Some writers block tips that have worked for me that no one asked for
make a mood board 🖼️
I’m a firm believer that having visuals when you’re writing is a total game changer especially when you’re having a writers block
brainstorm/storyboard
My notes app is chalked full of random dialogue and notes for each of my fics! Whenever I got an idea and I’m on the go, I make a note of it
(You can also write down your thoughts and ideas in a notebook)
Take a walk
Stepping away from the laptop and taking a walk or even just sitting outside to clear your mind really helps!
This is when I almost always start to picture how I want a scene to play out in my head
Take a shower
my best dialogue happens in the shower and I don’t know why this happens, but it does 😆
Phone a friend or another writer
Sometimes it helps to just have another person whether that is a friend or a fellow writer help you organize your thoughts and ideas! Whenever I’m feeling stuck I have moots on speed dial to help me work out the kinks!
read! read! read!
Whether you’re reading your own fics, a book, etc, reading helps so much when I’m in a writing slump or block
Optional : smoke some ouid 🍃
Most important of all, WRITE! Even if it’s just a few words, or scrambled ideas, write it all down and come back to it later!
to all the people who are writing/want to be, i had been dealing with a small case of writers block, and i found the perfect piece of advice from a 13 year old youtube video.
"Allow yourself to write garbage."
I genuinely was staring at my keyboard, unable to put word to page for weeks, until I just put on a song i've been loving recently and said "okay, for the next three minutes, I just have to write something, even if it sucks."
And it worked. I added 1700 words in one night after adding jackshit for the last two weeks - and! i came up with a device that I can use later for an angsty part of my chapter.
so, allow your writing to be shit if you're stuck, cause you can always fix it later. make it exist first, then make it better.
good luck and happy writing! and if you were curious, the song was "violence" by blink-182
You all know me as an artist, but my first love will always be writing. And writer’s block is REAL.
So I thought I’d throw out a few of my moderately unusual writer’s block busters to help my fellow authors.
Of course, the most common “answers” to writer’s block are:
Just keep writing, even if you don’t want to. (Something is better than nothing.)
Write now, edit later. (Leave your perfectionism at the door.)
Find what makes you most creative. (Play music, write during the same time of day, find good snacks, write in the right setting, and so on).
These are definitely helpful tips—things you 100% want to do whether you have writer’s block or not, but they’re not much use against more stubborn forms of creative constipation.
That’s where my three failsafe fix-its come in. They have always worked for me, no matter the situation.
1. Change your writing method.
Story time! I haven’t been able to write for personal prodjects on a computer for four years—about as long as I’ve been writing and editing for my career. I associate my computer with business—even now that I’m between jobs.
My creativity freezes up whenever I try to work on one of my stories, and I get really distracted. Eventually I end up down a rabbit hole looking up limnic eruptions or different types of crocodiles, having only written a paragraph of a completely unrelated story.
I swapped to hand-writing stuff just after my son was born, and that worked for a long time. I filled several notebooks with some great content (that will eventually be ready for you to read). But then my kid started walking, and I became his favorite chair.
If I have a pen, my kid wants it. And he won’t take a decoy pen. He specifically wants the pen in my hand, so writing when he’s awake is kind of out of the question. (I can only draw when he’s awake because I can balance my tablet on the back of our sofa.) Plus, those of you with munchkins know that you’re generally doing other responsible adult things when the kiddo is asleep, making writing then rather difficult.
I learned I can get a lot of writing done on my phone in the Apple Notes app. It sure beats doom-scrolling Tumblr and is a vast improvement over my retro minesweeper game when I’m spending some quality time in the bathroom. It’s also something I can write with when standing up, sitting on the couch, or hiding behind the baby gate on our stairs.
Can’t get the words out on Google Docs? Switch to Microsoft Word. Getting distracted on your computer? Handwrite your story—in a notebook or even on colorful construction paper. Don’t be afraid to experiment, even across the same story.
2. Get a second opinion.
I have a character floating around my WIPs who’s an absolute blast to write (I can unleash my full punning arsenal), but he’s also an ENFP, meaning we see the world in completely different ways. I often find myself stuck on how he would get out of the really nutty situations he often gets himself into. Thankfully, my ESFJ husband has really strong Extroverted Intuition (an ENFP’s dominant Jungian function), so I can often turn to him and ask, “What would be the dumbest could-work way you’d fix this problem?”
Asking for a second opinion is surprisingly low on most writer’s block fix-it lists, but it is by far one of the most helpful. I’ve been my mom’s developmental story consultant since I could read, and it’s been a great way for her to really churn out the novels. (It’s also a great motivation to finish your story because at least one person will be wanting to read it when you’re done.)
Even if you don’t take someone’s advice, it might still spark something that’ll propel your story forward.
3. Change your story’s direction.
Adapted from The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Writing, in many ways, is a lot like digging a silver mine. As you rummage around your own head for precious nuggets (those really impactful scenes readers remember forever), you’re setting up a sturdy narrative shaft, using exposition and rising action to fortify walls so your story doesn’t collapse on itself.
Experienced miners know when a shaft isn’t structurally sound. They won’t willingly enter or work on a mine that could cave in on them, gauging the safety of the mine through small clues—clues their demanding boss is completely blind to.
Your creative subconscious is a miner, and you, its employer. While not always, writer’s block could be an early sign that your story is about to collapse. Perhaps you’ve accidentally let a plot hole grow too large to fill with easy edits, or maybe the way you’re taking your story will fall flat, leaving you and your readers unsatisfied. Sure, you can force your creative subconscious to continue, but you’ll end up with a lot of unusable content in the end.
If you think you’re in a mine shaft writer’s block scenario, go back several plot points and start writing in another direction. If that doesn’t work, go back a few more plot points. While doing so may temporarily upset the plans you had for the novel, it will let you continue writing in peace and produce a better finished product.
I'm going through severe writers block rn so I thought I'd drop a tip
WRITE
Trust me best way to get through writers block is to write.
What you may ask?
Anything. If you cant write ur story comic poem or whatever just take a step back. Look at you characters and write them doing anything. Think of it as fanfic for your book kind of. Sit and just write whatever comes to your mind. By the time you're done the writing juices are flowing and you'll probably be able to continue your main book.
So ur still working with the same characters so its still progress towards your book so your not stuck with loads of half finished progress.
I mean anything btw write the characters getting macdonalds or fighting dragons or having a dance off. It doesn't matter as long its something you can write quickly jn the moment. They dont have to be long too most of mine are under 1k.
hi! i'm a new writer and i love all your works so much ahhhh. how do you come up with all these wonderful ideas? i suffer quite heavily from writer's block, so i have a lot of trouble conveying and expanding upon what i want to write. any tips?
Ah, thank you for loving my work!!<3
I get my ideas from all over - anything and everything. If you even have a fraction of an idea, always write it down somewhere! Always. Try to log your dreams and draw inspiration from them also.
Tips for Writer’s Block:
(disclaimer; these are all my opinion, I am no expert)
There are two main tips for writer’s block, that being either force yourself to write or don’t write until it comes to you. Personally, I have some days where I force myself and some days I wait. It depends on the story that I’m working on. Just play it by ear. If you think you can force words out, do it, if you don’t think you can, don’t write.
Other tips:
Start getting your thoughts flowing in the shower or bath, 60% of my writer’s block gets cleared when I’m in water.
Write ahead of where you’re stuck at - or clarify something from before the spot you’re stuck in.
Be sure you are story boarding and outlining so you know what has to happen next - this is key to expanding on your thoughts (this could be a whole separate post so if you want to know more about this, let me know).
Work on more character development - fill out character sheets or just write your characters backgrounds.
Write now but edit in details later. Sometimes, I leave out parts of a chapter knowing that they will be easier to edit in once I’m editing and I can be immersed better.
Have an end game in sight - do not just write without at least a general idea of how the story will end. Not everything needs to be set in stone, but you need to at least know where you’re going to be able to get there.
Talk about it to yourself out loud - or to a friend you trust.
Just write if you can. Let it be messy, let it be ugly. The important thing is to get your ideas out there and you can always edit later! Once you have your ideas down, it’s so much easier to go somewhere with them.
Look at pictures or listen to music that fits the theme of the story. Pinterest is a great place to find random pictures to save that can help inspire you to write.
Take a break if you need to. Regardless of how much you feel pressured to finish something or such, just take your time. If you need a break, take a break because your writing will be even better if you’re at your best. You’re a writer, not a slave!
That’s all for now, if you guys have any more questions about my opinions on any part of the writing process, feel free to ask away! Love you all so much!
To get rid of your writers block I do something that always helps me. 1. Just take notes what or who will appear/ happen 2. Why are ppl acting the way they are, what motivates them? 3. Maybe read what you write before again And then sometimes I know what I wanna write based on my notes and stuff. But if I dont have an idea to write 1. I read stories from people I like to inspire me 2. Or really just take a break for however long it takes to get it off your mind, and look back on it a bit later ❤
the notes i do even when i don't have a block! super useful and easy to come back to and just start off from that! my fave technique for writing as well as writing little scenes i want in the chapter😇
reading as well, maybe that's what i need to do, read more. i've been so bad with keeping up with fics it's embarrassing actually 👉👈😞
Writer's block sucks, but it’s not impossible to get over! Here are my five tips on overcoming writer block. I got myself deep into the trenches of writer's ...
Let's talk about the worst thing ever to exist: WRITERS BLOCK! Here are my 5 tips on how to overcome writer's block!
Hi, I hope Uni is treating you well. I was wondering if you could give me any pointers on writers block at all? I just can't find the motivation to write anymore. The creativity is there but once I start something I trash it cause I'm not feelin it.
Hello! Thank you for the well wishes! Aaah writer’s block… i’m sorry you’re suffering from it right now. I believe that every writer suffers from writer’s block a little bit different, because it’s different stuff holding them back. That being said I don’t really have a cure-all pointer for you. I’ll let you in on a little secret, the stuff that I’ve been posting for Final Fantasy XV is the first time I’ve written in a long time, like 4 years long time. I think what helped me get out of that rut that I found myself in was to find something that I was passionate in, and talked to my friends about regularly, so I could share my ideas. That sort of helped me get the creative juices flowing, and increased my desire to put them down in to words, then turn around and share what I wrote with friends that I’m comfortable sharing what I’ve written before I post it. Of course that’s a tip for if you’re writing for a fandom.
If you’re trying to just write stuff in general, I found it helpful to put myself in situations where I could be alone with my thoughts, I also kept a diary of sorts, where I would just jot down a few things that happened that day, or REALLY let a rant out if I was feelin’ it. That helped to make writing more of a regular habit. Reading helped as well, as a way to subconsciously study the art, even if you’re not putting it in to practice at the time.
I hope this helped! I would probably be able to give more accurate advice tailored to your needs if I knew more of how you were feeling. If you ever need more tips or want to talk about it more, feel free to message me!
