But what if you’re stuck? What if the ideas refuse to come? What if you are dug in quite firmly behind the writer’s block**? Well there’s no easy answer, but I’m going to give some suggestions that will hopefully get you moving again.
First look at your life. Are things crazy? Are you stressed? Is writing starting to feel more like a chore then a joy? Then maybe what you need a break from writing. Everyone, even people who love their jobs to death, take vacations and have time off, why shouldn’t writers too? Give you self a week or two, maybe even a month and let it be OK that you aren’t writing. Don’t make yourself feel bad because you’re not writing. That isn’t to say you should ignore a desire to write coming over you, please embrace it. It just likely means you didn’t need as long a break as you thought you did. That’s fine, better to err on the side of caution.
Second – look at your story (if you have one), think about what you’ve written – Have you accidentally written yourself into a corner? Is it taking a different direction then you planned and you don’t like it? Then the time may have come for you to rethink what you're writing. It doesn’t need to be major overhaul, but just try to find the point at which the story limited itself or changed from what you wanted (get a smart friend's advice and see if they can help). It could also be the opposite and you haven't given yourself enough to work with. If that's the case try introducing new characters, new situations or switching to a new point of view. There is also the possibility that your story isn’t going any where and you can’t fix it. Then you need to move on to a new project. This all having been said I caution that you probably need to give yourself at least a few days distance from the project to let it cool before attacking with a weed whacker or scraping it all together.
What if though, you’re staring at that blank first page and you still don’t have an idea what to write? Well then I suggested you just start writing! Write down whatever comes into your head as the next word. Write based on prompts. Ask a friend to give you the first line of a story. Use a plot generator. Try writing with a partner or in an unfamiliar genre or taking a walk outside, nature and people are full of ideas for the taking. Any of these can make you excited about writing again, but just get some words down on paper, even if they suck. While you might not end up with the best idea ever, it might give an idea for a better story or help you get over your fear of the blank page. But if none of these suggestions work you might want to give yourself a break. I suspect you’re putting yourself under too much pressure.
In the end writer’s block is never easy to deal with, but don’t let yourself quit. Writer’s block is an obstacle to a successful story, not a dead end.
** Technically having writer's block is when your stuck in a manuscript, not when you're stuck for a story idea.
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