The Ultimate Guide To Overcoming Writers’ Block For Good

In this guide, we will show you everything you need to overcome writers’ block for once and for all.
Writers’ block is one of those frustrating phenomena that you never quite believe is real… until it happens to you.
But it also has this weird romanticism attached to it.
It is often portrayed in Hollywood films as an infliction that only SERIOUS writers get… whatever that means.
For example, do you remember that scene in Adaptation starring Nicolas Cage?
He is a writer who sits down at the computer to write a screenplay but can’t seem to get the words out?

For the longest time, I also fell into the trap that I wasn’t a real writer because I never got writers’ block.
I was ALWAYS able to squeeze something out.
Even if it wasn’t a masterpiece.
And strangely I beat myself up because of it.

(I mean in what other profession do you feel guilty because you are successful!)
I thought it was just something that only happened to some of the greatest writers likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and JD Salinger.

You know… real writers.
But it’s not really all that romantic as anyone who has suffered from Writer’s Block can tell you.
For most of my life, I thought people were just using writers’ block as an excuse not to do the actual work.
That is until my life got crazy hectic and I didn’t allow my writing to breathe.
Only then did writers’ block rears its ugly head!
For over two months I wasn’t able to write a word, no matter how hard I tried.

I found myself staring at a blank piece of paper forever, thinking about what to write.
My mind raced in a million different directions.
I was thinking about paying the mortgage, expanding my business, my relationship with my significant other… almost anything BUT writing!
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably fallen victim to the dreaded ‘writers’ block’ at one point or another.
Thankfully, I’ve come up with some tips and tricks to help you get back into your writing zone and return to the writing superstar that you are!
Of course, writing block is highly personal and what works for one person may not work for someone else.
But at the end of the day, it’s about conquering the part of you that is resisting doing the work and actually writing.

What is Writers’ Block?

Everybody will describe Writers’ Block slightly differently because he or she will experience it slightly differently.
There is no one definition to rule them all.
But I will embark on trying to do so in this post.
According to Wikipedia,

“Writer’s block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.

The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years.
Writer’s block is not solely measured by time passing without writing. It is measured by time passing without productivity in the task at hand.”
End quote.
Writers’ Block is often described as a feeling of unable to concentrate or overwhelming self-doubt.
A writer will sit down at his or her desk and feel like their creativity has dried up.
They just sit there and stare at the blank screen letting their inner resistance (As Steven Pressfield describes it) get the best of them.
Before we move on, I want to emphasize that there is no one type of writers’ block and no two types are the same.
Each person suffers a different strand of writer’s block.
To steal from Tolstoy: “All happy writers are alike; each unhappy writer is unhappy in his or her own way.”

The History or Writer’s Block

While the term “Writers’ Block” is a relatively new one, we’ve known writers who have suffered from writer’s block since… well forever
The Oscar-winning film Shakespeare In Love‘s premise is how would Shakespeare deal with Writer’s Block (as no doubt he inevitably did from time to time, although there is no proof of this!)

The term Writers’ Block was coined by a famous Austrian psychiatrist named Dr. Edmund Bergier who immigrated to the United States in 1947.
Bergier, who followed Freud’s theories, thought Writers’ Block was caused by something called oral masochism and being denied breast milk as a child.
Now, I’m sure you understand the latter but what is oral masochism?
To simplify the theory, it is the idea that someone’s mother was cold, distinct and reserved her love for her children.
Today these ideas are generally disregarded as the reasons behind writers’ block, but the name certain stuck.
The idea that writer’s block is all in your head may have been around for centuries, but it was French Romantic writer Alphonse de Lamartine who first proposed this theory.
He argued against claiming “writer’s malady” and instead attributed the problem to an internal power struggle between creativity and reason – a sort of muscular contest taking place within us where we must resist logic long enough to find our inspiration again.
The concept had existed before then; Mélusin calls them Les Furies (“the fury”) when talking about Pierre-Auguste Cezarilla during his time writing History Of Kings Two Volume Set.

What Causes Writer’s Block?

Here are a list of some of the most common problems associated with Writer’s Block.
This isn’t an exhausted list but can help you at least identify the problem.

1. You have too many competing desires or responsibilities.
2. You have ideas that you do not know how to bring to light
3. You have a fear of writing what you most need to write
4. You are depressed or overwhelmed
5. You are a perfectionist, stuck in revision hell
6. You have a sence of self doubt or not being good enough
7. You don’t believe you’re a real writer
8. You’re going through some life changes
9. You feel you can’t handle rejection

What to Read When Suffering From Writers Block

• Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• On Writing by Stephen King
• War Of Art by Steven Pressfield 
• If You Want to Write  by Brenda Ueland
• Big Magic  by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Finding Your Writer’s Voice by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall
• Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
• The International Freelancer blog by Mridu Khullar Relph

How To Over Come Writers’ Block

Now comes the meat and potatoes of this post.
Here are some steps to take that will help you overcome writers’ block once and for all.

Step Away From Your Writing

Trying to push through your block may not be an optimal route to undertake.
You are better served to walk away from your computer for a short period and gain some perspective on your project.
Do something you enjoy like go for a walk or play a sport. It’s important to exercise and eat right – especially when things aren’t going your way.

Get Inspired!

Get out of your own head and seek inspiration through different channels.
This will look different for each individual, based on your unique personality, tastes and hobbies. For some, you may want to foray into the rich arts and culture scene by attending a local production of theatre, opera, ballet or spoken word performance.
For others, it may be communing with nature and soaking up fresh air on a walk around a lake or a brisk hike.
Some find enjoyment in preparing a gourmet meal with all the fixings or attending a local sporting match.
Find the activity that creates a spark within and embrace it to the fullest!
Remember there is no new idea under the sun.
Creativity is just pulling ideas from several different sources and putting them in your personal blender to make your own creation.
If you’re feeling uninspired try something you wouldn’t normally do.
You might be surprised at how it helps!

Outline Your Writing

If your writing has stopped chugging along, help it pick up steam by taking a more structured approach by writing an outline.
Figuring out your writing trajectory will not only solve your current block but also prevent more blocks in the future!
If you’ve already written an outline then go back to it and see if it’s still serving its purpose.

Writer’s block concept with typewriter and crumpled paper on work desk

Give Yourself a Social Media Break

It’s a small miracle that writers can get ANYTHING done with our phones and computers constantly buzzing to give us updates on what our friends are eating, the latest political scandal or what’s new on Netflix.
If willpower isn’t your strong suit and your biggest challenge is staying focused, try a site blocker like Freedom or an app like SelfControl or Cold Turkey.

It also might be useful to delete your apps from your phone altogether.
You might be surprised at how much more relaxed and at peace you feel with yourself.

Give Yourself Writing Time

A select few of us tend to work well under pressure with a deadline looming just around the corner.
For most writers, however, we need the necessary time to wade through our complex web of thoughts and craft a carefully constructed piece of literature.
Leave yourself sufficient time to commit to your writing project.
Try to relieve the stress or pressure you feel.
This is best achieved by allocating pockets of time throughout the day or week specifically for your writing.
Allow yourself an hour after your morning coffee, before you start your day.
Are you more of a night owl?
Then schedule in some time before bed to jot down ideas.
Find the time frame where your energy levels are at their peak, and set aside a window to dedicate to your work alone, free from distractions.
Which brings us to our next tip…!

Get Into A Routine

Routine helps calm the mind and helps you focus on being creative because you don’t have to constantly worry about the little things like do I need to clean my room today?
Do I need to do laundry?
If you know you do laundry every Saturday and clean your room every Sunday it takes a load off your mental capacity since your mind can only be filled with so much stuff until it starts rejecting new input.
Having a solid routine is that one thing that’ is guaranteed to help you become a productive, prolific writer.
Every writer who wants to achieve their goals must have a writing routine.
Without a routine, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of procrastination or to disappoint yourself when your writing output isn’t where you want it to be.
Without a routine, it’s hard to make writing a regular habit – and making it a habit is something you must do if you ever want to find fulfillment as a writer.
Finding your creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good habits.
This might seem counterintuitive to some.
Isn’t creativity something that naturally ebbs and flows, not something you can schedule?
Don’t people just feel inspired?
I mean Leonardo da Vinci never spoke about good habits, did he?
But the truth is, if you only write when you “feel creative,” you’re bound to get stuck in a tar pit of writer’s block.
The only way to push through is by disciplining yourself to start creative writing on a regular schedule.
It might be every day, every other day, or just on weekends — but whatever it is, stick to it!

Silence The Resistance

Your resistance is always trying to stop you from stretching yourself, from going beyond your boundaries, from trying everything new.
Your resistance says it’s comfortable where you are at.
There’s no need for more.
No matter what, there is always the resistance, just lurking around the corner, ready to bring your writing to a screeching halt with a big dose of self-doubt and self-criticism.
Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Steven Pressfield, Charles Bukowski all struggled with the resistance.
In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a writer who hasn’t been blocked by their residence.
What successful writers have in common is the ability to hear their inner critic, respectfully acknowledge its points, and move forward.
You don’t need to completely ignore that critical voice, nor should you cower before it.
Rather, you must establish a respectful, balanced relationship, so you can address what’s necessary and skip over what’s insecure and irrelevant.

Write For You And You ONLY!

Stop writing for readers or anyone else for that matter
Go back to why writing was fun in the first place!
Connect with what made you want to be a writer when you were a kid.
If you’re an experienced writer, you’ve probably come across the advice to write to your genre or write to your market.
And while this is generally good advice if you’re looking to publish, the pressure of other people’s expectations can be a huge cause of writer’s block.

(That’s why J.D. Salinger never published anything after Catcher in the Rye!)

So throw the market out the window for now and write for yourself, not your potential readers.
Just have some fun!
Don’t make it seem like work.
This will help you reclaim the joy of being creative and get you back in touch with what matters in the first place.
And getting back to having fun will help your creativity flow and will help your so-called serious writing.

Start A Journaling Practice

Journaling is an incredibly powerful practice and researchers have shown it to have immense benefits.
If you haven’t tried it before I would highly encourage you.
It can help you work through whatever mind knots you have woven for yourself.
If you don’t know the source of your writer’s block it can help you figure out what is going on in your mind to prevent you from moving forward.
Don’t worry about what to write. Just put your pen to paper and write whatever comes to mind.
You can write about what you’re grateful for or just track your thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
Journaling is a proven method of self-care and one that I highly recommend you try.

Write Badly!

That’s right!
Give yourself permission to write badly.
In fact, write badly… ON PURPOSE!
Writers often spend hours looking for that perfect word or sentence.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get it ‘right’ the first time around.
But the brilliant thing is that you can always come back to it.
Leonardo DiVinci was a bit of a perfectionist.
Researchers have found by studying his canvases that he came back to the Mona Lisa hundreds of times to perfect it.
And so if DiVinci allowed himself to come back to his work then you can too!
Often times we get all up in our head that we are not good enough.
That we suck…

That we aren’t a good writer…
That we don’t deserve success.
We’ve all had those thoughts.

Loosen up and have some fun with your writing!

Focus On Your Mental Health

Mental health… I cannot exaggerate how important this is.
Sometimes we are truly suffering from clinical, diagnosable depression, which makes writing feel like dragging a tractor out of a mudslide with your bare hands.

Getting treatment for depression will not make you less profound (or interesting), and it will make you more productive and of course happier!

Often we buy into the idea that our depression makes us profound because we need to believe our pain is worth something.
Again we think that it’s romantic to suffer.
That we are most creative or do our best work when we are suffering.
I know I’ve certainly been guilty of this!
I love Russian literature and looked at how Tolstoy, Gogol and Dostoevsky suffered and, in my opinion, they created some of the best literature ever written.

But I was once more caught up in the romantic notion of what a writer should be!
In actual fact, the best Russian writers produced their best work when they were emotionally stable and living their best lives.
This means you should prioritize your happiness!
Do things that make you happy, that take your mind away from problems and negative thinking.
We often forgive other people before we forgive ourselves.
Depression has long been an illness that has plagued different writers and so it’s okay to go through spells of depression.
Do not make yourself feel wrong or bad for feeling the way that you do.
However, if you’ve been depressed longer than a few weeks, I would urge you to go seek a councillor or a specialist of some kind.
There are many options available and a councillor won’t only help you with your writing but your life in general.
You shouldn’t have to suffer alone.

Hire a Ghostwriter

If undertaking the project alone seems too daunting of a task, then consider enlisting the services of a professional!
A ghostwriter can help you to organize your vast internal database of knowledge, talents and skills into a cohesive and well-organized book.
Take the guesswork out of the writing process and achieve your goals in an efficient and effective manner with the assistance of a ghostwriting company.

Last Thoughts on Writers’ Block

Writer’s block is hard to conquer, no doubt bout it.
After spending weeks, months and sometimes years on a project to feel as if there is no way forward can be frustrating.
If you’ve written for a long time then you know writers’ block can rear its ugly head and smack you when you least expect it.
Don’t be discouraged!
It’s important to be easy on yourself.
Don’t feel as if everything has to be perfect or that your writing has to be the work of Shakespeare every single time!
(I’m sure you’re aware that mine isn’t!)
All the great writers rewrote and rewrote and rewrote their great works countless of times.

Unfortunately, there is no magic trick or special formula to overcome writers’ block.
If you feel that you’ve tried these tricks and still nothing is working for you then you might consider hiring a writer’s coach.
You can learn more about that process HERE or you can listen to my interview with Liz Green about hiring a book coach.
As I said earlier, there is no one type of writer’s block and so different strategies work for different people.
I want to leave you with a quote from one of my favourite writers Stephen King.
“Just remember that Dumbo didn’t need the feather; the magic was in him.”

Further Reading:

If you’re trying to write a grant or a request for proposal (RFP) check out the blog post HERE
Whatever the method, find what works best for YOU, and stick with your tried, tested and true path. For more ideas, get in touch with Ghostwriters and Co today!

Or if you want to find a list of the best ghostwriting services check out how I rate them HERE