have to make this whole “I don’t get writer’s block” a daily practice…and a belief.
Let me show you some of the tricks I use to keep writer’s block from ever becoming a thing for me.
How to Decide Against Writer’s Block
- Learn how to be an idea generating machine.
Practice coming up with ideas daily. Write down a list of 20 headline ideas for your next post just to give your idea muscle some training. Write down a list of 10 things you’re grateful for every night before bed. Write down 50 of your family’s favorite dinners so you always have a list to pull from when you’re stuck. Think of 100 new info products you could sell on your website, even if they’re crappy.This practice gets you into idea generating mode. You get better at generating ideas with practice, so you know for sure you’ll never run out.
I’ve gotten to the point where I just trust I can come up with ideas on a whim. If I do this idea-generating practice too much, my mind because way too aflutter with all the fun things I could do, create, or make. I just know the ideas are always available.
- Know where to look for ideas.Going along with trick #1, write out a list of places to get ideas. If you ever really feel like you’re running dry, you can refer to this list to get your mind spinning again.
For example, I know I could pop over to Reddit or Buzzsumo and get enough ideas for hundreds of new blog posts. I could open a magazine and come up with dozens of spin-off article ideas. I could click on Pinterest and get my mind whirring again. Song lyrics often trip my idea wire too, so if I’m in a funk, I just put on my headphones and wait for a breakthrough.
If I couldn’t come up with a headline, I’d just look up “headline hacks.” If I needed a fun hook for an intro paragraph, I could just look up a quote from a current television show to get my gears going.
- Trust what’s available to you.Just knowing that all these ideas are floating out there for me to find gives me confidence that I’ll never run out of words and concepts to express.
I know from just those first two points that I’m much more likely to have trouble taming all my rampant ideas than coming up with them or the words for them.
Between the thesaurus, my daily reading material, and the grand ole internets, I trust that I won’t ever have writer’s block again.
- Practice the “writer’s block isn’t real” mindset.You should see by now that writer’s block is just a mindset. It’s just a belief, in the moment, that you can’t find anything to say. If you know there are endless ideas out there, ready for you, and that you can easily find more than you can fit inside your brain, then you can shove the idea of writer’s block right out of your mind.
I hope I’ve shown you that you can always find things to say.
You can either choose to believe writer’s block is real for you or choose not to believe it. It’s as simple as that.
- Write every day.I notice that my words fly a lot more freely when I’m in the practice of writing (and reading) every day. I’m much less likely to be at a loss for words when I’m in the practice of crafting them.
As a freelance writer, I just write every day anyway. If you’re not in the habit of writing every day, make it happen. Just journal or write in your blog. You don’t have to write fully-cited research papers or anything, just words on a page.
If you wanted to be a well-known ballet dancer, you’d have to practice dancing for hours every day. If you want to be a well-known writer, you need to do the same. You refine your technique, express yourself better, and pick up the right words with practice.
- Busy yourself with an entirely different task.If you’re really stuck on the content you’re writing, get out of your desk and do something else. Cook a meal, take a walk, meditate, sleep. Nature, in particular, has a restorative effect. Do something relaxing but productive. People have been using this tactic for decades to solve problems.
When you give your mind a rest and focus on something else, the solution to your problem often just pops right into your head. Even if it doesn’t (and it should), the mind break itself is usually enough to allow your creative juiced to flow freely again.
- Daily personal development.Personal development helps with everything. It helps you become a better, more well-adjusted human in so many ways. A lot of mlm companies have started including personal development as a necessary daily activity for this very reason, and you often notice a change in people’s character when they start doing it. You can use personal development to clear your blocks, learn how to take responsibility, and find happiness.
Personal development definitely helps you recognize and destroy your limitations like a samurai. You can slice right through writer’s block just like you would any other limitation.
I hope this article has helped you identify writer’s block as a construct of your own mind and encouraged you to rip it apart.
I’d love to hear your aha moments or your thoughts on writer’s block in the comments.
Peace out, writer’s block!
What are your best tips and tricks for writer’s block?