We are back for part two of orthodox and unorthodox ideas for beating your writer’s block, getting unstuck, and getting back to the writing flow! If you haven’t read part one, it doesn’t matter, although I highly recommend you do read it at some point. But they are not necessarily sequential. Without further ado, let’s get back at it.
- Intentionally write it badly. How much do you write on an average-to-good day? Take a small percentage of that number, say it’s two pages, and determine to write it badly. This can mean intentionally pulling in cliches and overused phrases. It can mean blowing it up with purple prose. It can mean whatever. Write pages that you have already determined to throw out at the end of the day. What does this do? It sets you free! These pages are a meaningless summer fling you’ve mutually agreed to, rather than a relationship you want to preserve. You have zero investment in them. Whatever happens, happens. When you’re done, don’t throw them out. Look at what you wrote when you had zero accountability and see what you can learn about the story.
- Ask a small child what should happen next. I have five nieces and nephews. The four-year-old works best for this method. Keep the content age-appropriate, of course, but ask them what they would do next if they were in the situation of your main character(s). You may be surprised and hit upon some pure gold. Why would you do this and what does it do? Adult brains are limited by reason, logic, and experience. Toddler brains are not. They are going to tell you whatever wild thing pops into their head. And whether it’s reasonable or not, your main character might very well try it and see what happens. The point of your novel is to put your MC in hot water, and sometimes that means wild card behavior. Now, if the toddler in question suggests something so completely off the wall you can’t use it in any way, I challenge you to come up with the logic that got them to that plan. See what ideas you can find in the journey.
- Make yourself uncomfortable until you write X number of words/pages. This one might be controversial, but it works well for me in moderation. Keep these sessions short and sweet and make the discomfort reasonable. For example, play a song you hate until you write five sentences. Sit in your least favorite chair until you’ve written a paragraph. This method should work very quickly, and if it doesn’t, quit and try something else. This is very important because you do not want your brain to associate writing with misery. What does this do? You are creating opportunities for quick and easy reward. You’re seeking the happy feeling when you quickly complete the task, which is why the discomfort should only be mildly annoying, and certainly not harmful in any way. When you finish that sentence or that paragraph, go sit in your favorite chair or put on your favorite song or just have peaceful silence. You should celebrate every milestone, whether it’s a sentence or a page.
- Write two books/projects at once. Before you write this method off as impossible, tell your inner critic to hush, and listen to me instead. Whether you are working on your first book or your tenth, you can do this. I never lack ideas. I have a hundred books I want to write. So, for practicality’s sake, I often write two or more simultaneously. What does this do? It gives me options. If Book A just isn’t doing it for me that day, I don’t quit writing; I switch to Book B. I write an article. I write a short story. I write a letter. It is paramount that I do not stop writing. An object in motion… you know the rest. Writing books is a marathon, not a sprint, which means you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter how impossible it feels. Teach your brain that every day, we write, whether it’s one genre or another, whether it’s fifteen minutes or fifteen hours. The bonus to this method is that you never have the doldrums between projects; they are constantly overlapping so you always already know what you’re writing next.
You may be sensing a theme here: retraining your brain to do what you want, when you want it. In essence, you’re creating an on/off switch for your creative brain so you can access it whenever you need to. You are also retraining your brain to write with abandon, so that fears and logistics and rules don’t get in your way when you’re first creating.
These methods for beating writer’s block and generating content are by no means meant to feel like shackles or a taskmaster. They are designed to help your brain feel free to write and to enjoy writing. Give them a try and let me know how they work for you!
