Conquering Writer’s Block

Lately I’ve been faced with a lot of really open-ended writing prompts and subsequent writer’s block. To help myself, and hopefully other people, I’ve compiled a list of strategies for turning a void of ideas into an overflowing excess of them!

A lot of times, the biggest issue with writer’s block is the inability to start. Saying “just start, then!” is definitely easier said than done.

• Set a timer! In the Writing Center, we write for seven minutes almost every day, and I feel like that’s a pretty good time for me, but pick whatever works for you! I would recommend picking somewhere between five and ten minutes just to get you started, but try to force yourself to write for the whole time you’ve set out. 
• Turn the brightness off on your computer!  Open a google doc, or whatever your preferred writing space is, and then turn down the brightness to zero. Once you can’t see anything, start typing for a dedicated amount of time. Again, I like about seven minutes, but it’s up to you. I get really stuck in writing a “perfect” first sentence, so not being able to see (or delete) what I’m writing leaves me at least without a blank page. It’s usually easier to edit a start than to keep starting over.
• If you can’t figure out what your first sentence should be, but you have an idea of where you want to go, just start in the middle! No one said writing had to be linear. Well, maybe someone did, but I’m telling you now that you don’t have to do it that way! Start where you can, and come back to the beginning when it feels more approachable and you have an idea.

Ok, now that we can start, we need something to write about!  If your prompts are open-ended, like mine, the issue is usually that there’s too many options! What will we choose…

• Narrow it down! Make a list of things you’ve been interested in lately and see if any of them can be applied to your prompt. 
• Take inspiration from the world around you! This can be as simple as picking an object or idea represented in your direct surroundings and writing something, anything, about it, or you can go somewhere new, like a coffee shop. A change of scenery can be really helpful in getting inspiration. Go on a walk! Take pictures of the sky! Look at artwork or a museum! Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, literally. Again, make a list or try to write a few sentences about something, and see if you can apply it to your prompt. 

If your prompt is not open-ended, it can still be really hard to start. Words and ideas aren’t flowing from you like they usually do?

• Make a mind map! Write down all of the things you know about your prompt and literally connect them with lines! Scribble down some notes about why things go together and use these to start writing. Don’t know anything about your topic? Then the first step is research (my favorite)!
• If the words just won’t seem to come to you, write it out using casual language, like you would explain it to a friend, and then come back later and use a… What type of dinosaur has excellent vocabulary? A THESAURUS! (Ok, sorry, that was really bad.) But seriously, let the ideas come first. The fancy words, if you choose to use them, can come later.