What do you do when you have writers block?

1. 74

   guy6336posted 11 years ago

   What do you do when you have writers block?

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2. 60

   buddinglinguistposted 11 years ago

   I take a break, relax, and come back a few minutes or even an hour later. I'm usually working on more than one hub at a time, so I'll work on another one if I lose my train of thought.

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3. 79

   Kennedi Brownposted 11 years ago

   I pull a document or sheet of paper and just start typing (writing). Anything, really. It doesn't have to be literary. Stuff like:
   
   I really wish I could think  of how to get out of this mess. I just don't know how to say _____ or get _____ to the part where he ________. Maybe the problem is that I...
   
   Sure, it's probably what's going through my head, but for some reason just typing whatever's going through my mind and sort of having a text based conversation with myself about being stuck eventually leads me to the answer. Staring at the ceiling and meditating helps, too. Anything that relaxes the tension that writer's block causes does.

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4. 75

   Cardiaposted 11 years ago

   I normally take a break. Sometimes it's best if you get up from the thing that is causing your frustration. I go and get a snack to eat, or I do a little reading or I watch some TV. This often helps with inspiration!

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5. 79

   Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years ago

   If I'm sitting down to write a new article, and I can't come up with a topic, I go to a list of topics I've already thought of and written down in less empty-headed times. I always find something on that list that I want to write about.
   If I'm writing and can't seem to put words together or keep my train of thought, I get away from the computer. Usually a good bit of exercise helps, or just taking a short walk.

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6. 66

   Clive Donegalposted 11 years ago

   I have published under about a half-dozen names for about 25 years. I never have experienced writer's block. More commonly, I don't  have time to write everything I want to.
   When I have taught creative writing, a version of one of the techniques that I used was suggested here. I would ask students to write for three or four minutes without stopping. If they couldn't think of anything to say, they wrote, "I can't think of anything to say." At the end of the time, I asked them to look over what they wrote to see whether a thought was forming, then repeated the process two or three times. Almost invariably, they had discovered what they wanted to write by the third or fourth time.
   I also look through the thousands of images I have shot around the world. That led to my Delhi traffic piece last week. And I keep a list of ideas that I want to explore as they occur to me.

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7. 61

   ISeeAllposted 11 years ago

   Personally I get away from the stress and go do something that will take my mind off matter in hand. I do something outdoors, it takes stress away. Fishing is a great way to relieve stress. I do not care if I catch a single fish, just being out there with nature and being in a calm environment really helps. This works for me, but I make no promises for others, each person is different.

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