4 Outrageous Exercises to Overcome Writer’s Block
Let me guess; you’ve been experiencing a real slowdown in your creative process, so you haven’t really been able to produce new stuff.
Sometimes the inspiration doesn’t strike, right? You want to write, but you do not know when the idea will come, and it can be annoying when it doesn’t come.
Well, in this article, we’ll discuss remedies and strategies to combat writer's block. We’ll also provide actionable exercises to help unleash your creativity, spur your imagination, and, ultimately, get you back on track with your preferred writing flow.
Ready?
I want you to understand that creative barriers are totally normal. Artists, digital creators, authors, and entrepreneurs all suffer from it.
My guess is that you can relate to that feeling of being stuck, where you type a word only to delete it a second after, or a scenario where you want every idea to be absolutely perfect before you write it down and to speak from personal experience, aiming for perfection can be really overwhelming.
According to Daphne Gray-Grant, Editor and Publication Coach, One way to eliminate perfection paralysis is to separate editing from writing.
The truth is sometimes, while writing, we tend to concentrate on whether we’ve constructed sentences carefully. Whether all is designed well (without punctuation errors, without spelling mistakes) In contrast, writing first and editing later is a practical habit of destroying nervous start-ups or any form of discouragement.
So how do we overcome writer's block? How do we get your writing back on track?
Well, some writers deny block, some others regard it a myth. Whether it’s a real condition or not, it doesn’t matter to them. Personally, I think this mindset can be a good motivation to start writing again, and these are four ways to put that into real practice.
- Develop a Ritual or Routine.
Stephen King has published over 50+ novels, if I’m correct. What’s even more interesting is he’s often published under the pen name Richard Bachman due to the fear of overwhelming his audience with too many books. When he was confronted about his routine, work ethics and how he’s able to produce a large number of works in a very short frame of time, He simply said, “I wake up every morning to sit at my desk same time every day. I drink tea then I listen to good music”.
One of the world’s greatest novelist, Haruki Murakami, believes in a more intense routine. He believes if he’s physically and mentally strong, his writing will be strong as well. “Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity”
Murakami wakes up at 4 am every day to write for 4–6 hours before going on a 10km run. He swims 1500m before night rest. Murakami’s work is translated in over 50+ languages
From all these, I want you to understand that repetition and routine lulls the mind into the right state of productivity & according to James Clear’s Atomic habits, focusing on a system, not goals get the desired result even sweeter.
2. Reflect & Brainstorm.
To reflect is to think deeply about something. Reflecting & Brainstorming will not only generate new ideas, you’ll also identify your strengths, weaknesses, and also key areas for improvement.
This activity could either be spending time reading your old stuff or you reminding yourself of your goals. Either ways, this exercise should help reidentify the purpose of your Creative work; whether it is to entertain, to share an. experience, or to just express an opinion/thought.
3. Environment.
I suggest you find an environment that suits your writing needs and habits. It could be that your room is too comfortable (you want to fall asleep every time you sit in that chair) you could opt for a change in scenery. Somewhere inspiring to evoke new ideas and fresh perspectives.
If possible, Travel. be around nature, read good literature. Go for walks, enjoy your privacy & solitude.
If you can’t travel you can at least develop a visual approach: write out a dream, write to a friend, pretend to be someone else. (your favorite actors/ artists their life, thier experience)
4. Research & Begin.
My guess is you’re familiar with the 80/20 rule established by Pareto, a philosopher and economist.
This rule asserts that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of all causes. He applied this concept to different industries and found that typically, 80% of production and goods came from just 20% of sources. In other words: 80% of results come from 20% of actions. To apply this rule, make your creative /technical writing
80% research & critical thinking
20 % writing
Make sure you have great information concerning your focus. And as. stated earlier, whatever genre you are to write in, research relevant topics & begin to put your great ideas on the page. With this rule you should understand the concept of working smarter, not harder.
Essentially give yourself breaks (whether for 10 min, an hour, a day or two)Some ideas need time to develop without conscious thought. Breaks will help clear your mind and make words appear fresh on the page.
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