What is known as writer’s block—not knowing what to write—generally boils down to two challenges: personal obstacles and lack of inspiration. Fortunately, your journal is a powerful tool to take care of both. Here are 10 ways you can use it to cure writer’s block.
1. Clear the crazycrap out of your brain.
Your mind is probably so cluttered with thoughts and worries that you’re not sure what you really want to say. In your journal, write down whatever comes to mind. Write in stream of consciousness style for five minutes, without taking your pen from the page.
2. Collect inspiration.
Write down as many inspiring things as you can that have happened in your life this week. Did you see an uplifting story in the news, or experience an exciting milestone? Look around the room, watch a movie, read the news, or take a walk around the neighborhood, and don’t think about writing. You’re likely to come back to the page with several exciting ideas to move your writing forward.
3. Practice the art of description.
Bring your journal to a public place—a restaurant, hospital lobby, or park—and write down every descriptive detail you can. Subtly watch the people who walk by and describe in detail what you observe. Who are they? What are they wearing, doing, and saying? You’ll be writing so quickly that you won’t have time to judge your phrasing, and you’ll generate material to use in the future.
4. Get to the root of your writer’s block.
For many of us, writer’s block boils down to lack of confidence in ourselves. We don’t think that we really have anything interesting to say. Who do we think we are, trying to write? In detail, write down your worst fears about writing—what exactly might happen if you do it? Take a moment to reflect on how silly those fears actually are when you see them in print.
5. Ask your journal questions, and let the answers marinate.
Questions open up possibilities. Write down whatever questions pop into your mind. What was the name of my kindergarten teacher? Why are reality TV shows so popular? Why is my neighbor so cranky all the time? Put your journal down for a bit and go do something else. Come back to your journal and see if any answers have emerged.
6. Make lists.
Lists are fun, easy, and will spark your creativity. Write down your top five favorite albums of all time, foods that make you happy, or ten places in the world that you want to see before you die.
7. Think of your first draft as clay to be sculpted.
Think of writing your first draft as generating a lump of clay. In order to sculpt a work of art, you’ll first need the raw material. It never looks beautiful in the beginning, does it? Write your draft without stopping to look things up or correct your spelling. Highlight these places to remind yourself to fill in the gaps later. Know that you’ll come back later and polish. But not now.
8. Journal on a schedule.
Journaling is like meditation: To reap its maximum benefits, it’s important to practice it every day. It doesn’t matter if you feel like it or not. You just do it anyway. If you write regularly enough, writing will become second nature to you, and you’ll find that your writer’s block simply isn’t there anymore.
9. Keep an ongoing list of ideas in your journal.
Dedicate a section in your journal, perhaps the last few pages for easy access, to an ongoing list of possible writing topics. Whenever one strikes your fancy, write it down. Then when you can’t think of anything to write, you’ll have a whole lot of options that get your blood pumping.
10. Just keep writing.
If there’s one piece of advice that writers give again and again, it’s this: Writers write. Don’t let writer’s block stop you from writing, even if you write, “I don’t know what to write” over and over again. If you keep at it, something will eventually emerge.
11. Invent Your Own Journaling Cure!
With a little help from your friends at Create Write NOW.
Artwork provided by my BFF Dominic Devitt, part of my Journaling Shingles Cure in 2 1/2 weeks process! Ask me about it... Mari@CreateWriteNOW.com
1. Clear the crazycrap out of your brain.
Your mind is probably so cluttered with thoughts and worries that you’re not sure what you really want to say. In your journal, write down whatever comes to mind. Write in stream of consciousness style for five minutes, without taking your pen from the page.
2. Collect inspiration.
Write down as many inspiring things as you can that have happened in your life this week. Did you see an uplifting story in the news, or experience an exciting milestone? Look around the room, watch a movie, read the news, or take a walk around the neighborhood, and don’t think about writing. You’re likely to come back to the page with several exciting ideas to move your writing forward.
3. Practice the art of description.
Bring your journal to a public place—a restaurant, hospital lobby, or park—and write down every descriptive detail you can. Subtly watch the people who walk by and describe in detail what you observe. Who are they? What are they wearing, doing, and saying? You’ll be writing so quickly that you won’t have time to judge your phrasing, and you’ll generate material to use in the future.
4. Get to the root of your writer’s block.
For many of us, writer’s block boils down to lack of confidence in ourselves. We don’t think that we really have anything interesting to say. Who do we think we are, trying to write? In detail, write down your worst fears about writing—what exactly might happen if you do it? Take a moment to reflect on how silly those fears actually are when you see them in print.
5. Ask your journal questions, and let the answers marinate.
Questions open up possibilities. Write down whatever questions pop into your mind. What was the name of my kindergarten teacher? Why are reality TV shows so popular? Why is my neighbor so cranky all the time? Put your journal down for a bit and go do something else. Come back to your journal and see if any answers have emerged.
6. Make lists.
Lists are fun, easy, and will spark your creativity. Write down your top five favorite albums of all time, foods that make you happy, or ten places in the world that you want to see before you die.
7. Think of your first draft as clay to be sculpted.
Think of writing your first draft as generating a lump of clay. In order to sculpt a work of art, you’ll first need the raw material. It never looks beautiful in the beginning, does it? Write your draft without stopping to look things up or correct your spelling. Highlight these places to remind yourself to fill in the gaps later. Know that you’ll come back later and polish. But not now.
8. Journal on a schedule.
Journaling is like meditation: To reap its maximum benefits, it’s important to practice it every day. It doesn’t matter if you feel like it or not. You just do it anyway. If you write regularly enough, writing will become second nature to you, and you’ll find that your writer’s block simply isn’t there anymore.
9. Keep an ongoing list of ideas in your journal.
Dedicate a section in your journal, perhaps the last few pages for easy access, to an ongoing list of possible writing topics. Whenever one strikes your fancy, write it down. Then when you can’t think of anything to write, you’ll have a whole lot of options that get your blood pumping.
10. Just keep writing.
If there’s one piece of advice that writers give again and again, it’s this: Writers write. Don’t let writer’s block stop you from writing, even if you write, “I don’t know what to write” over and over again. If you keep at it, something will eventually emerge.
11. Invent Your Own Journaling Cure!
With a little help from your friends at Create Write NOW.
Artwork provided by my BFF Dominic Devitt, part of my Journaling Shingles Cure in 2 1/2 weeks process! Ask me about it... Mari@CreateWriteNOW.com
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