You know what I hate about writing? Getting stuck. I have all this wonderful stuff in my head. All these great story lines and characters and places I want them to go, and they just refuse to move. They stand there, staring at each other like dummies. Why does your brain do that? Why do you just get overwhelmed and not able to move?
On the other hand, I hate it equally as much when there is nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where I just sit there, looking at the last thing I wrote and wondering where the heck I was going with that idea. Those are the times where you just want to delete everything and start over. Don’t do that! Whatever you do, don’t start editing now! Wait until your story is finished. I can’ tell you how many times I have fought the urge to cut out something only to come back days or months later and realize just how much it added!
I know when you are stuck there is a big part of you that just want to give up. Get up and take a walk or watch a movie or even check your Facebook. When you are burnt out, taking a break is a good idea. However, sometimes you just need to force yourself to start writing. Starting is always the hardest part.
I know it sounds foolish, but sometimes I just start writing stream of consciousness. Things like ‘I don’t want to write today’ and ‘I am so bored’ or ‘This is not going to help’. But it does help. It gets my fingers moving and my brain on the right track.
Other times, when I have too much going on, I take the time to write it all down at once; just a splurge of words on the page, disjointed and chaotic. But it helps me to get it out and makes me feel like I can stop remembering everything because it is written down somewhere.
This is the same reason I have started carrying a notepad with me everywhere I go. When I get a great idea, I write it down. That way I don’t forget or stress myself out trying to remember until I get home. Even a couple jotted down words can remind you of a whole story line you might have forgotten about. I know I’ve had inspiration form dreams that had I not written it down I would have never remembered even an hour later.
Inspiration can hit any time, and so can writer’s block. Getting over writer’s block is sometimes just as simple as writing something, anything. So, the next time you feel stuck and out of ideas, or overwhelmed by them, take a minute to just free write. You may be surprised at how much it really helps.
By the way, don’t fret about spelling, grammar, etc. You can always fix it later. If you focus too much on the details, you will lose your flow.
Author Bio
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to summer nanny by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.
