The unfamiliar feeling followed by a creative block
Have you finally convinced yourself to put pen to paper, only to sit down and feel like your mind has hit the reset button, leaving you struggling to remember your own name?
Since we hopefully can rule out dementia, it’s likely that writer’s block has hit you.
When I started on my writing journey, I had plenty of ideas. I wanted to write the next superman story, a story about an amazing kid overcoming insane challenges. Sci-fi, crime, just about every genre you can name – okay, maybe not romance, but I wanted to write almost every genre.
I was ready to let my creativity fly, but ironically enough, when it was time to write, I couldn’t. And the story about the amazing kid overcoming insane challenges didn’t feel like a story anymore.
The cursor in the document kept blinking, it mocked me. It was depressing. It is depressing and if it’s something you are dealing with, I’m sorry.
Let me take you through my journey on how I turned a blank page into 10,000 words in less than a week – and how you can do the same.
What is Writer’s Block and Why It Happens: The meaning of the creative block
If you’re just starting out, that sudden feeling of being stuck can be unsettling.
It’s clumpy, scary, and you don’t feel like you.
I remember freaking out the first time I experienced it too. It feels like you lose a part of yourself, like something just isn’t right as you sit there staring at a blank document – right?
But here’s the thing: it’s totally normal.
I remember after a few rounds of hyperventilating and a trip outside, it dawned on me. I still remember my story and I realized:
It’s only temporary.
As you probably have realized, everything comes back to you once you step away from the document.
And that’s what the writer’s block is – a temporary block that occurs whenever you must perform – whenever you sit down to put ideas into words, then the creative block arrives.
Why writer’s block is more than just a writing block
Writer’s block arrives because your mind doesn’t trust you.
“Hey brain, I’m going to put this out.”
This is what you try to tell it, but it isn’t going to let you. It’s not letting you, no matter how much you plead with it.
Kinda sad, isn’t it?
At the beginning of your writing journey, there’s usually a lot of skepticism. Your friends, your family, and just about every person who tell you are going to be a writer, will doubt you. But it’s nothing compared to the doubt of your brain.
And while the others have words, your brain has the control.
It has spent hours, days, maybe even weeks nursing an idea inside your head and it certainly isn’t going to let you destroy it so easily.
Because what if you can’t tell the story in a way that’ll satisfy it? What if your words aren’t good enough? Suddenly a lot of questions start to pop up and it just shuts down everything.
It seems highly unproductive, doesn’t it?
I called it out multiple times when I started and got absolutely nowhere until the day when I realized it what really just trying to protect me.
From creative block to productivity: How I beat the feeling
I have always had a flying creativity, so can you image my hyperventilating ass when I suddenly couldn’t write anything?
Starring at a blank piece of paper for hours, but unable to do anything. It seemed the story I so perfectly had prepared inside my mind had decided to stay there.
During my early years, this lack of action was mostly because of procrastination.
But this was different.
With procrastination, it was always a feeling or a stream of thoughts, but this time it was nothing. It was nice and quiet, and I just couldn’t write anything.
And frustratingly enough, whenever I closed my computer and went outside, everything came right back, just screaming at me: “Why aren’t you putting this down to paper.”
It took a few trips before I grew tired of it and just forced myself to stare at the screen until something happened. The cursor stood still at first, but eventually the boredom spilled out a few words.
It was chaotic at the start, but quickly I noticed how the unstructured words turned into the story I, so beautifully, had prepared in mind.
It was a revelation and suddenly the train moved at lightning speed.
This was during my short story writing period and I noticed how it always appeared at the start. It was never when things moved great or when the main character was hanging by a cliff, or when the climax sent meteors flying across the universe.
It was always at the start of it and it helped me discover the weakness of our brain’s failsafe.
Our brains are so set in its ways to protect the idea that once you start working on something.
Anything.
Then it’ll slowly open up and let you access the idea again.
Effective tips to overcome writer’s block
But how exactly do you overcome the block that’s currently stopping your creativity and making you feel like an imposter?
It’s quite simple.
You let go.
The block usually happens because there’s some internal expectations holding you back. You expect to write a perfect story with an amazing plot and characters that’ll shrine as though they were the sun, but as a beginner, you don’t know if your skill is up to the task.
Or rather your brain doesn’t.
And that’s why you need to let the idea go and accept whatever words come to you.
“But Jack, I can’t. I have to write this story.”
Yes, and you will.
But as an aspiring writer you can’t limit your thinking. You can expect yourself to be able to write something perfect, it’s just making everything harder for yourself.
You need to accept that you might produce a couple of pages of swerving plot and character going a direction you didn’t initially plan for, until you suddenly are back on track.
I discovered that as a new writer, what made me deal with the writer’s block was the fact I tried to force my writing into a box I believe should fit in.
Kinda like when you, as a kid, tried to force the triangle into the round hole.
It didn’t match and I realized by imposing some writing expectation on myself made all the insecurities flare up and I was unable to produce. Until I decided to just say: “Screw it” and let the words decide the direction instead of my mind.
How an outline could trigger writer’s block
If you are an aspiring writer, then I think it’s safe to guess you’re using some sort of uses outline.
I did and I know millions of others do too.
But you need to be careful.
Sure, it’s a wonderful tool to start your writing, it can lead to a tunnel vision where you only can see your idea through the perfect outline you have built for it.
This is great if you want to make sure the message is streamlined, but can be a nightmare if you’re struggling to get start and can be a reason why writer’s block has its claws in you.
So, I recommend you try to write without the outline or if you have your mind set on writing with an outline, then use it as a guide.
Write out small sections of 100-150 words and use them as starting points. It doesn’t have to the start of the story. It can be the middle or ending, it just needs to be something.
Because once you have something, even if it’s in a completely different direction, then it’ll be easier to build on and soon you’ll have your memory back and can get true story back on the road.
A writer’s help to overcome the writer’s block
As an aspiring writer I wanted to write a crime story for my first short story. I had no idea how to write crime nor was it a genre that appealed very much with me.
But because I was new, I wanted to challenge myself. I sat down to write, had no idea where to start and ended up creating an outline, but it didn’t do me any favors.
I still struggled to get some words down, and to be honest, the ones I did, sucked.
But fast forward a couple of weeks and I finished the short story with 20,000 words.
A massive step up if you ask me, from blank page to finished draft – it was a miracle.
But how?
Because the outline didn’t work, I decided to just let my mind flow.
If you’re anything like me and love experimenting with your writing, I highly recommend giving it a try. However, I understand that as an aspiring writer, diving into new genres can feel challenging. That’s why I’ve written a blog post specifically about how to navigate those challenges and how you make the most of writing in unfamiliar genres.
It had helped me before, whenever I felt stuck, I just did something, so why wouldn’t it work here?
And it worked, massively.
It helped me beat the creative block, made me more productive, and helped me write a story that was more detailed than I initially had planned for it to be.
So, sure going on a detour might seem like a strange thing to do, but take it from someone who once did. When you are a new writer, sometimes the detours are what you need to arrive at the correct road and to defeat the writer’s block.
A future conquering writer’s block
The writer’s block is a nasty piece of work.
It’ll do everything in its power to get its claws onto you, and once it does, it’ll feel like It’ll never let you go.
But a feeling this evil, it must be the work of someone else – right?
Luckily, it’s not.
Writer’s block is essentially your own brain trying to protect you from the embarrassment of not being able to tell your idea the perfect way.
And instead of questioning every thought or idea that comes to your mind, accept them. Let them lead you onto the track of your original the idea.
It sucks, but if you just let the words fly, even if they seem wrong, then you’ll quickly see that you are on the way to an amazing novel.
And if this doesn’t work with you, then take some time to write 100-150 words that you can use for a starting point. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be enough to get you starting.
So, if you’re dealing with writer’s block don’t worry. It’s just your mind trying to save you from embarrassment. Take a breath, let the words flow without restrictions and you’ll see it’s all in your head.
That’s a wrap for you today.
Is writer’s block something you’re dealing with daily or how much does it affect you? Share your struggles and ways you have used to defeat it in the comments or send me an email. I’d love to know your story.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack