Dealing With Writer's Block
I found myself sitting in front of the computer, thinking "I should really write a post". But... I couldn't do it, the word did not come out and my mind was thinking in the same patterns again and again. I experienced what people call "writer's block", I just had no idea what I should write about. Then an awesome idea came to my head: "I should write a post about writer's block!", that way I kill two birds with one stone!
We all deal with writer's block or creative block, this is frustrating, you try to write but the words won't come out. You try to think but the brain is stuck in the same loop. It is known that many famous writers deal with it too: George R. R. Martin, Stephen King and Harper Lee are just a few examples of people who faced it.
Whether you write stories, poems, articles, music or even jokes, I believe that you will probably face this problem at some point. But like any problem, the first step is to acknowledge that something is wrong, only then you can find ways to solve it.
The Topic
Maybe this is the most important rule of them all, write about what you find interesting!
If you are not feeling connected to the topic you won't enjoy writing about it, you won't have the motivation to sit and get the result you want for your post.
Try to remember how you felt in class, the teacher is talking about boring stuff you don't care about and you find yourself working hard in order to learn and memorize all those stuff. Usually, when I make a post I also do some research, I found myself reading stuff that does not interest me. It would take time and sometimes at the end I would give up and find something better to write about. Save yourself the trouble and write only about stuff that interests you!
Remeber! Our greatest source of motivation is our curiosity!
It's amazing what we can do and how much we can learn and write when something fascinates us.
Motivation
Motivation takes a huge part in everything we do and if we don't have the minimal motivation to do something we just won't do it. Then I would simply suggest to remind yourself what you write for, what is your goal?
Is it to have a successful blog? Is it to create quality content? Maybe you just want to reach people and make them think?
By having a clear goal or a vision you allow yourself to connect into your inner motivation. Once you are connected to your inner motivation you shouldn't think "I have to make a post" anymore, rather "I want to make a post". But unfortunately motivation won't last forever, that's why you have to keep reminding yourself every day what you write for!
What if you don't have any goal? Make one :)
Distractions
We all been in his place, we start working on our post and a few minutes later we check our phone, we go back to the post and a few minutes later we are on facebook again. Then we get hungry and we go to eat something and "oh I forgot about this thing I was supposed to do!". By now few hours probably passed already and you tell yourself that you won't have enough time to write the post.
I won't lie, I been there too... but the solution I found for myself is really easy. Instead of fighting your urge for pleasure and resist the distractions, all you have to do is get away from all distractions for a while!
Schedule a time which you decide to dedicate only for writing and make sure you have one or two free hours (or whatever). Eat and do all things you need to do before you start writing. Turn off your phone, the internet and any technology that might distract you. Play some nice music that will help you focus and have your productive time with no interruptions.
Stress
Sometimes what's blocking us from writing is not our lack of motivation or interest, but simply stress. In other words, maybe something else is bothering and making it harder to think clearly. This is important not only when you want to write but also for life in general to have awareness of the stuff that stresses you and interrupts your productivity.
But I found out another solution to this problem which may lift both the "block" and the stress. The solution is writing! yes... yes... I know we are here because we have problems with writing.
Let me explain, I am not speaking about just writing but writing about your problems and whats bothering you. Simply "free write" what you think and feel, that way you will both lift from your mind some thoughts which you been repressing and also analyze your life which can bring a solution which you could not see before. Oh, and of course, you are writing again!
Spark Creativity
If we are stuck with the same thought pattern it's only logical we will eventually gonna come up with the same results. As my favourite quotes by Einstein says "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them".
Then sometimes you will have to give your mind a little push and spark its creativity. Basically, do anything to get out of your "normal" pattern. Go for a walk or a run, see a different landscape or basically just do anything a little different just to change the direction of your thinking. By seeing and doing different stuff you let your mind go into different thought direction which can spark your creativity and give you writing ideas, whether if it happens that moment or later.
Another thing I found helpful for creativity is "inspiration". By reading an interesting book or a blog you can be inspired and find your mind flowing with ideas. By reading you are allowing your mind to reach another's people ideas which are different than your own and force your mind into a certain direction.
Give Yourself Permission
This is a very useful video I found about "Writer's Block" that I want to share with you:
Hah! 😱 first mention that i was scared by the picture!
If you know "The Last Of Us" that's a infection stadium called "Clicker" maybe that's also a good metapher for the "blocked" stadium, because they are blind..
Surprisingly i had today a mild blocked stadium. I noticed that on my way home in the train where i often write first drafts.. but today.. nothing combined with fatigue i was not able to write something. But in my mind i knew i'll write in the evening and will get a idea.
My best try is to read, research on favorite pages in cryptospace i get almost each time a new idea. Today it was about Trueflip, because they announced something new and exciting and i'm personally involved. I think a main reason is if you are not in your game because you are busy with things you cannot or want not write about. It needs always inspiration and i think reading and think in solitude works for me. But what i found out, also physical excercises are great tool to pumping blood through your brain and accelerate thinking.. it's a wonder our body!
Thank you for the great post!
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Thank you for a great comment!
That should be the first comment people see :)
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Humans are natural creators - that's what we're good at. Sometimes it just takes a little 'hairspray on the creative flame' to fire it up within us.
Everyone is a creative being and I wrote about this when I first came to steemit a few months ago: Your Brain Has an Appetite - Starve It & Feed It note: it's well beyond 3 months old so please do not upvote (your vote goes back into the 'pool')
Sometimes we are overstimulating our brain and coupled with unhealthy diet and lack of sleep - can be resistance to our creative wells. It's important to feed our brain what it wants and also what it needs.
I really am glad we crossed paths in the chat @paps, I'm truly enjoying your content. Remarkable work. A++ for formatting and far better than some "power users" here. It is refreshing, thanks!
disclaimer: No bull, just thoughts 😉
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Thank you so much buddy!
I checked your post from a few months ago, I can see we have a very similar way of thinking :)
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My pleasure. Thanks for the refreshing material and kudos for writing so well in your 3rd language..Wow! That's quite impressive.
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Haha well, maybe it's my third language but English is really everywhere. If you compare all the information we absorb I'm sure that most of it is English.
I also know Russian but since I don't have any interaction with the language except speaking, I cant read or write.
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Leon, Just Brilliant. Upped !!!
Needless to say, we all encounter these issues, perhaps everyday...but I believe that to counter these issues and such situations, we can/should divert our focus on being more productive and more creative, which will engage us on the creative side and help/assist/prompt us to be more productive in Qualitative writing!!!
Cheers!!!
(Distractions...hmmmmm....nail them!!! man....nail them!!! :) LOL)
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Haha :)
Thank you so much Amit for the constant support! :)
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@resteem1
@originalworks
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The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @paps to be original material and upvoted(2%) it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
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I can relate to this post because i'm a filmmaker .
Working on a short film these days !
Thanks for sharing :)
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Thank you for commenting :)
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This gem of a post was discovered by the OCD Team!
Reply to this comment if you accept, and are willing to let us share your gem of a post! By accepting this, you have a chance to receive extra rewards and one of your photos in this article may be used in our compilation post!
You can follow @ocd – learn more about the project and see other Gems! We strive for transparency.
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Thank you! :D
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@minnowpondred has voted on behalf of @minnowpond.
If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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Nice. Upvoted
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Good ideas. I write THROUGH the writer's block.
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full of information
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Nice post @paps. I agree with your philosophy.
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Hey, I'm here because of your invite and I don't usually do that.
I read your post and I have a little advice.
The first part of your article has a few places where there seems to be an error with the formatting or copy paste has slipped as you were creating the post.
I always write my posts in Word and paste it to Steemit.com. That serves two-fold. You still have the article if something goes wrong and I find it easier to check my work once I've finished.
You mention that my stories are on the Trending page... yes they are, but they weren't... for a long time. I've built up my following, and as we've all grown, so has the influence we have and therefore, their voting power, leading to my articles hitting the Trending pages.
Then, other people start to notice and the snowball effect starts to work.
I've been here since August 2016 and post every day.
Sometimes there was little (no) reward, but I didn't come here for the payout. I came for the fact that even if I got one or two cents, it was still more than I got on other social media.
The feedback is what I value and you're getting lots of that.
Edit your posts, polish your work and make it perfect and I don't think you'll be long before you hit the Trending pages too.
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Thank you for a great comment I really appreciate it! :D
I really do, I can see that it took some time to write this comment!
I will be happy if you could tell me what "errors with the formatting" you see and I will fix it, I'm having some trouble understanding what you meant.
Also, thank you for the information and the support! I will make sure to read it again to absorb all the information ^^
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I would have written it like this:
We all deal with writer's block or creative block, this is frustrating, you try to write but the words won't come out. You try to think but the brain is stuck in the same loop. It is known that many famous writers deal with it too: George R. R. Martin, Stephen King and Harper Lee are just a few examples of people who faced it.
Whether you write stories, poems, articles, music or even jokes, I believe that you will probably face this problem at some point. But like any problem, the first step is to acknowledge that something is wrong, only then you can find ways to solve it.
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That's awesome, thank you!
The truth is I'm still new to writing (English) so I have some problems with punctuation (and more haha).
I will edit it right away :D
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You're most welcome and I congratulate you on your English skills to date. Very well done, you write well, especially since English is not your first language.
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Thank you, English is my third language and I promise that I will work on improving :P
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Even better!
My only language skills are English, Sarcasm and gibberish ;)
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Three of the most important skills! HAHA 😂
I will check more of your post as part of my attempts to improve 🙃
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sometimes it's a big problem when you just out of thinking. But I used to write content that makes me feel comfortable and than thinking about from the perspective of readers. Evaluating both ,I get my output and this works for me everytime. I do not have much upvotes or reads on my post right now.But I gets strong feeling that one day people will read me and this hope is keeping alive me from 2 months.I love steemit ,I love you all.
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Hey man, reading something from a reader perspective is nice! It's a great tool. But you shouldn't forget that there are more tool to make post successful and sometime you have to work in order for people to reach your posts :)
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@driva has voted on behalf of @minnowpond.
If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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New stuff from @paps time to mash that Upvote button!
I do the same thing with posts. I have a folder named: Unfinished Posts, where I let them sit while I do other things. Often I think of something great to add to the writing when I return to it. My latest post: What Brought YOU To Steemit? And What Makes You Stay? was written the same way.
Take it easy on yourself folks. Grab a big ol' slice of chocolate cake and a can of Diet Coke (to balance things out) and gobble it up! :)
source
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Haha thank you for your comment!
I will check your posts :)
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If we are observant, we will notice inspiration all around us. Inspiration is not hard to find
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nice
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i ever felt that, want to write something but, i dont know how to start the words
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I think the video at the end of the post will be most helpful for that :)
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really its good video, may i download it?
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It's not mine, you should ask the maker of the video.
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wow such a long and nice post! as well as a very inspiring one! i am amazed with how did you do the format? and some of those bars
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I just sit and do it :P
as for the line breakers, I made them using photoshop.
Thank you :D
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WOW! i know some photoshop thinga, just a bit. all i know is the cs3, just some changing background tools though.. such a noob me. BTW why dont you do some tutorials like that here :)
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Maybe I will ^^
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I'm having that block now. haha.
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Haha, not anymore I guess :P
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Yeap definitely not anymore. Found my remedy :D
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nice!
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I always like to change my pace and go elsewhere when I'm having trouble creating, whatever it may be. I often come to your posts to be completely honest aha -- I think taking your mind off of the actual writing always leads to at least easing the stress.
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Best writing ideas came to us outside of writing :P
Thank you for the comment!
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I found --for me at least-- the best way to combat writer's block is not to anticipate anything. Silence is the best approach. Complete silence.
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Some good tips here! The hardest part for me is just finding time to collate the research and write it down in a meaningful format. I find it beneficial to write when I am in 'the mood for writing', just getting down any thoughts and ideas on the subject as notes then working on research and formatting later on. Still it takes me 6hrs + because the research and checking sources can also become a huge distraction with my curious mind :)
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Thank you for awesome comment ^^
Usually, I also write when I am in the mood but sometimes I don't get this mood and I need to somehow create the circumstances which will force this mood :D
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Cure for writing block?
No one ever gets talker's block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down.
Why then, is writer's block endemic?
The reason we don't get talker's block is that we're in the habit of talking without a lot of concern for whether or not our inane blather will come back to haunt us. Talk is cheap. Talk is ephemeral. Talk can be easily denied.
We talk poorly and then, eventually (or sometimes), we talk smart. We get better at talking precisely because we talk. We see what works and what doesn't, and if we're insightful, do more of what works. How can one get talker's block after all this practice?
Writer's block isn't hard to cure.
Just write poorly. Continue to write poorly, in public, until you can write better.
I believe that everyone should write in public. Get a blog. Or use Squidoo or Tumblr or a microblogging site. Use an alias if you like. Turn off comments, certainly--you don't need more criticism, you need more writing.
Do it every day. Every single day. Not a diary, not fiction, but analysis. Clear, crisp, honest writing about what you see in the world. Or want to see. Or teach (in writing). Tell us how to do something.
If you know you have to write something every single day, even a paragraph, you will improve your writing. If you're concerned with quality, of course, then not writing is not a problem, because zero is perfect and without defects. Shipping nothing is safe.
The second best thing to zero is something better than bad. So if you know you have write tomorrow, your brain will start working on something better than bad. And then you'll inevitably redefine bad and tomorrow will be better than that. And on and on.
Write like you talk. Often.
Best
F
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Thank you for the comment, that's a nice perspective :)
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