Has the world ever seen a writer who never wrestled with the question:
What do I do when the words won’t come?
Others have written about the horrors of writer’s block. If you have time, presumably because the words are elusive at the moment, you can check out this, or this, or this.
To break through my personal blog writer’s block, I jotted down these ideas that might help others.
When words won’t come:
Pick up a pen or pencil. Write longhand. Psychologists advise that breaking out of an expected routine (fingers on the keyboard) may help restart the flow of words. Writing longhand for a while also forces us out of an expected rhythm. Writing longhand is typically a more fluid process, slower, and reintroduces the art of producing words.
Don’t attempt to write words. Doodle. It might seem contraindicated to make random marks on the page when what you really need are words. But doodling has its value in setting our creativity free from a regimented “Have to reach my word count” to being content with mental wandering. A fresh perspective often emerges when the mind takes the unpaved path.
Step away from your laptop and toward your camera/camera phone. Observe life through a camera lens. Take a field trip in search of beauty, curiosities, and scenes. They rarely fail to inspire.
Rub some dirt on it. Pull weeds. Plant something. Build something. Get your hands dirty. Using a different part of your brain for a while may rest the wrinkles that produce words.
Play with blocks. Not your writer’s block, but kids’ toys or games. The simple act of stacking blocks or counting squares frees your mind of cobwebs so when you return to your keyboard, nothing will stand in the way of the words.
Crank up the music. The words stuck in your brain may need to be pushed around a little by the notes of your favorite music. The words are there. Trust that they’ll show up when they’re ready, once they break out of word jail.
Allow yourself a half hour for something that makes you laugh–a YouTube video, episode of a comedy show, or humor podcast. Laughter is good medicine for almost any ailment.
Feel the burn. Burn off the dross of wordlessness with exercise or activity. If the words still won’t come, at least you will have whittled away a few calories.
Read another episode of the Books & Such “Between the Lines” blog. Will it get the words flowing again? Maybe. Or maybe you’ll learn something to help grow your writing craft skills.
Write and post a review for someone else’s work. The exercise will remind you why you do what you do.
What do we do when words won’t come? How does a writer tease them out from where they hide? “Leave them alone and they’ll come home,” as Little Bo Peep discovered.
13 Quotes to Help you in your Publishing Journey
Those are great ideas! I especially like the building blog ideas. Our boys are teens now, so we’ve stowed the huge Thomas train set and tracks in the attic, but I remember how much creativity they used building tracks that spanned the whole house. Maybe I should get them out!
Send a picture if you do!
There’s so very much to say
about this race, now almost run,
and it’s funny, in a way,
that the words just will not come.
How does one the time preserve,
how does one the picture save
with the honour it deserves
of having one foot in the grave?
I had thought that bleak despair
would end this life and story,
but something bigger now is there,
something of a glory
that came when I could understand
that through it all, God held my hand.
Beautiful.
For two decades, I commuted an hour to work and home. I spent much of that time praying and thinking about what to write. Now I work fewer hours and closer to home. When words don’t come, I get in the car and drive. After a few minutes, the damn breaks and the ideas flow. Driving takes the front seat of my brain, forcing writing to the back. And there in the back seat, my words are like the little-girl me, my imagination going places the car isn’t.
Love this, Shirlee!
Your ideas are so good. I know that when I’m in a season of struggle, I ought to take walks and enjoy nature. I don’t always do it, but I know I should. Instead, I have a tendency to force it, to sit at my computer and type, even when I know the words are terrible and will have to be either heavily edited or deleted altogether. But most of the time, once I do a little terrible writing, the better words come, and the ideas flow. That usually works.
When I’m in a season where this feels like the norm, I know those words need to be lured out of hiding like a frightened kitten. With a kitten, I might use a little piece of ham. With words, I go to bed earlier than usual and allow my mind to wander to whatever it is I’m trying to write. For some reason, words (like kittens, I think) like to play after bedtime. I almost always have my best ideas in that thin space between wakefulness and sleep. At that point, I’ll sit up and start writing (using pen and paper or by dictating into my phone) as long as the words are flowing. The next day, I transcribe those words, and that gives me a jumping off point for the day’s writing.
Great ideas, Robin.
Love ALL those tips. My main goal is to remain peaceful. Thank you!
Ah! Remain peaceful! Good point.