Writer's Block - Tried And True Ways To Put It Behind You

By Gretchen Hirsch

Here comes that feeling in the pit of your stomach. Nothing's working. You write and write and tear it all up. You're frustrated, angry, and apprehensive. In short, you're blocked.

Theories about writer's block abound. Some experts say it doesn't exist at all-that it's simply a self-indulgent excuse for not producing anything. Others declare that it arises from perfectionism. Another group believes it's related to brain chemistry. But when you're suffering from it, the cause doesn't matter. You just want to get past it. Here are some strategies that might help:

Leave water in the well. In other words, as you work each day, try not to write yourself out. Sometimes when the muse is speaking, you have to keep going, but as a general rule, writing until you're completely fried is too exhausting to sustain very long. Quit just before you think you should. Spend the last few minutes of your writing session making some notes about where you want your project to go, so you'll have a direction the next time to sit down to work.

Write something. Are you stuck at the first chapter? Begin with Chapter 2. Can't make your point clearly? Write it badly. Then go back and revise later. It's better to have something imperfect that you'll have to redo than to have nothing at all.

Write for 10 minutes. Action generates motivation, so don't wait until you "feel like writing." Create your own momentum by engaging in the activity of writing. Promise yourself you can quit at the end of 10 minutes. But I bet you won't.

Back away for a day. Sometimes you truly are too tired, too distracted, too anxious to go on. Give yourself permission to loaf for a day (but not a string of days). Treat yourself to something you enjoy. Writing is a very solitary occupation. Go to lunch with a friend. Talk about anything but your work. There are other topics, but as writers we sometimes forget that. Once you're refreshed, get busy again.

Take a shower. Many of the writers I know swear that their best ideas come to them in the shower. It's happened to me more times than I can count. I recommend it. Get wet, let your mind go-and be surprised.

Gretchen Hirsch is a writer and "chief surgeon" at Midwest Book Doctors, where she helps other writers prepare manuscripts for submission to agents and editors. She is also a speaker whose topics include Time Management for Writers, Branding Your Writing Career, Effective Business Speech, The Art of Difficult Conversations, Ghostwriting and Collaborating, and Confessions of a Book Doctor.

This article may be reprinted, but please credit the author and include her URL http://www.midwestbookdocs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gretchen_Hirsch