A lot of us have to write a good deal in our school/work/main dealy. I have a big paper due tomorrow, I cant find any words… my vocabulary pool seems to have sucked dry. Moreover, I cant think of any decent lead ins for my paper that isnt between “great american novel” or “it works, but it sucks, I know I can do better.” Maybe I just need some sleep.
Anyway, lets play sharsies- what do you guys do to overcome writers block?
Sit down and write, write anything until it starts flowing.
When Mr P says he’s blocked, I wave the bills at him and mention the words, Real Job and he gets flowing reql quick.
I get writers block if I have a deadline or set time aside to write. I’ve found if I try to force anything it doesn’t flow.
No forcing, no blocks.
I make sure I can write/play (I’m a goofy musician type) when the feeling is there.
I examine my bank accounts.
Go do some kind of physical activity: walk the dog, wash the car, or anything that will get you away from the blank page or screen for a bit. The answers might start coming to you when you least expect them, right in the middle of your activity.
Two serious authors (Mr. Lizard and Terry Pratchett) both do the same thing: they write. Set a quota. Write a paragraph a day. Get SOME work done. Even if you throw it out later, you still have done something.
Yeah I started to write inane stuff about how bored ceiling lamps must be, and drank some coffee. Eventually I got some semblance of sentance construction back, and could write once again.
I really should write something everyday so that I am not intimidated by the screen. Ussually Im not, but Ive been lazy this semester and dont have many classes.
I do the exact opposite of robertliguori . No quotas. If the inspiration’s not there, no use in staring at a blank screen. I wait for the words to come to me. Luckily for me, I don’t write on deadline, because I go through dry spells followed by long spells where I can’t do anything BUT write.
I agree with NotWithoutRage. I write when I have an idea to write about. If I try to force it, it just doesn’t come out very good. And I have seen the same thing in people who write for my website. I can easily tell when they have had an inspiration for an article as compared to when they just decided that they needed to write something. The latter often turns out sub-par.
Obviously, this doesn’t help when you’re on a deadline, such as for school or work or the like. In that case, the best idea is to get it done before the deadline and not put it off until you have little time left.
Go on a journey (even something like taking the bus or train to work instead of driving). Get out and look around a bit. I’m not a writer by profession but I write a little - my best work (that is the stuff that I can re-read now, a year later, without cringing too much) was written on the train when my car was not in use. YMMV.