Caitlin

Blog 90: Help, I’m Stuck With Writer’s Block!

October 29, 2019

I have recently discovered that ‘Writer’s Block’ is a thing, and it is seriously annoying. For the last couple of months I have found writing – anything, difficult. I still have lots of new ideas going round in my brain, but trying to convert those ideas into words has been virtually impossible. I’m sure writer’s block is different for everyone, but I know exactly what my kind of writer’s block looks like…

It starts with a struggle to get chapters to follow on from each other and progresses into a struggle to get paragraphs to flow. I can step away from the computer and go to bed at night and I can picture scenes perfectly in my mind, but when I go to write then down I just can’t seem to find the right words. It spirals quickly into a sort of dread/fatigue of writing. I end up lacking the motivation to write. The guilt is even worse. I know I have people relying on me, relying on my writing. So every time I don’t write, I feel awful, which in turn makes writing anything a whole lot harder, since I’ve often found that I write my best stuff when I’m in a positive frame of mind.

So, how do I cure my writer’s block? I’m not entirely sure yet, but I’m writing this blog so that’s a good sign. I’m going to try a few things and see if anything helps, other than waiting it out/ forcing myself to write. I’m going to try exercising regularly, reading a book I have already enjoyed reading before, and setting myself bite-sized target wordcounts. I will let you know how I get on and what works in a future blog…