10 Tips to Banishing Writers Block

Today’s post was written by Rochelle Levy, a writing coach for novelists. She and I connected through twitter because of our common love for reading (and romance novels!). She is a novel writing coach, and I have appreciated a lot of her advice and asked her to put together some thoughts on writer’s block. While this is not a topic I usually cover, she had so many great points that are easily related to blog writing as well so I decided to share her thoughts. Oh, and if you are interested in talking with her about a novel you are working on, or need a writing coach, you can learn more about her at RochelleLevy.net. Onto Rochelle’s thoughts…

All too often I get emails from aspiring authors saying that they have “writers block”. Some people will say writers block is a wives tail and doesn’t exist. I’m here to tell you that it does exist and virtually all writers will experience this during the course of their careers and all of them will overcome it. Of course this is easy to say while the ugly head of writer’s block has not yet breathed fire on your manuscript or caught you in its clutches. It’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel and that’s why I’m here to give you 10 tips to help you overcome writer’s block.

1. Recognize that you have writers block. Don’t think that your life has become too crowded for the joy of writing and perhaps you have just lost your passion. If you have no ideas that spring to mind when you sit down and a computer or with you pen and paper and open up your writer’s vein, you have writers block. Recognize it when it happens so you can make strides to move past it. DO NOT, for any reason, give up and think you’ll never write again. That is simply impossible. You can and will write again. Know it, live it, breathe it, WRITE IT.
2. Overcome your fear of failure. Most people think that if one or two or ten people do not like their work then they are forever doomed to be a lack luster or subpar writer. To this I say “Pfffft!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?” This, my friend, is not true. There will always be a person or group of people who may feel as though your writing could use a bit of that or a dash of this but guess what? Even those who complain are still reading your work right? RIGHT!! Develop tough skin for the critics out there and march forward. Even the greats were negatively criticized and now their works live on forever. So will yours.
3. Write about anything. On the days where you don’t feel inspired write for 10 minutes about anything your beautiful heart desires. Write about the birds, that cute guy or girl you saw in the aisle of the grocery store, the one person at work who always smells a little funky, your lunch, the sunset, etc… The point is to write about anything. After a while your creative juices should get flowing and you’ll be able to work on your novel, poem, blog or whatever your writing hand directs you to produce. If the creativity doesn’t start flowing well that’s okay because this is only tip three.
4. Put random ideas on paper no matter how insane they may be. Have an insane idea about an alien race after watching Pandora? Write it down. Have a steamy sex scene in mind? Write it down. Want to bring that show Alf back to TV? Write it down. Want to write about socks that magically come to life? DO IT!! There are no limitations on creativity. Step outside the box. No idea is too far fetched. Do not worry about what people will think. The point is to write. Who knows, those random ideas may become a best seller? Look at Alice in Wonderland, whoever wrote that was clearly insane but it’s a story we all love.
5. Let it sit for a day and come back to it. This is self explanatory and I hate this but sometimes you really may just need a few days to clear your head and come back to the table refreshed.
6. Have a schedule, and stick to it. This is a theory I have. If your body shows up to write at the same time each day. Eventually your mind and your muse will follow suite. Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words (ONLY 500 words) every morning which is about a page per day. With this method, Greene published over 30 very successful books. Try it. What have you got to lose?
7. Start writing a different scene of your novel. Many new writers attempt to write their story in chapters and in order by writing chapter one then chapter two and so on. STOP RIGHT THERE. This will inevitably lead to writers block. Mix it up. Write what comes to your mind. Carry a note pad with you or type it into your phone. If you feel like writing a fight scene or the ending or just random notes or a love scene then do it. I am highly against a book being written in order. It limits your creative process and can be detrimental to your health… Err uh… writing I mean.
8. Set deadlines and keep them. Many writers and people in general have trouble sticking to a deadline on their own. Try getting a writing partner or enlist the help of a writing coach. Anyone else who is expecting results on a specified date and time that you feel accountable to. This helps writers produce material. Writing groups or classes are another ay to help jump-start your routine.
9. Stop trying to edit while you write. It does not have to be perfect the first time. What you’re writing is a draft not the final version to be published for all to see. Do not be so critical on yourself. You’ll notice that once you stop going back to fix mistakes, the story will flow easily your mind to your paper.
10. Have fun! Don’t look at your writing as a job that has to be done or else the apocalypse will become you. Let it be your passion. Let it be fun. Let it be your outlet; a way to overcome stress and other burdens of life. Don’t let it become a burden because then you will lose sight of what you were writing for to begin with. This is a very important tip so SMILE AND HAVE FUN.

What other tips can you add to Rochelle’s thoughts?

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