Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

You don’t have to be a writer to suffer from writer’s block. Some of my chattiest, smartest friends get flummoxed when it comes time to put thoughts on paper. If that sounds familiar, welcome to the club. Unblocking the writer inside can require you to shift gears, try a new perspective, and bench your internal critic until your creative side gets its say.

Here are a few of my tips for overcoming writer’s block.

Speed Write. Forget you are trying to say something important and simply start writing. Write half a page. Read it top to bottom. Find and circle one sentence that makes sense. Now use it as a jumping off place for your writing.

Talk It Out. You know your topic. Give voice to it by talking out loud and recording it on your computer or smartphone. Start with three basic questions. End by answering the question ‘so, why is this important?’ Talk for two minutes and then listen to your words and the way you explain your topic. You should have a start.

Create a Word Web. Good writing flows, it jumps from section to section, it connects ideas. You can do the same by making a word web. Start with a piece of paper. Write a keyword in the center, circle it. Use free association to come up with more words. Don’t worry if they relate to each other. Add your new words in the open spaces around the paper, and circle them. Draw lines to connect like ideas. Fill the page. Now use your word web to kickstart your writing.

Be a Grandparent to the Problem. A common reason for writer’s block is overcomplexity. There is just too much information to work with. Slow down. Simplify things. Be a grandparent to your topic. Picture yourself explaining it to a bright 10 year old child. Use your best grandparent voice, slow and steady. It works for me!

Go Room by Room. Here’s a visual to help you overcome writer’s block. Picture yourself welcoming an old friend to your new house. You open the door, offer her a tour, but before you go anywhere you give a preview, mentioning each room by name and something interesting about it. Conclude your preview with a short statement about what the house means to you. Sound easy? Good. You just mapped out a solid introductory paragraph, subtopics list, and theme. Now do that with your topic, starting with welcoming your reader, previewing your ‘tour,’ and conclude with a personal statement about why this matters to you.

Learn from the Best. The writer Anne Lamont tells a wonderful story about tackling a big project that sounds a lot like how to overcome writer’s block. “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report written on birds that he’d had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books about birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

Bird by bird. Room by room. The next time you are stymied by writer’s block, remember my tips to help you get to the story you are trying to tell. Happy writing!