How to beat writer’s block

One of the many surveys we’ve conducted at Mslexia was about writer’s block: how many women suffer from it, what form it takes, how they deal with a block when it strikes. (I’ll post the full report of those survey results shortly.) There was space on the questionnaire for people to pass on some of the strategies that had worked for them. Here is a selection for you to test-drive the next time you get stuck.

I have a cup of tea and run up and down stairs a few times to wake myself up.

I write whichever scene most excites me and forget about the bit that is blocking me.

If I get an idea for a poem, I am more able to make a start if I tell myself (a) it doesn’t have to be good (because I’m writing it for myself) and (b) it doesn’t have to be very long.

If I’m struggling on one piece of work, I work on another (I usually have a couple of pieces on the go for various competitions). That second piece seems to free me up.

I go to the library and give myself a defined time to produce a completed piece.

I write limericks. It’s surprising how often it works. The dafter the first line the better.

If I write every day, no matter how dull witted I feel, it becomes easier.

I read – it acts as jump leads into the creative drive.

My best stuff comes from writing workshops, where I have to come up with something.

I force my way through blocks by just continuing writing, even if I think it’s rubbish.

I don’t allow myself to rewrite or read more than a page of what I wrote last. This helps greatly.

I went to stay with a shaman and the Hopi Indians for a while, communing with nature and learning about their traditional ways of living and surviving.

If I have a commission or a deadline I just get on with it.

I have a cup of tea and run up and down stairs a few times to wake myself up.

I (literally) close my eyes and say ‘I don’t give a fuck what comes out of my hands for the next 30 minutes’.

I Skype my co-writer and we work through the piece together, usually me telling her my idea and her trying out different ways to write it down.

I read fairytales aloud to myself, often in Italian which is my other language.

I went on a mindfulness course that had the side effect of re-awakening my excitement about writing.

I copy out older poems I’m pleased with by hand, to remind myself that I was productive once.

I use Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique), either with a practitioner or by myself.

I write lists of relevant words, ideas, colours, emotions or anything that might get me started.

Listening to music that is the same tone as the piece I’m trying to write often helps.

I edit other pieces I am working on, while continuing to obsess about the details of the piece I want to be writing.

I change location and write somewhere else, such as a coffee shop.

Just forcing myself to carry on works wonders.

I go for a run.

Attending writing courses always helps, because they provide an imposed structure, time and space to write and various deadlines.

I read lots of different examples of the type of writing I’m trying to do.

Giving myself permission to write a bad first draft is important.

I go out and do something that nourishes me: seeing a film, going to a gallery, etc. It gives me a break and a bit more inspiration.

Using a notebook instead of a computer and going to somewhere other than my usual writing place seems to free me up.

I usually go for a walk, which I find a good activity for organising thoughts.

My solution is to find some peace, quiet and fresh air. Then, when I’m calmer, go out and have interesting experiences with my eyes open. Return home refreshed.

I always end my writing session for the day mid-sentence, to make it easy to pick up the next time I sit down.

When I am blocked I just write about all the silliness that is in my head and after a short while I find my proper writing is back in full swing.

I sleep on it overnight and let my subconscious sort it out.