You need to write. You want to write. You sit down to write, and nothing happens. You know its time, either because you have a deadline or a muse whispering in your ear, telling you that there is an urge to purge words, but nothing comes out. So what do you do?
What if you clicked read more, and this was where I told you I have no answers? I wonder if that would be more or less frustrating than writers block? Enough with the rhetorical questions. As it so turns out, I have a small handful of answers, or tips that I find help me when I am having trouble finding the words I am searching for, and I hope that you find them useful yourselves.
The first thing that I think about when its time to sit down and write, is music. Before anything else, a song can nearly decide what I’m going to write about. Say I’ve been working on a book for the last few months, and every time I sit down I play the same album on repeat, now that I’ve sat down to work on that piece again that same album may help to motivate me. Different songs can lead to different results, of course.
Another tactic I enjoy, is one that I’ve never attempted on purpose but I’m certain it would work, which is risky to say assuming it doesn’t for you. Every now and then certain instances will spark my urge to write. Perhaps it’s the smell of pie baking from that fall a few years ago where I wrote for hours at a time, the memory so prevalent that it may benefit me to recreate the experience. Wax burners and candles may help you to rediscover that event triggering smell. If the act of baking or physically recreating, for example, the smell of the ocean or rain, is not possible, then this may be your best bet.
Another thing that can help is your environment. I know that I write most successfully when my computer, or desk, is facing a window. So perhaps if my environment has been changed, I know I’m big on the occasional reorganization and room rearrange, then it stands to reason that recalling that specific mood and moment in which our best burst of writing previously occurred should find it self recreated.
Now, could you imagine, that you put on that song, find that memory triggering smell of warm things baking, and cozy into your chair in that most influential nook by the window with the leaves turning and the clouds rolling in right outside? Its just a shame we cant control the weather at this point!
Some other, less personal type tricks and tips, come in literary form. I have a few neat books that push to aim your focus when trying to write. 300 Writing Prompts, by piccadillyinc is full of neat questions that I’ve found fun and inspiring when it comes time to decide what to write.
Another book that I have loved owning, is The Little Red Writing Book, this clever little book has tons of advice on writing style and the rules one needs to keep in mind to keep their writing strong.
One last book, that I haven’t opened myself, but do own, is Write That Book Already!which is a book based on tough love to motivate, and I know that should I find these other methods lacking in muse wielding magic that I will certainly be reaching for that tough love type of push we all need now and then. I hope that these tips may find themselves useful to you in the future, keep reading, keep writing!
The Page Witch 