How to Avoid and Overcome Writer’s Block

January 14, 2016 Teresa Clark

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Writing is one of the creative arts. A writer uses words to paint beautiful pictures for others to see. Unfortunately, like any other creative process, there can be obstacles. If you are suffering from writer’s block, it doesn’t have to last any longer.

What exactly is writer’s block? If you’re a writer you know that it’s when all of your creativity seems to leak out through a hole in your head. You sit down at the computer or with a pencil and paper, but nothing happens. How can that be?

There are several reasons for writer’s block, and most of them have to do with how we prepare to write:

Tiredness – You sit down to write after a long day at the office or in the evening after you’ve put the kids to bed and you’ve done all of the household chores. The brain gets tired too. When you are exhausted, that’s not the time to try to concentrate and write.
Procrastination – A major deadline looms, but for some reason you just couldn’t get going on the project until the last minute. Some people work well under pressure, but the creative juices can dry up on you.
Getting it right the first time – No one is perfect. Even the greatest writer didn’t start out that way and certainly not with the first draft. The words that you ultimately want will come in time. But if you try to find them at the outset, you won’t get anything down on paper.
Clutter among us – There is something to be said for an environment conducive to writing. A desk full of papers, old coffee cups, and bills doesn’t inspire the next bestseller.
Fear of everything – Fear is a powerful deterrent to creativity. Whether it is fear of failing at writing or fear of success, you can get immobilized to the point where you can’t even write the title of your work.

Now that we know about some of the reasons for writer’s block, it’s time to find out how you can avoid having this nerve-wracking situation happen to you. Here are some tips:

Learn to concentrate – Writing, just like anything else, requires that all of you be present during the creation.
Perfectionism is a writer’s worst enemy – The first time out of the gate, you are writing to get your ideas down. Resist the urge to correct misspellings, grammar mistakes and anything else that would look wrong to an editor.
Write because you love it – When writing becomes a job, the creativity is stunted. Sure, you may write for a living, but the joy of writing keeps you going.

Writer’s block doesn’t have to affect you. If you are experiencing it, find the root cause. If you haven’t yet had the experience, follow these tips to avoid it.