“Writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” – Gene Fowler
How many times have you found yourself looking at a blank screen without getting anything written? Have you experienced writing burnout? Has it sometimes made you feel like a weak writer?
Writer’s block is a common problem faced by almost all writers in the world. Yes, you read it right! Almost all writers in the world, even the greatest ones have sometimes in their career have suffered from it.
Writing is a super creative profession no doubt but other professionals need creativity as well. Before getting any further into the topic just imagine if teachers started having teacher’s block or a doctor experiencing the same. Would it be a legitimate excuse for them to escape their responsibilities? Certainly not!
Sometimes you may not feel like working. I experience it from time to time. Some days I just don’t feel like writing at all. Just the thought of sitting in front of a screen makes me want to throw up. Even if I manage to open the word processor, my fingers don’t move on the keyboard at all. Upon research, I came across this fancy term called ‘Writer’s Block’ and it’s quite common.
As a professional writer, I need to put food on my table. For this, I have to write. I needed a solution to this and therefore I delved into something that I love doing more than writing i.e. more research!
Well I didn’t sit under a tree like Buddha, but I did come up with an interesting finding:
It’s not the fear of writing that blocks people, but the fear of not writing well which is something quite different.
As a professional writer, you need to know that a day of bad writing is better than a day of no writing. Here are 3 tips to overcome writer’s block:
Write with purpose
You need to clear it out with yourself, “What am I trying to achieve by writing this content?” A writer writes for many reasons: to inform, entertain, persuade, call for action, and so on. Decide on the purpose and get started! Good ideas will follow.
- Write something, anything: Do not try to convince yourself of your limitations. Instead, believe that you can and get something written. No one finished a journey he didn’t start. Fasten up your belt and get going!
- Focus on completion, not perfection: Many of my first drafts have been pretty ugly. You may not be able to create that perfect piece in one sitting. But you will have something to work on and improvise.
Always remember
The greatest content writers are good writers but they are even better editors.
Courtesy: Trilogy Digital Pathshala – Best Content Writing Certification Training Course in Nepal