“The scariest moment is always just before you start writing. After that, things can only get better,” said Stephen King referring to the process of starting to write. If someone is struggling and having a hard time when starting to write, it can be very helpful to remember to just start. This is because once you are able to do that, you’ve managed to get through the “scariest” part.
There are many different reasons a writer may experience writer’s block. According to, “How to Overcome Writer’s Block: 14 Tricks That Work,” by Jeff Goins, some of these include: perfectionism, fear, and timing. A writer can be trying to get the perfect idea in their head the first time around and may not be able to, so in turn, they never even begin writing (this is often popular during tests such as finals).
Many writers struggle with being afraid, especially when it comes to putting their ideas and sometimes even themselves out there for everyone in the general public to see and criticize. Fear is just one of many major reasons why some potential writers never actually become as widely known as they could’ve been.
In terms of timing, it can simply be that it is not the right time for a writer’s idea to be published; the writer’s ideas may simply need more time before actually being able to be written down and potentially stemming into something greater.
There are many different ways to overcome writer’s block. Some of these include: going out for a walk, getting rid of distractions, doing an activity that gets the blood flowing (such as jogging or exercising), playing with different objects (such as legos, a fidget spinner, or a stress ball), changing the environment in which you’ll potentially be writing, reading a book, free-writing (writing for about 2 minutes about anything without stopping), listening to music (such as classical, jazz, or other types of music), brewing and drinking some coffee, creating a daily ritual/routine, spending some time with someone who makes you feel good and happy, calling an old friend (this could bring back memories), looking at pictures and photographs, brainstorming ideas in the form of bullet points, and also reading some inspiring quotes can perhaps be another good way to help someone experiencing writer’s block get started on writing.
If writer’s block is experienced during a writing test, it is not mandatory that the title or introductory paragraph are written first; any body paragraph can be written first to later on help determine what to write for an introductory paragraph or the title of a writing piece.
According to 11th grade journalism teacher, Mr. Fallon, “Writer’s block happens a lot. I would tell my students to write for ten minutes to get them in the motion of writing. Staring at a blank page doesn’t do anything. While this process of continuously writing is going, things would start to flow that way and ideas start to come up. After they write, they’ll come up with some sort of idea. One way to overcome writer’s block is to just write.”
Malcolm Seaton, a junior creative writing student and journalist, said “I would just go outside and read something that I like, like an album. One that I like is Frank Ocean’s. A lot of poetry also helps, too. One way to overcome writer’s block is to just write whatever comes to your mind even if you might think it won’t work out; just try it anyways.”
There are many more ways including tips, tricks, and methods as to how writer’s block can be overcome. Different methods can work differently depending on different person. What may work very well for one person may not work at all for another. To find out what does and doesn’t work for someone, they should go through the normal phase of trial and error, trying out different new things, and self-explore themselves to see what works best for them when it comes to overcoming writer’s block.
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