Creative Writing: How To Beat Writer's Block - 5 Suggestions

What just happened? You just slammed your face down on the keyboard. Tired? Irritable? Is your mind blank? Looks like someone has WRITER'S BLOCK!! MUAHAHA!!!

*cough* Sorry. So how do you beat writer's block? Whether you have a deadline for a piece of writing that you have to submit, or you just want to write for fun and you're lacking inspiration, here are five suggestions from the quirky mind of Glass-Garden to help you eliminate the ghastly beast known as writer's block.

This might sound corny, but take a walk. I'm not kidding. If you're stuck behind a writing desk for hours on end, your mind will become pudding. The first thing you need to do is TAKE A WALK. Even if it's just down the street and back. Not only will this get the circulation going (thus more oxygen to your brain, thus more ideas), but who knows WHAT you'll see, even on such an ordinary street. Is a new neighbor moving in this week? Is there a house on your street rumored to be haunted?

While you're outside, you might as well go to the center of town and/ or or the most heavily populated place in the area. There are SO MANY people with their own stories waiting to be told, and just observing some of those people may inspire you.

Which brings me to my next suggestion:

GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF THE HOUSE. You might think that I'm being annoying, but hear me out. Go somewhere you've never gone before. Go to a small, ancient town crumbling at the foundation, full of antique shops and archaic diners. Old towns (really old towns) always have either 1) a cool history/ story, 2) Really cool, close-knit communities, and/ or 3) amazing scenery (mountain views, cobblestone streets) and awesome ruins (sunlit stained-glass train stations, secret gardens, etc). What better place to find inspiration?

Fold a piece of paper so it's divided into 3 parts. Fold the paper so you can only see the top section, then draw the top of a person or creature (just a head and shoulders), or have someone else draw it. Then, fold it so you can only see the middle section of the paper. Pass it to someone else and tell them to draw the middle of a person or creature (from the shoulders down to the hips). They CANNOT look at the previously drawn top half. Then, do the same with the bottom, passing it to someone else so draw the legs WITHOUT them looking at the rest of the person/ creature. When they're done, unfold the paper. Whatever person/ creature has been concocted, try to make it into a character. Give it a name, a background, a personality, etc. and see if you can make a story about him/ her/ it.

Homework? I THINK NOT!!! (Though you might need a textbook....) History is FULL of AWESOMENESS. There are so many interesting things that could be researched. You could write a story from the point of view of someone during the Holocaust, and to make it more interesting, you could do it from the point of view of a sympathetic German soldier rather than a victim. You could write a story from the point of view of Cleopatra's assassins. You could write from the point of view of the daughter or son of a famous inventor. Stories written from an unexpected point of view are awesome.

But anyway... it may sound boring, but maybe it's time to do some research. You might be surprised at some things in history that are supremely awesome but are not well-known or famous. Here's a history site. If something sparks your fancy, research it further, because these are only brief summaries of historical events. I've also included a link for the Salem Witch Trials.

Find random pictures online or from magazine ads and make a story from it. Why is that person trying to jump out of a hot air balloon? Why is that girl throwing a necklace onto the tracks of an oncoming train? Give the picture a new history. Here's some pictures that you can use: