The Oxford English Dictionary defines writer’s block as:
“A periodic lack of inspiration afflicting creative
writers”
It’s not the most useful thing to happen to someone whose entire degree
revolves around being able to write pretty much constantly, and it’s especially
frustrating at the moment, since I am taking a Creative Writing module as part
of my Master’s degree. I often find myself momentarily inspired: I excitedly
sit down the next day with an idea for a short story, a blog or even just an
essay piece in mind, open Word on my laptop, sip my cup of tea and poise myself
ready for the images and statements
to start flowing. But, suddenly, the ideas will vanish. What was once in my
brain has evaporated as quickly as it appeared, and I will have nothing else to
do but to stare blankly at the empty simulated piece of paper on my screen,
desperately hoping that something will happen. Eventually, it does
(fortunately, since I am nearly always working to a deadline!) but it is
frustrating and often worrying.
I have always
wanted to earn a living through writing, in some form or another. The thought
of getting writer’s block at university is bad enough, but I can only imagine
what it must be like to be faced with essays or articles for your job and to
suffer from a lack of inspiration!
It’s difficult
to get past the block. You often have the enthusiasm to write, but the words
just won’t come to you. Eventually you’re left feeling despondent, and you head
off to complete a different piece of work in the hope that inspiration will
return. However, when you do have a deadline, as an undergraduate,
postgraduate, author, blogger, or indeed any profession that requires words to
be on tap, your writer’s block needs to vanish – and fast.
Here are a few
ideas that I try to use when I’m having trouble expressing myself on paper:
1. Clear your mind: go for a walk, listen to
music, read a magazine. Forget about what you want to write about, think of
something completely unrelated, and sometimes a sudden thought will appear and
you can get straight back to your computer with a fresh outlook.
2. Go back to basics: if you’re writing something
for your degree, look over the basic points and ideas for your essay or
assignment again. Re-familiarise yourself with the roots for your work and
hopefully something will appear!
3. Talk to someone about your ideas: I often find that, if I
discuss my essay or article with a friend, I’ll say something to them on the
spur of the moment that really inspires me. This also works well when you’re
trying to simplify a point in your essay to make it more readable! Your friend
might also have an idea that opens up a whole new argument for your point. It’s
worth a shot!
4. Keep writing:Often, it’s a good idea to just force
yourself to write. Getting something down on paper, no matter how bad you think
it is, will break that horrible boundary of not having anything on that blank
page in front of you. Once you feel you’ve started, hopefully your brain will
follow suit, and you can delete the work you don’t want to keep after you’ve
been inspired. This is a technique I use a lot with my creative writing.
5. Keep reading: read everything and anything around the subject you’re looking at: novels, articles, forum comments, periodicals, magazine pieces. If you keep browsing your subject (or the style of writing that you want to achieve) you’re bound to hit the jackpot and come up with a counter argument for a point made, an alternative view on a situation or a style that you can use for your work. Just don’t plagiarise!
Alternatively, start your piece with a dictionary definition, and see where you go from there. It worked for me!
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