Dealing with Writer’s Block

Writers, artists, and creatives in general often conjure up incredible ideas in their minds, but it can often be difficult to transform those concepts into concrete products. When writers struggle to put meaningful things onto the page, they can end up experiencing frustration. This is also a leading cause of procrastination. If you struggle with writers’ block, here are five steps that might help get you on track:

1) Focus on Thinking and Prewriting

A lot of writers, whether novice or expert, subconsciously filter their ideas. It can be tempting to eliminate ideas you are unsure about, as soon as you think of them, but do not eliminate anything – at least, not yet. Automatically filtering out those paths can lead to writer’s block. Instead, remain open to your own ideas, and “thinking” will become a much easier process. Remember what it is you want to write and keep exploring the many paths ahead of you.

Since you will likely have a lot on your mind, record your thoughts on paper or on a digital document to make sure you do not forget anything.

2) Break it Down

Your first draft will not be your final draft, so a safe bet is to break the work down into manageable chunks. For instance, your first draft can focus on developing your ideas, whereas your second draft can focus on polishing those ideas, and a third draft can focus on perfecting the writing itself. This way, your first draft can record all your ideas, and the following drafts can declutter those ideas, organizing lines of thought, adding considerations, filling gaps, and finally removing dead-ends.           

3) Find Time and Space

You may not know where you want to go yet, but you will. Writing anxiety is common—the feeling that you are being too bland or too unoriginal, like there is something missing or that anything you put down just is not good enough. The truth is, the process takes time, and finding time to dedicate to writing can help. So don’t just write in your spare time. Instead, schedule the time to write. Creating a good space for writing can also help. Consider tidying up your study space. Uncluttering your environment can also unclutter your mind.

4) Accept Bad Days

Everyone experiences bad days. Sometimes it is best to simply close that document and do something else. If you are lacking inspiration or motivation, try researching, reading, or consuming media related to what you are writing about. This can be academic material, such as books, articles, and peer-reviewed papers, or less scholarly materials, like movies or novels. The best part about the creative process is that anything—absolutely anything—has the potential to inspire.

You might also find it productive to begin editing what you have so far. Did you know: the University of Calgary’s Writing Support Services offers consultations to help you with the writing process? To find more information, see the Writing Support webpage.

And once you have found your pacing, there is only one thing left to do.

5) Keep Going.

Hang in there and you will achieve your writing goals!