The Best Way to End Writer’s Block for Good. (Simple System)!

This post contains affiliate links. Please read the terms of use for more info.

Imagine never staring at a blank page again.

Wouldn’t that be freeing? The creative process would be more enjoyable. Your projects would be finished faster. Everything would flow so much easier.  

But one annoying thing keeps getting in the way like a recurring itch:

Writer’s block.

If you aren’t exactly sure what writer’s block is, let me provide you with a solid definition. As elegantly put by Merriam-Webster, writer’s block is “the problem of not being able to think of something to write about or not being able to finish writing a story, poem, etc.”

I’ll be honest with you. There’s no magic pill that will make writer’s block disappear without effort. However, you can ensure it never slows you down for any significant amount of time again and eventually end it for good.

And I’m going to tell you how.

It takes a simple system, and a little patience.

But before you learn the system, take a moment to understand why writer’s block happens. In the sections afterward, I will explain how you can address each of the causes and end writer’s block for good. 

The Seven Main Causes of Writer’s Block

1. Fatigue.

When the mind and body are tired, the well of creativity tends to dry up in a hurry. Perhaps you’ve been putting long hours in for your day job or it’s the middle of finals week. 

No matter what situation is causing you fatigue, your mind needs a chance to refresh. New ideas must have a chance to blossom.

2. Fear.

We’ve all had this feeling with our work at some point. Creativity killing thoughts such as, “What if my writing sucks?” or “What will people think of me if I write this?” begin to permeate through the mind.

Similarly, some of us have the fear of imperfection. Not only is perfectionism a cause of writer’s block but it can stymie productivity completely.

Trying to write perfectly is one of the surest ways to ensure you won’t write any more words. It’s okay to be imperfect and make mistakes. In fact, revising mistakes is a good way to discover perfection!

3. Losing motivation. 

Losing motivation for what you’re creating simply means your passion has waned. This can happen suddenly or creep up on you like a slow virus. It happens to all of us at some point.

Though you can’t reclaim lost time, you can always get your passion back. You just have to recreate the spark that set your passion in the first place or create a new spark altogether.

4. Lack of fresh ideas.  

This is one of the most common writing killers.

How can you expect to breathe new life into your writing if you keep retrieving information from the same mental archives?

You must create new archives through experience and exposure to new ideas.

5. Being distracted. 

We may be distracted due to pleasure-seeking, loud activity, habit, mindset, or responsibilities. Distractions are all too common but can certainly be minimized or even eliminated with preparation and practice.

6. Too much pressure.

This happens a lot when faced with a deadline of some sort.

If you have a deadline, It’s important to recognize it.  But, don’t let it suffocate you.

Let the deadline fall to the back of your mind before you start writing. This way, your creativity valves can start opening and flowing more easily.

7. Forcing creativity.

I would argue this is the most overlooked cause of writer’s block.  Another way of putting this is by forcing your writing or overworking your mind to produce results. Doing this can lock up your creative juices like no one’s business. 

I know this from experience. This was a big one for me when I was writing the second book, Paths of Parallels for my Paranormal Romance series Fluctsonas.

I was dedicated not only to a daily writing quota but surpassing it. Sometimes, my writing would start to stagnate as a result.

Writing should feel free-flowing and virtually effortless.

How to End Writer’s Block

As previously stated, there is no quick fix to end writer’s block without making an effort, especially if you’ve been struggling with it for a while.

But, it can be neutralized to the point in which it’s no longer a hindrance on you for any substantial amount of time.

The caveat?

To end writer’s block, you must have a system that incorporates good habits, and the use of effective strategies when necessary. Only then can you end writer’s block and get on with creating your focus content.

So let me break it down.

There are 5 habits that will end writer’s block for good no matter what the cause or causes are for you.

I apply these habits myself, and I rarely, if ever, get writer’s block for any significant amount of time.

Think of these habits together as a process to regularly incorporate into your writing lifestyle. A plus side to doing these habits is that you may see improvement in other areas of your life!

You should do all five habits for best results, but to start, pick one or two that resonate with you the most.

The 5 Habits that will end writer’s block

Habit #1 Consistently stay focused.

If you find yourself getting easily distracted or losing motivation, then you really need to pay close attention to this section.

Learning how to focus is not only the key to consistent, quality writing but the foundation in which your writing goals will be accomplished. Without focus, you will find yourself easily distracted, and writer’s block loves to feed on distraction.

Having the ability to focus is absolutely paramount in ending writer’s block, especially with modern distractions all around us.

Trust me, I know this intimately. I’ve wasted countless hours watching YouTube videos or playing mobile games like. I shudder to think how much more written content I could’ve produced with those wasted hours! Fortunately, there’s an app and website blocker that I discovered last year called Freedom. My days have felt longer ever since I started using it and my time-sucking habits have become much less of a factor.

You can start using Freedom for free by clicking here. 

It can be very easy to get distracted, and it can happen often. But, don’t be discouraged. Anyone can learn how to stay focused.

The simplest way to stay focused is to concentrate on what you want to create. In the case of writer’s block, what you’re focusing on would be your “focus content.”

You can do this by preparing yourself before you start writing and while you write.  I know this can be easier said than done, so I’m sharing my best tips with you!

Key tips on fostering focus before you start writing:

• Excite yourself for what you’re writing. Do this by remembering why you started writing in the first place.
• Designate a physical space where you exclusively go to write, even better if others around you are doing a similar activity.  Ex: Library room.
• Take care of any matters that are urgent or likely to distract you.
• Set a finite amount of time that you will write for and stick to it.

Key tips on fostering focus while you write:

• Make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.
• Quiet your mind of any mental distractions or unrelated thoughts. If you find this difficult, I recommend listening to soft ambient music or binaural beats.
  • If any distracting thoughts come to mind, simply acknowledge them and let them go. Then, continue writing.
• Periodically ground yourself.  If you need help on grounding, check out this article.

Whatever works to get yourself to stay focused. Do it. And keep doing it!

Habit #2  Introduce yourself to new content and insight

If you find yourself running out of ideas all the time or losing motivation, then doing habit #2 will help you immensely.

The first thing you need to do is generate some new ideas by introducing yourself to new content (movies, literary works, art, games, etc).

Listen. Your mind needs new creative fuel to keep it going. If you don’t introduce new ideas to your conscious mind, creativity will stagnate.  Give your mind brand new ideas to work with on a regular basis.  

This is not as hard or as tedious as it sounds. In fact, this can actually be fun and easy!

But what kind of content is best?

Simple.

Content that is in some way related to what you’re having writer’s block with. In other words. your focus content.

To get the most out of the content that you find, do the following three steps:

1. Watch, play, or read new media related to your creative content. This can be movies, video games, shows, books, etc.
2. Critically analyze the content for what makes you feel strong emotions.
   
3. Jot down elements that can be used as inspiration to build from.

*Protip: Be sure not to plagiarize, imitate, and outright copy any content you come across. Draw inspiration, but make everything different enough to be your own original work. If you are unsure if you are crossing the line, you have a couple of choices. You can either seek out appropriate legal counsel or not build from the idea at all.

The second thing you want to do is to get a mentor who writes similar content to you and has had the kind of success you’re looking for.

A mentor can be someone who was recommended to you, or that you find on your own. You can find one in a high-quality community (in-person or online), or by researching individuals through a search engine. When it comes to a community, you want to get to know the people within it. Get a feel for who knows what they’re talking about, and whom you can really connect with.

A good mentor will prevent you from making crucial mistakes and give you advice that can save you months or even years of time and effort.

Habit #3 Vary your life’s experience 

Related to habit #2, varying your life’s experience can be equally as important in defeating writer’s block. If you find yourself forcing creativity or running out of ideas, this habit will help you immensely.

Sometimes bad habits can lead to writer’s block, and varying your experience can help break those habits. I’ve used this nifty app and website blocker called Freedom to melt away some of my worst time-sucking habits. Click here to start for free.

Here are some ways that you can vary your life’s experience right now:

• Go somewhere simple that you usually don’t go to or never go to. For example, if there’s a park near you that you’ve never been to. Walk to the park. You never know what inspiration you may draw from the experience or who you may meet.
• Talk to someone new.
• Do something you usually do differently. This can be a simple difference too. Examples: Take a new route to the grocery store. Wear a new hairstyle for the day. Open doors with your left hand if you are right-handed. Listen to a brand new music genre. Etc.

A big part of varying your life’s experience may involve getting out of your comfort zone, or at the very least doing something to spice up your normal routine. Don’t let this hold you back. Just go out there and do it!

Habit #4 Meditation

If you aren’t incorporating mediation already, stop right now. Not only will regular mediation aid in ending writer’s block, but it will change your life.

Meditation can give you clarity on your writing, relieve stress, help with overcoming fears, and provide a host of other benefits!

If you don’t know where to begin on mediation, I recommend reading this simple Wikihow article on getting started, and the various methods. Even if you’ve never meditated before, you can start right now. You will get better at doing it the more you stick to it.

Related to mediation is the act of visualization. Visualization is basically forming imagery, text, or a combination of all in your mind. This can be done as you meditate or even in an awakened state. 

Using visualization can help you channel the new ideas and experiences you’ve gained from habits 2 and 3. 

Habit #5 Get enough rest

I saved perhaps the easiest for last!

If you are feeling fatigued, this is the most important habit of them all.

Adequate rest for you might be 5 hours, or it could be 8 hours. Everyone is different.  Find out how many hours work for you. For a more scientific breakdown, go here.

Another thing. When your body begins calling for bed. Respect the request and go to sleep! Take it from someone who’s writing had been affected by sleep debt.

In addition to getting adequate rest every day, getting strategic rest is what will get you ahead in the game.

What is strategic rest?

Strategic rest is simply resting with a purpose, not just resting for rejuvenation.

A strategic rest strategy I use is called power napping. I talk about this in more detail in the “Strategies” section below.

Strategies to End Writer’s block

Now that you understand the 5 habits that will help end writer’s block, it’s time to amplify them using effective strategies. Think of these strategies as tools in your creative toolbox to be utilized whenever needed if writer’s block is still plaguing you.

Strategy #1: Mirror-Warping Technique

The Mirror-Warping Technique is a visualization technique used to create a different idea out of something in its normal state.

Another way of looking at it is that you analyze what traits comprise your focus content and “warp” those traits through visualization into something atypical.

A quick example of this technique in action would be the following:

Imagine a normal, brown loaf of bread. But what if you then imagined or “warped” the loaf giving it a purple color and sentience? Or what if you imagined it being made out of hardened cotton candy and the loaf being able to cut itself into small slices? I know this sounds silly or ridiculous, but hear me out. This technique has unexpectedly led me to viable new ideas. I know it can give you new ideas too. 

The good thing about this technique is that it can be applied to basically anything that is causing you writer’s block, even titles, and phrases.

So how do you use the Mirror-Warping Technique?

Here is a step-by-step on how you can use the Mirror-Warping technique right now:

1. Bring yourself to a meditative or calm state.
2. In your mind, isolate and visualize your focus content, AKA the idea you’re having trouble moving forward with (Ex: the next plot element, blog content, video content, scene, etc.)
3. Mentally add subject matter to your focus content or “warp” it with atypical elements.
4. Repeat step 3 as much as needed.
5. Write down this new content no matter how crazy or weird it is.
6. Review this content and allow for new ideas to spring to mind.

For even better results, use Mirror-Warping with the next strategy: Brainstorming.

Strategy #2: Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a conscious and methodical process in which you write down any ideas strongly or even loosely related to what you’re writing.

To brainstorm, do the following steps:

1. Take a few minutes and generally think about your focus content, the writing content that you’re having writer’s block on. Ex: blog post, next chapter, titles, etc.
2. Open up a blank document on your computer, or if you prefer physically writing, take out a pen and paper.
3. At the top of the page, write down your focus content in big letters.
4. Underneath the focus content, write down any ideas, words, numbers, symbols, and phrases that come to mind.

During the brainstorming process, don’t think too hard, or you’ll end up slowing yourself down by trying to be perfect. You want brainstorming to be like a rapid-fire drill for the best results.

Strategy #3: Power napping

A power nap is a brief nap that is usually taken during the day. It is a form of strategic rest that can surprisingly help you counteract writer’s block.

Power napping is one of the tricks I had up my sleeve when I was still a college student to retain information when I had to cram for an exam. I still use it today to retain information if I need to in a hurry.

But what I’ve also found is that it’s effective for boosting creativity and knocking out writer’s block. There is science to back this up as well. A study done by UC San Diego summarized here “suggests that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep enhances creative problem-solving.”

So here’s a simple way to power nap:

1. Find a comfortable place to relax.
2. Set aside a pen and paper or something else that you can write your ideas down on.
3. Think of your focus content, or a creative puzzle that you are trying to solve such as your character’s next scene.
4. As you go to sleep, inundate your conscious mind with abstract ideas related to the creative puzzle. For example, with the character scene, visualize your character and what he or she could be doing.
5. Fall asleep.
   *Don’t be surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night with an “Ah-hah!” moment!
6. Wake up. You will often find at this moment that that new ideas flourish effortlessly.
7. Write down any ideas that come to you.

The more often you power nap, the more likely you will see great results. I personally have over the years. and I hope you do as well.

Strategy #4: Detachment

If nothing is coming to you. If your mind keeps drawing blank. You want to detach, or in other words, temporarily forget the specific idea(s) you’ve been writing about.

Detaching from your creative pursuit may sound counterproductive, but trust me, it works. There’s something about giving your mind a temporary break that sparks spontaneous creativity.

You can detach in a plethora of ways. For example, try hanging out with friends or family, taking a walk, or any other activity that’s worked for you before.

Detachment can last for a few minutes,  a few hours, or even a few days. Do what you need to do in order to completely take your mind off your focus content. I recommend not detaching for more than a few days at a time or you could end up losing your momentum and drive.

You’ll be surprised by how often new ideas will just pop into your mind at random times, and how fresh you’ll feel when you do return to writing.

Putting it all together

So there you have it. With this simple system, you will be able to end writer’s block once and for all.

This simple system consists of five habits and four strategies. The five habits are: consistently stay focused, introduce yourself to new content and insight, vary your life’s experience,  meditation, and get adequate rest.

There are four go-to strategies that go with the five habits of this simple system. They are: the Mirror-Warping Technique, brainstorming, strategic rest, and brainstorming.

Now that you know this simple system, I want you to start one thing right now.

I’d like for you to pick at least two of the five habits. Make them your lifestyle for 30 days. If you can easily carry out the habits of choice, add another on top of it until you’re doing all five. Your creative spirit will thank you.

Don’t forget. Using the strategies together with the habits will yield better results. Incorporate these strategies into your routine so that your lifestyle naturally ends writer’s block for good.

I really hope this article can help you end writer’s block and in the process give your creativity more of a chance to flourish. If you found this article helpful, share it with someone else who could benefit.

-Gregory Venvonis