The Best Ways to Beat Writers Block

The few free minutes I get, I try to write. Even if I only write something silly like "when I grow up I want to run away with the circus!" I write everything. I have a red notebook I carry with me everywhere I go and in it I keep all of my thoughts, from which come all of my articles. While I was writing the first few articles I found it was harder than I had expected to come up with ideas. This issue is commonly known as writers block.

Since I am a working mom and typically am stuck at the office for 12-14 hours each day, I rarely get the opportunity to start and finish a full piece at a time. Recently I've begun trying different so called tools to help me keep producing interesting things. The most typical of all of these is writing different pieces all at once. I try to do it paragraph at a time or if it is a how to, I'll go step by step. This has become so much fun for me that lately I have been having a hard time even attempting anything from start to finis without jumping topics. I feel like I loose so much less precious time doing things this way.

When time permits I sit down with my notebook and thumb through all of the bits and pieces to see what sparks something fun for me to add to. Sometimes this gets me to the finish line on one or helps find a fresh start on something completely new. There have been many days that all I will do is write opening paragraphs leaving as many as 30 open projects at a time.

When this doesn't do anything for me I doodle! As childish as it may sound a few simple scratches can quickly turn in to an image. Images quickly can turn into thoughts and into entire pieces that find themselves complete and published. Now there are days where these all end up in the recycling bin and I feel as hopeless as I did before the tips of my fingers even touched the pencil.

When all else fails I simply read. Even though I know I should spend my free time improving my writing, or actually writing spending a few free hours to just enjoy a few random reads often leads to thoughts that get my creative juices going.

The last resort I fall back on is the federal register. If nothing interesting is anywhere to be found I go snooping on the dockets and see what good things the government is doing. Sometimes it is as dull as anything else, but other times you can find information on commercial space shuttles, or eco-friendly movements the Nation is soon to be pursuing. (The Federal Register can be found online by simply Googling "Federal Register")

For all the times I get only a few minutes I still try to be productive. Try anything; you never know what route will work best for you. Things that peek my curiosity may do nothing for other people; maybe some of these will suite you. I am always interested in hearing what makes other people click, feel free to share your tips with me!