A Soldier’s Unconventional Guide to Overcoming Writer’s Block

Nicolas Kerkau
Nov 3 · 8 min read
Source: http://bit.ly/2WAZ6Nm

Only 72 hours, 37 minutes from the moment of drafting this until my life changes forever.

Not in any dramatic way, I’ve been enlisted and training for six months prior, so I’m merely getting the formality of Boot Camp out of the way. I’m excited, I’m nervous, but above all: I’m struggling to write.

There have been a myriad issues plaguing my life leading up to my departure, from squaring away my finances to making sure my speeding tickets are paid off — who knew 104 in a 75 would get you pulled over? Yet, perhaps the greatest issue I’ve had is writing through it all — finding inspiration to do what I love most when it all seems meaningless.

Soldiers fight wars but Generals win them in the strategy rooms. In the same vein, the key to writing is establishing your strategy — your why. The key to success whenever you’re fighting a battle is remembering why — it keeps you motivated to succeed. I enlisted to build a better future for myself and to ensure a better future for others. Whenever I’m persevering through challenging training, I think of the countless kids in America who deserve a champion, a voice in the construction of tomorrow. Is it presumptuous of me to fill that role in my mind? Yes, but it keeps me motivated. I write because I like to, because it’s cathartic, and I see it as another outlet to connect with people through my rarely written about, but far from unique, life.

Why are you writing?

With your purpose in mind, you’ll have a guide to get through the rest. You can use your why to justify whatever measures must be taken to get your words on paper, regardless of how tumultuous the process is.

These are a soldier’s unconventional writing strategies!

Run, even if you don’t like to.

I’m aware that running isn’t everyone’s forte. Personally, I love running, but there are days where I simply don’t feel like it, and it’s those days where I excel and defy my own expectations. Aside from the countless benefits of running, like lower risks of cardiovascular disease and reduced risk of certain cancers, most runners do it for the improved mental quality. Running — walking, if you’d prefer! — raises your average happiness level and gives you a sense of accomplishment.

The health benefits of running aren’t valueless to me, but I often catch myself running for inspiration. I’ve been in Marquette for weeks at a time lately, a coastal city in Michigan’s upper peninsula. The city itself is mesmerizing, packed to the brim with great historical significance and wonderful man made landmarks, but it’s also shrouded in natural beauty. The tree this time of year, poking like thistle from the saddles and peaks of mountain ridges, don their orange, red, and yellow Halloween costumes. The mornings are thick with snow and fog, and the audience of stars look down through the evening sky onto the thousands of players skipping about their lives.

It’s beautiful. Running is merely an excuse to get out and explore nature. The sense of urgency that comes with running helps rid my mind of impurities. And if you stop occasionally to take it all in, you may discover something that inspires you even more. While running along a coastal trail last week, I stopped to look out onto Marquette’s old Ore Dock, and behind me I noticed a small acre of land gated off, only thirty yards from the road. There were no signs, no infrastructure within the wrought iron confines — I was left wondering who put it there, and why — with nothing in the unkempt field — someone decided to gate it off.

It’s the exploration that comes with running that bridges present me with my past self’s longing for discovery.

Try it!

Tell yourself the story, first.

Communication is the greatest asset of any tactical unit — without direct lines of contact a mission won’t be successful. When different units are working together to carry out an objective without clear communication, you get mishaps like the Battle of Mogadishu, one you may be familiar with if you’ve seen Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down.

Talking to yourself is weird. It makes me uncomfortable to listen to others plotting their sins under their breathe, let alone having to do it myself. That being said, it can be incredibly useful in developing a story when writer’s block has taken hold.

Communicating with yourself out loud is a way to connect your mind to reality — externalizing our thoughts makes them more concrete, and hearing them in stone exposes flaws in your story whether it be conceptual, structural, or otherwise.

It can certainly be weird, but sometimes while I’m running or hiking I’ll tell myself a story, and if I’m intrigued enough by it I’ll transcribe it when I get home! Just be careful not to have the police called on you.

Touch a tree.

You don’t need to chain yourself to a tree to reap the rewards of being near one.

Nature makes us happy, and the biome preference of us humans is hard-coded in our DNA. A study showed that, independent of geographic and cultural influences, humans overwhelmingly prefer Savannah-like landscapes, stemming from our origin in Africa. The influence of nature on the human psyche is studied continuously, profoundly reported in Charles Montgomery’s Happy City. Results have shown the threshold for our satisfaction low, only needing consistent exposure to a few trees to see improvements in our daily attitudes and health. Montgomery connects the low quantity of tress required to the aforementioned study, proposing that our desire for minimal tree coverage is born from our ancestor’s sparsely tree-populated origins.

In 2015 a study from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona, Spain found that school children exposed to greenery in their landscapes had better memory development and attention skills.

Even taking a 50 minute walk through a park or arbor could greatly improve our mood, allowing us to find inspiration and clarity in our newfound mindset.

Though anecdotal, when I’m short on time I’ve found that going outside and spending a few minutes below a nice tree could be enough to spur a surge in creativity. Give it a shot!

Put in the tunes.

Then take them out.

Music undoubtedly inspires us all, the writing process itself mimicking the rhythm of song. But if you’re struggling to write, and all other strategies have failed you, the best thing to do is just write.

The key here is forgetting about whatever intentions you had — just start vomiting your typeface on the page. The easiest place for me to start is answering the question: How was your day?

Don’t get hung up on semantics. If you’re looking to write in the morning, obviously not having an opinion on your day yet, pick any day. The first one that comes to mind. Last time I did this, the first day that came to mind was the only unfortunate time I’ve been to Disney World, a trip that resulted in my brother getting robbed and stirring a series of drama all through the park. It was real, it was fun, but it wasn’t real fun.

When you slip into a deep focus, writing to your heart’s content, any other ideas you had initially will get shoved into the back of your brain to be process subconsciously. This diffuse thinking method forces your brain to make gradual connections, diffusing your thoughts across all parts of the brain and tapping into a stronger resource pool for developing ideas. Eventually your Eureka! moment will come. Until then, write whatever comes to mind — it’s good practice, anyhow!

Request a friend’s assistance.

At certain times in your military career you’ll be exposed to the most prolonged, highest levels of stress in your life. Basic Training is the first one all soldiers encounter. To prevent harm to oneself or others, or abandonment of one’s post (AWOL), the military can assign Battle Buddies. It’s an incredibly cute, unassuming name. But the purpose of the Battle Buddy is to establish a close knit accountability system. The ability to put down your life for your unit, accomplishing a mission at all costs, and committing to the safety of everyone around you seems like prestigious selflessness, yet psychologists say it may stem from selfishness: a fear to let other people down and live with that guilt. There’s an expectation in every service branch that you’ll die for anyone at the drop of a dime — as you should! — but it’s the expectation, an abstract fear of disappointment, that motivates people to do it (with exception, of course).

Civilians can utilize this same strategy, you included. Send a friend a text and let them know you need to have something completed by a set deadline, and ask them to bill you for a certain amount of money if you don’t deliver. Don’t have the money? All the better to succeed!

The promise of paying is extreme enough for most people, less from a fear of losing the money, more so from the fear of confronting their comrade empty handed. But if you need to take it a step up, give your accomplice the collateral first, and make them promise to keep it if you don’t meet your goals.

Sure, it’s extreme. But make something life or death and you’re brain will follow suit.


At the end of the day, if you’re struggling to find motivation or inspiration to write, take a break. Don’t listen to these digital gurus who insist you could never amount to anything if you don’t write a million words a day. Come next summer, my schedule will be the busiest of my life: finishing an engineering degree, working part-time, Army readiness training, and writing will occupy 23 hours of each day. When I’m sleep-deprived and running out of adenine receptors to mask with caffeine, writing will be the first thing I cut to safeguard my health.

I can’t beat myself up for occasionally not writing and neither can you. Just remember why you love writing — no amount of time can separate you from your purpose. You will be great, some ideas just need time.

Nicolas Kerkau

Written by

Nicolas Kerkau is a personal narrative writer, often contriving stories based on his uninspiring childhood. He loves books, winter, and long walks on the beach.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade