A Blank Page: How to Beat Writer's Block
Jan 12, 1999 -
© Kim Kay
Sometimes, it is necessary to write what we have to write, not what we want to write. We may really want to write fiction but, for economic reasons, must write articles for various magazines. There is nothing wrong with writing purely for profit, as long as it doesn't start to affect your desire to write. If you think that your dislike of your current assignments may be contributing to your writer's block, put them aside and write something you enjoy. Work on a piece you haven't had time for in a while or start something new. It doesn't even have to have a true plot, you can write about what you did over the summer. Whenever you get bogged down with boring writing assignments, don't forget to take some time now and then to do the kind of writing you love. If instead of having trouble thinking of ideas in general, your writer's block is focused on one particular work, you may need to put it aside for a while and come back to it later. Occasionally, the cause of this problem is that you have worked so hard on a piece, it's importance has become exaggerated in your mind. You fear that it cannot possibly live up to your expectations and you can't think of any ideas which are "good enough." Put it aside, remember the first draft does not have to be perfect, and work on something else for a while. When you return to this work, if you still freeze up, it might be the work itself. You may have become bored with your central characters or do not have enough suspense or conflict within your plot. Maybe you paced the story too fast and you ran out of plot twists before the ending. Or worst of all, maybe you have lost interest in your story. Look over what you've written and see if you can determine any problems which might have caused your block. If this is the case, simply fixing the relevant aspect of the story should help you get un-blocked. How do I overcome writer's block? The best way to overcome writer's block is to figure out what is causing it and solve that problem. If you are unable to determine the source of your writer's block, there are several other things you can do to overcome it and jump start your writing. The most obvious method is to force
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