Tips for Beating Writer's Block

We've all been there: you find yourself staring at a blank page or screen trying to come up with ideas for your latest project, getting more and more frustrated because nothing good enough is spring to mind.

Writer's block can come on because of stress, outside distractions or a fear of failure, but sometimes it strikes for no obvious reason and always seems to be at the worst possible time.

Below I'm sharing some of my tips for getting your creative juices flowing again.







These activities probably won't result in a big writing epiphany, but they're designed to get you to play and experiment with ideas, which should put you in a more creative frame of mind.

1) Get a piece of paper and fold it in half long ways. On one side right a word and on the other word right a word that means the opposite- for example light and dark, rich and poor, happy and sad. Underneath one of the words write some simple sentences about what the word means to you or how it makes you feel. Then turn it over. Keep the paper folded so you can't see what's on the other side. Then do the same for the second word. After that, unfold the paper and read everything line by line from right to left. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense, but sometimes it turns out to be the start of an interesting poem.

2) Instead of writing at your desk get outside and surround yourself with nature. Sit down on the grass and write about everything around you-the sights, the smells, the sounds, etc.

3) Type a random word such as "peace" or "happiness" into an image search engine or Pinterest and look for interesting pieces of art or photos, then try to describe the artwork in your own words or in the form of a poem.

4) Look at yourself in the mirror and experiment with different facial movements. Scowl like a character scorned. Smile like your biggest dream has just come true. Be sure to notice the different way light reflects in your eyes, the way you're eyebrows and eyelids move, how your mouth is shaped, the way your tongue and teeth feel in your mouth, how your neck stretches and the way your hair is laying. All of these can spark an astounding inspiration. You could even use make up or style your hair to get into the role of a character. Then sit down and write something about how you feel as that character.

5) Record any interesting dreams that you have and then read through them when you're stuck for ideas. A lot of famous novels were inspired by dreams, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dreams come from your subconscious mind so they are based on archetypes or common images that represent things to many people throughout history. One example of an archetype that you might dream about would be the wise old man (eg. your favourite teacher) and you will find this often in works of fiction eg. Dumbledore in Harry Potter and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Try experimenting with common archetypes by twisting them on their head eg. what if the wise mentor was actually a child? Or they turned out to be a fool who led the hero astray?

6) Try going to an art gallery or watch a play or dance show. Art, music, photography, dance, drama and crafts can all be a source of inspiration.


Have you ever suffered from writer's block? What are your favourite ways to get in touch with your creativity?