You’re sitting at your desk, nervous and probably in a silent panic. You’ve got a deadline fast approaching, and you don’t know what you want to write about a given topic—if you even have a topic in the first place.
Has this happened to you?
Writer’s block is a condition in which a writer experiences a creative slowdown, or is unable to create new work. For people who don’t write regularly, it can be all the more difficult to break. (For our purposes, writing letters, memos, and reports count as writing, and not just articles or books.)
Here’s how to defeat writer’s block.
1. Silence your inner critic, at least at first.
Often, when you think of an idea, a negative impulse immediately comes into your mind. You reject it immediately, or at least question it. This impulse is your inner critic, and it can be useful when the time comes to review and refine your writing.
The challenge is to silence your inner critic when you’re brainstorming your ideas, or when you’re creating your early drafts. What matters is identifying what you want to say, and getting it written down.
No first draft is perfect—it always requires rewriting. The inner critic is welcome there. But get the idea, the words, down first.
2. Write for your ideal reader.
There is a story about a magazine writer who was having problems writing his assigned article. Things just did not seem to be working out. The writer became so frustrated that he wrote a letter to his editor, explaining why he was having problems writing the article.
The editor removed the salutation and signature, and the letter turned article went to print.
Suppose you are writing about your favorite Italian food recipes. Think of a person, or people, who would be interested in learning more. Write to them. Share with them your favorite recipes, why you like them, how to make those recipes, or even some tips to make the dish turn out even better.
It’s been said that the novelist Stephen King’s ideal reader is his wife, Tabitha. He’s shared stories of how she is always the first reader of his work—and she doesn’t hesitate to tell him how he can improve his manuscripts.
3. Look at your fish.
Once there was an entomologist, Samuel H. Scudder (1837-1911), who studied under the noted zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873) at Harvard University. Agassiz expected his students to be able to perform close observations and analysis, and describe the details.
An early classroom exercise had Scudder and his classmates looking at fish. But Scudder wondered how Agassiz did these things. What were Agassiz’s secrets?
“Look at your fish,” Agassiz said.
The advice was simple enough. But how do you do that?
“Look at your fish,” Agassiz said.
Scudder eventually learned that looking at the fish—really studying what was right in front of him—was the start to the scientific process. He began describing the appearance, weight, physical characteristics, and so forth, of the fish.
David McCullough, the historian and author, has shared this story in interviews, describing it as the way he tries to research and write his books. It has obviously worked for him, as he is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.
4. Mix things up a bit.
Bob Bly, the author and copywriter, has written that he has more than one project going at a given time. If he’s having issues with one project, he simply focuses on another, and in time he will return to the first, ready to go.
The next time that you feel blocked, remember to silence your inner critic, write to your ideal reader, look at your fish, and mix things up a bit. You’ll find you can get your manuscript written after all.
