Introduction & Our Top 10 Tips for Busting Writer’s Block
We’ve all been there: we want to write, we’re trying to write, we need to write – but the words just won’t come. When Writer’s Block strikes, trying to get words down on the page is literally like trying to get blood from a stone.
Writer’s Block is a common topic of conversation amongst writers and whilst it’s something we joke about, we all know how frustrating it can be – not to mention that it can have seriously rubbish consequences for our writing, making us miss deadlines or preventing us from creating our best work.
In this workshop, we’re going to share with you our top tips for overcoming Writer’s’ Block and give you some exercises to get those creative juices flowing again when you hit a wall!
1. Stop writing!
This sounds counterproductive, we know! But sometimes the most uninspiring thing to do can be to stare at that blank screen, kicking yourself for not being able to think of the right words. Get up, do something else for a little while and return to your writing with fresh eyes later on. Doing a bit of exercise, even going for a walk, can be really good for getting your motivation back – but having a cuppa and a KitKat can be just as rejuvenating!
2. Force yourself to write!
What? But you just said —yes, we know this totally contradicts the point we just made but there are only so many walks you can go on or KitKats you can eat before you realise you’re just procrastinating. Set yourself a goal, even if it’s just twenty minutes and force yourself to write for the whole time; don’t censor yourself, don’t worry if it’s crap, just write. The chances are, your random ramblings will spark the nugget of an idea that might just help you overcome the block.
3. Set parameters
Sometimes the freedom of our imaginations can be intimidating. Think about when you’re in a restaurant with a really big menu and you just can’t make up your mind what to eat until in the end you don’t fancy anything and panic order the spaghetti bolognaise, again. Or when you’re in a Newsagents and there are 76 choices of chocolate bar and you end up buying yet another KitKat. What is it with KitKats in this
post, huh?
What we’re saying is that when we’re presented with too many choices, sometimes we can end up feeling confused and uninspired. Narrowing things down can really help – throwing stuff like ‘a character from the past enters’ or ‘ David smashes his plate on the floor’ can actually help you to become more imaginative as you try to respond to your limits. (There’s an exercise on this included in this workshop!)
4. Go and see a play (or go to a playwriting workshop)
Nothing is more inspiring than reminding yourself what you love about theatre and why you’ve chosen the challenging path of becoming a playwright. Going to see a good play will leave you fired up with ideas, which eventually will filter through to your own work. And even a bad
play will leave you running to your laptop to try write something better.
Likewise, bouncing ideas around with a group of writers is a sure-fire way to boost those inspiration levels; check out our opportunities listings to see what’s going on workshop-wise – or even just spark up a conversation on our members Facebook Group.
5. Read something
Read something, a play, a novel, the newspaper, anything. As you form opinions on what you’ve read, you’re bound to want to write about them, after all, you’re a writer and that’s how writers roll.
6. Have a change of scenery
A change is as good as a rest, so they say! Sometimes, staring at the same four walls can be detrimental to your creativity and that’s when your mind starts to wander, and your imagination closes off. If you normally write at home go to the park, or a nice coffee shop or if you really don’t want to get out of your PJ’s, build a den out of bed sheets in your living room – changing things up a bit can make all the difference!
7. Get a writing buddy
Back in the day, when Alli Smith and I were MA students and London Playwrights’ Blog was just a twinkle in our eye, we used to get together in a cafe for epic writing sessions. We’d be working on our own separate things – kind of like two old ladies sitting and knitting together, except we were writing plays and we were only 22. Having a companion can really spur you on and you can run ideas past each other when the going gets tough -and let’s face it, you’ll make things weird if you’re staring into space whilst they hammer away on their laptop so it kind of forces you to keep on writing.
8. Write something else
If you’re really stuck with the project your working on, take a break from it and write something else. You could do one of the exercises in this workshop or even write a short play or monologue, or even some prose if that floats your boat. Changing the subject for a while can be a great way to inspire you and you might find you pick up where you left off sooner than you thought you would.
9. Look at the bigger picture
So, you’re writing a play and you can’t seem to get any further with it. Rather than staring into the abyss or chastising yourself for your lack of productivity, be honest with yourself about what’s going on. Is there a glitch in your structure which is making a particular scene difficult to write? Are you bored of your protagonist? Have you fallen out of love with your idea? Don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board and make bold changes if you need to – writer’s block is often a useful warning beacon that something else is amiss.
10. Be kind to yourself
Writer’s Block is totally normal for all writers – if our imaginations didn’t ebb and flow slightly, we’d all be manically scribbling down ideas day and night, with no room for anything else in life! Beating yourself up over it is just going to make you feel worse, so go with it, take a break, have a rest and most of all – look after yourself. The light at the end of the tunnel will come, in the meantime, try a few of the strategies outlined above and er…maybe treat yourself to a KitKat or something? You got this.