What do people do to break down writer's block?
Hello, thank you for the accepting me into the FORUM. My first question is: What do people do to break down writer's block?
I have a few tricks:
- Write in iambic pentameter for a while. It distracts my brain in such a way that lets the ideas sneak around the struggle with structure.
- Write a bunch of false starts on paper, then crumple them up and start over.
- Write about your writer's block.
Reassure myself it doesn't have to be perfect or even good. Everything but an empty page can be fixed later
Every day, sit down to write and just let yourself spew out words. Most of those words will be unreadable schmutz, but maybe you'll write something that inspires you. Just don't beat yourself up for all the schmutz, unless you accidentally publish it...
Drink too much, write something inspiring, then realize it's junk, then rewrite it again. Sometime along the process, begin to sober up, laugh at what I wrote, then re-rewrite it into something worthy.
Depends what the block is. Creative output relies in input, so make sure you consume and do diverse and interesting things. If you're blocked on a point in the story, ask yourself questions about it. If you're not feeling it, take a walk, exercise, do something else. Maybe just journal, or write a scene from something in your life. As stated elsewhere, it's fine to write unintelligible nonsense. You can toss it, and often just getting a page of garbage out will get you to the good stuff. Like drilling a well, you can't stop just because the first 20' were only dirt.
When I was in high school, I was ALWAYS writing. I would rush through my work so I could bust out my journal & get back to it. But after leaving high school, I had writer’s block for years.
I’m 21, so thankfully it’s only been about 4 years (but feels like a lifetime), & I recently realized that what was so exciting about it in the first place was the fact that I was writing about characters that I already knew (Yes, technically it was all Doctor Who fanfiction
) & that I was physically writing in a journal. I thought maybe this had something to do with it.
So, I bought a journal, & started writing about the characters from my favorite book, & the words just tumbled out & I ended up filling a quarter of the journal in one day. Now, I’ve just heavily tweaked the characters & changed all of the details of the plot until it became a COMPLETELY different story. & I haven’t been this inspired in years (maybe in my life) - not even when I was in high school
I’m 21, so thankfully it’s only been about 4 years (but feels like a lifetime), & I recently realized that what was so exciting about it in the first place was the fact that I was writing about characters that I already knew (Yes, technically it was all Doctor Who fanfiction

So, I bought a journal, & started writing about the characters from my favorite book, & the words just tumbled out & I ended up filling a quarter of the journal in one day. Now, I’ve just heavily tweaked the characters & changed all of the details of the plot until it became a COMPLETELY different story. & I haven’t been this inspired in years (maybe in my life) - not even when I was in high school
Maybe a change of scenery or do something that you like. It always helps if you try to reset your mind
There's no harm in taking a break. Try to watch a movie that's in the same genre as your book. You might get some ideas. Goodluck!

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