Cure your blockage

All professional writers do is write, write and write. And at times it so happens that things become so monotonous and repetitive that you feel you have reached a saturation point beyond which you can’t think. And believe me, all writers, big or small, go through this period. You feel you have reached a dead end. Whether you are a copywriter, an SEO copywriter, a columnist or a fiction writer, you just can’t seem to get an idea. This period where a writer is without an idea or an approach is called the writer’s block.

As a writer if you feel that you have started writing without doing any preliminary research or brainstorming, or have chosen a topic that you dislike or bores you, or don’t want to understand or research on the topic assigned, then my friend, you have all the symptoms of a writer’s block. The fact is that you are so stressed that you can’t even pen down a single word.

Firstly just relax. Every writer goes through this pressure, so it’s not a thing to get worried about. Just keep your pens and PCs aside and give your grey cells sometime.
Then try and understand what the reason for the block is. A disease cannot be cured if you don’t know the cause. There might be many reasons for your problem ranging from personal problems to distraction or even stress. So find the cause and then the remedy.

It’s very important for a writer to avoid thinking of a deadline while going through this phase because that thought will only make matters worse. Remember you need some time, so if you write just for the sake of deadline, then you will end up writing ghastly. There are certain tips that could really benefit writer’s going through this phase.

• Write smaller ideas instead of working on one big approach. Work on expanding these smaller ideas.
• Write something; however bad it is, you can work on it later.
• The best way is to change your surroundings. Move away from the PC and see if you can adapt something from what you see or witness. Write it on the paper. If you have a laptop, you can start incorporating what you notice.
• Music and coffee always help.
• Read something that is outside your niche. When you stick on to your monotonous topics, you seem to make matters worse for your self. Reading something different will help you get through better perspectives.
• Just flip through your dictionary and pick up 10-20 words. Now try and come up with a storyline from these selected words.
• Understand your creative hour. Many writers get ideas at certain time periods in a day. So understand which is your best hour – morning, evening or night. And then start writing at that point of time.

Lastly, but very importantly, to keep writer’s block away, just keep writing everyday. If you suddenly start writing and expect to get it done in time, then you are compromising on quality. So if you have a practice to write, you atleast know how to go about with the construction part.
So, being a writer if you too are going through this phase, just don’t panic. It’s a simple problem with easy solutions. Each solution will differ with each writer as the reasons will also vary. All you need to remember is to keep your cool and just keep writing!