5 Ways I Overcome Writer's Block

Writer's block is an unfortunate, yet unavoidable, aspect of being a writer. I've yet to find anyone who hasn't experienced a slow down or inability to make progress in their work at one point in time or another. I think it's part of the creative process, wanting to write but having either no ideas or difficulty executing the ideas you already have.

Of my three finished writing projects so far, I encountered writer's block while working on two of them. In the last two years that I've seriously buckled down on my writing, I've figured out a few ways I can either stave off writer's block, or restart momentum on the project in question.

1) Writing Something New

Sometimes, my writer's block has been caused by spending too much time on one project. If I've spent weeks chipping away at a manuscript, it's easy for me to become burnt out on that story, and feel lost on how to move forward. I haven't lost passion for the story, but my dedication to it sits on shaky ground.

All I need sometimes is to direct my creative energy somewhere else. Taking a vacation from the story, or whatever plot point I'm figuring out, and spending some time working on flash fiction, or vignettes from another world, broke up the monotony and got my brain fired up with plenty of new ideas. It pushed me past the creative block.

2) Less Writing, More Reading

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but I was a reader for decades before I was a writer. As a result, I have a deep love for reading, and in a perfect world, I'd be able to spend as much time as I wanted reading.

Reading helped me get past writer's block by giving my brain a break, while also still allowing me to engage with a story. A book takes me on a journey, but I'm not responsible for figuring out the path it will take. I usually read something outside fantasy at times like that, to give myself extra distance from my own writing.

3) Changing Things Up

There have been times when I felt like I'd fallen into a rut regarding my writing. Having a writing routine is important, but when I stick to it too strictly, my creativity and passion are sapped. If I sit in the same spot everyday for the same period of time, and following the same pattern when it's time to write, it starts feeling like an obligation and a chore, not something enjoyable.

When writer's block starts to set in, sometimes all it takes is switching a few things around to stave it off. I might write in the morning, instead of my usual after-dinner period, or work in my living room, rather than at my desk. Once or twice, all it took was listening to different music while writing to get my momentum going again.

4) Engaging With Other Media

The first big bout of writer's block I dealt with was because I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but didn't know how to get there. I couldn't figure out how to get from Event A to Event B once I reached a certain point in the story.

I watched some of my favorite movies. I spent roughly a week getting caught up on a show I liked, but hadn't kept up with. I pulled out my Switch and played video games for a while. Partially, it served as a break from writing, but it also got me thinking about storytelling in a different way. Sometimes that led to new ideas, and other times it helped me figure out what wasn't working in what I'd been writing.

5) Waiting it Out

Unfortunately, sometimes writer's block is something you can't snap yourself out of. Brute forcing past the point where you're stuck might work for some, but it didn't for me. More than once, I've "overcome" writer's block by letting it stall me for a while. I let myself experience it, and I took a break from writing at all. I came back to the manuscript a month later, read the work I'd already done, and found myself invigorated and invested in telling the story again.

There you have it, five ways I tackle writer's block. Hopefully, these can be helpful to someone.

I will see you next time!

Follow Me: Instagram / Threads / Newsletter / Tiktok / Tumblr / Bluesky / Facebook

Magic & Murder in the Holler is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other retailers.