A lot of my clients come to me — whether it’s at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of their writing process — and they say, “I have writer’s block. I don’t know what to write about. I can’t write.”
I’m going to give you some tips today for when that happens.
So, the first thing to “do” is to know this is completely normal. I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, and even I get so-called writer’s block. Yes, I think writer’s block is a myth. And I’ve been teaching on this for at least 15 years.
Because, really, all you have to do is sit down at the computer or take your pen and paper and just start writing, “I don’t know what to write about.”
This tip comes from Julia Cameron; so, I can’t take credit for this. Just write three “morning pages” using a free style of writing.
The three pages could be thoughts that come into your head, what you see in the room, etc.
Another thing you can do is talk your story out. Some people like doing videos or using voice to text. It doesn’t have to be related to the book you’re writing, but just tell some kind of story. That might get your creativity flowing. You can also have that transcribed and turned into part of your book, if that’s relevant to your topic.
My next tip is to have a friend or a colleague interview you or talk to you about what it is you want to write about. Again, you can use pieces of that, or all of it, from your transcription and make that part of your book writing process.
If you still feel stuck, you can also read. It could be newspaper articles, it could be a book, or it could be the religious text of your choice that gives you inspiration. All great writers read, so you may not be reading enough. Believe me, I’m guilty of this as well. Especially now that we have all this technology and all these distractions.
A lot of times just working with somebody — whether a friend, a family member, a colleague, a coach, or a mentor — or reading something will help. If you’ve been reading a lot and feel like you’re overdosing on reading (which I can do sometimes as well) maybe just relax or go watch something on Netflix (you won’t hear me teach on Netflix as a writing strategy very often!).
But sometimes just relaxing, watching Netflix, jumping into a pool, or making a change of scenery will help you get over writer’s block.
