How to Overcome Your Writer’s Block
By: Michael Wilkinson
Tags: Creativity, Productivity, Books, Writing, Writers Block

How to Overcome Your Writer’s Block

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Are you experiencing a writer’s block?

I know how that feels. But, if you’re waiting for inspiration, you may be setting yourself up for failure without realizing it.

Let me explain.

Like many writers, I’ve struggled with writer’s block. I didn’t always know what to do about it. And I often wondered whether my writing was any good. Eventually, I shoved my story aside while I waited for inspiration to kick in. I felt guilty because I’d stopped writing — like I was cheating on myself, unfaithful to my lifelong dream.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London

Then, one day, I realized this.

The cause of my writer’s block was me.

I felt insecure about my writing ability. I felt lost. Paralyzed. And I wondered who would bother to read my work anyway. Those stifling emotions kept me from writing another word. If you’ve ever felt that insecure, you know what I mean.

Once I figured out how to unblock myself, I gave writing another shot. My redemption didn’t happen overnight. But gradually, I wrote again. And I wrote a little more the next day. And a little more the next. I wrote a parenting book for fathers on how to boost their daughter’s self-esteem that became a #1 bestseller in its category on Amazon.

Let me tell you how I overcame my writer’s block so you can overcome yours to write and publish your words, too.

Five easy strategies to help you overcome writer’s block.

1. Change your mindset.

Probably the most important thing you should do is stop calling yourself an aspiring writer. You may be a novice writer, but you are a writer. Claim that title every day — your thoughts and words matter.

All you have to do is decide. If you want the world to see you as a writer, you must see yourself as one first. It starts with a simple mind shift.

Next, try this tip.

2. Decide tonight what you want to write tomorrow.

“Don’t start your day until you have it planned.” — Jim Rohn

Have you ever gotten stuck trying to decide what to write? Try planning what you want to write the night before. This step makes the writing process easy. I promise you’ll be able to focus your mind on what to write tomorrow. If you don’t plan this out, you’ll waste your time trying to decide later.

To avoid this situation, decide on these three things the night before:

What to write (choose a topic for a blog post, scene for a novel, etc.)

How many words to write (100, 200, 500, etc.)

When to start and finish writing (5:00–5:30 AM, 6:00–7:00 AM, etc.)

Try this tip for the next three nights. Then, compare your results to days when you didn’t plan to see whether you notice a difference.

Then, try this step.

3. Position yourself for success.

“Eighty percent of success is showing up” — Woody Allen

You should show up to write at the same time and every day. At least, that’s what I try to do. For me, that place is my spare bedroom where I have a desk and faded-blue sofa bed from IKEA. Every morning I go in, crank up the laptop (sometimes I leave it on overnight, so there’s no startup delay), and do my thing. What does showing up look like for you?

My version of showing up also includes writing about 200 words before I do anything else. According to bestselling author John Grisham, writing 200 words is equivalent to writing about one page of a book. You may find it less intimidating to write 200 words a day, too, instead of 500 to 1000 words as the gurus suggest.

Besides, writing 200 words is an easy target to hit. This small bite-sized goal is the fastest way I know to cure writer’s block. If you try it, you’ll probably write more than that anyway (like I usually do). It will take you about 20 minutes or less.

And if you miss a day, don’t worry about it (I sometimes do that, too). Just write 200 words the next day. Don’t pressure yourself to write an extra 200 words to catch up. You can always produce later if you want.

And always remember this.

4. Edit after doing this first.

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” — Jodi Picoult

I continuously work on this one step. I write first and edit later. It’s hard to look at typos and jumbled sentences on my screen without wanting to correct them all.

However, fixing mistakes while you write interrupts your process and delays your progress.

Unless you want to sit there all day writing the same paragraph over and over, I suggest you write first and edit later.

Lastly, do this.

5. Tell someone.

The worst thing I’ve ever done as a writer was to work in secret. I thought I had to lock myself in my room while sipping chocolate mochas, to write my first bestseller — big mistake.

I learned from writer and Convertkit founder Nathan Barry that it’s better to work in public because it inspires you and creates a following for your work.

Sharing your progress gives you a feeling of accomplishment and gives your readers a sense of anticipation. I don’t mean you tell all your family and friends. They might not understand and may try to discourage you.

Instead, surround yourself with like-minded people who are interested in what you’re writing. These folks will not only encourage you to continue but may also permit you to contact them later.

For example, I like to share my progress in my email newsletter or Facebook groups like My 500 Words by Jeff Goins. His genre-neutral group has thousands of novice and experienced writers who want to help each other succeed. The goal is to write 500 per day. But I’ll bet if you wrote less than 500 words and shared your progress anyway, people in the group would still cheer you on. The important thing here is that you keep writing.

What to do next

Try these tips and get back to writing. These steps will give you the confidence and focus on overcoming your worst case of writer’s block. You’ll find it easier to write when you have a plan of action that helps you be consistent. And you’ll become more productive as you become the writer you’ve always wanted. You’ve got this.