6 Tips to Cure Writer's Block

The first step in curing writer's block is to convince yourself that it does not exist. It is all in the head. This psychological phenomenon convinces you that you cannot write and it will beat you up unless you actually sit down and write.

Writer's block is an incredible phenomenon where a writer loses the ability to produce new work. It varies widely in intensity but it has been known to be extremely severe, so much so that writers are unable to work for years; some writers have abandoned their careers because of it.

It is a serious affliction but here is a secret: Writer's block does not have to exist. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and construct a new sentence at any given time and you will discover that there is no block. The ability to produce 'new' work is only a sentence away, but how do you get to that sentence?

Here are 6 sure fire ways to cure your writer's block:

1. Write badly
2. Have a date with your characters
3. Write around a prompt
4. Look through a different window
5. Draw
6. Change your voice

Whether it is a first draft or a rewrite, sometimes you will feel bogged down by many factors that contribute to your block: stress, family, a day job, etc. The only way to get rid of that block is to write. You can go for a run, meditate, read a book, but the only true way to cure yourself is to use a pen, a paper, and put those two together.

1. Write badly

Forget about character, structure, plot points, and page count. Forget about subtext and exposition. Forget everything - including 'the rules'. Just write and write badly. Write like someone who has never constructed a grammatically correct sentence ever. If it is fiction, write your story and or character into run-on sentences and keep 'running on'. Write dialogue that will make any reader cringe in horror; ramble on and on and keep on rambling. Let it all go and give yourself the freedom to do what you were born to do - write.

This tip is the most important and productive tip out of the 6 sure fire tips provided here. As Eric Edson (UCLA Screenwriting teacher) states: "Write badly with pride!"

2. Have a date with your characters

Take your pen and paper on a date. Does this sound silly? Well, if writer's block determines whether you are abandoning your career or not, you have to do what it takes or quit. So be silly.

The date could be an expensive one or a cheap one. But go out on one!

Order a glass of wine or a Big Mac, and put one of your characters across from you and have them do the same. Write your dialogue you are having with them. You know them better than they know themselves! You created them. Discover more about them during dinner. Ask them questions: ask them how their food was and what they did during the day or where they would rather be right now; are they thankful for the dinner? They better be, you just pulled them from conflicts, espionage, high stakes and or a love affair. It is their time to take a breath of fresh air - just like you.

Now, use this information when you get back to your story.

See the pattern here: Two steps down and writer's block is non-existent! You have written badly, and you have taken a character out on a date and written about it. You are producing something new!

3. Write around a prompt

Pull a prompt from your bag of prompts. One technique that has helped writers is to ask friends for a random word or two and write a scene based on that word.

Take that prompt and put it right smack in the middle of the scene you are writing and write around it. Have your character use that prompt as part of dialogue, or create a new conflict with that prompt, or use it as part of character back-story.

One sentence will lead to another. That sentence will lead to a paragraph and so on. One prompt can build a page; two prompts can build more. Keep writing around prompts and get that story going.

4. Look through a different window

Everything you are writing is like looking through the front window of a two-story house. You look through the window and see the piano, the area rug, the couch, the dining room in the background, and the big screen TV over the fireplace. This is what you see so make yourself see something different. See the same house from a different window.

The back window may provide you the kitchen, the stove, the breakfast nook and burnt toast on the counter. It's the same house, but a different view. The second story window may provide you a view of a hallway filled with pictures and doors to different rooms. It is much different than the first window you looked at isn't it?

How does this work with a story? Rewrite your last scene from a different perspective. As an exercise to write, write the scene from another character's point of view. You will discover more about the scene, about the characters, and more about yourself as a writer.

5. Draw

If you are right handed, draw with your left hand (and vice versa). Stimulate that other side of the brain! When you are trying to figure out what's wrong creatively, you are being analytical. You are bogged down because the left side of the brain is over analyzing your 'block' so engage the other side of your brain; the side that you usually use for creativity: the right side - the creative side, and let that side go free!

Draw a scene, draw what you used to draw as a child, draw squares, perfect circles, or your characters as caricatures interacting with each other. And like writing badly, draw badly with pride! When you're done, get back to your story.

6. Change your voice

Our biggest asset, or what makes us unique, is our voice. Well, this voice is obviously quiet right now. So change it. Be a different writer and write with a different voice. If your voice is dramatic, overly flowery in prose, become a comedian and write lightly and quick to the point.

Write from a female perspective if you are a male. Write from a child's perspective if you are a female. Write from your father's perspective, your best friend's perspective or even your dog's. Write how you think they would write, and discover, like your characters different voices, your many voices!

There you have it - 6 sure fire tips to help you cure that excuse we call writer's block. If you did not produce something new after 'writing or dying' by using one of these tips the only advice that you can receive is this: write a resignation letter as a writer. Your two weeks notice as a writer may be what you need to, well, write something new.

Write well... or in this case, write badly with pride!