Writer's Block: 4 Tips to Repair Inspiration

Writer's block is one of the most unpleasant phenomena that most people who have to write creatively with some frequency can go through. In addition, it is a frustrating experience, since it creates the illusion that you are unable to move forward. the least with the wording of the text, and this complicates things even more, creating a circle vicious.

It is clear that writer's block cannot be solved in a matter of seconds, but there are certain strategies that can be used to maximize the chances that the inspiration.

• Related article: "The psychology of creativity and creative thinking"

Why does writer's block appear?

Writer's block is, as its name suggests, the phenomenon that occurs when someone who must write an original text (regardless of its length) finds himself unable to write even a few paragraphs that meet a minimum of internal coherence or interest.

It is, ultimately, the lack of concrete ideas from which to start to write something. A person can be more or less clear about what he wants to talk about, but the words simply do not flow. It can happen to even the most creative people, as inspiration is deeply contextual, it doesn't arise individually from within. The environment, what is being done and what is being thought about what is being done, are elements that have a great influence.

Usually writer's block It is something that is based a lot on suggestion and in the phenomenon known as self-fulfilling prophecy: Thinking about what is happening and categorizing it as a crash makes the problem a bit more complicated, as this affects to the feeling of self-efficacy and causes a certain anxiety to appear that can end up demanding the attention that should be devoted to what creative.

So, it must be clear that writer's block can be due to many things, but it is never due to the inability to write something creative or original: this is something that can be done by virtually anyone with non-cognitive abilities affected. The problem is not in the lack of things to say, but in other things that have to do with two parallel processes: the lack of references, and the distractions.

Tips to regain inspiration

It is something that differs qualitatively from the rest of the difficulties that have to do with writing. If you are tired, you write slower; if you don't have time, you think about what you're going to write or take notes here and there, but if writer's block appears, you get next to nothing when trying to get creative.

Thus, where this type of blockage occurs, there is an inability to have a good starting point from which to start a text. Efforts to solve this must be focused on providing this fundamental support that, once overcome, gives way to a phase in which writing is much easier. Let's see several guidelines to follow.

1. Decide your strategy: gardener or architect

According to the famous writer George R. R. Martin, there two types of writers: architects and gardeners. The former first plan the fundamental structure of what they want to explain and then put it into words, and the latter begin with a narrative element and, based on that, they develop a text, in a very spontaneous way, from what is suggested to them by what they write.

Being clear about which of these two strategies is part of is very useful. Pick one and stick with it, otherwise simply wondering which one to follow will waste more time and frustrate you more.

2. Look for lack of motivation

It is possible that part of the writer's block that you experience is because what you think you are going to write does not motivate you, for Therefore, the desire to face this creative challenge does not arise spontaneously, since it requires a certain amount of effort. Yes that's how it is, look for small elements that do interest you and that you think can fit well and enrich the text, and include them, or make one of them part of that "starter" for the first lines.

3. Put off your perfectionism and write (almost) anything

You can't be a perfectionist with something that doesn't exist because it hasn't been created yet. However, the effects of an excess of perfectionism do become noticeable from before you start writing: specifically, it makes it more difficult to start. that's why it's good greatly lower the minimum quality required for the first lines.

What emerges will probably be very imperfect, but at least it will already provide a base to build the rest of the text. Even if nothing created in the first writing session survives to the end of the creative process, it will have been of great value.

• You may be interested in: "Perfectionist Personality: The Disadvantages of Perfectionism"

4. Totally disconnect

Another option is to stop obsessing over writing and do something else, especially if it's something relaxing and in an environment where it's easy to switch off. In this way, the anxiety caused by writer's block will decrease, and it will be easier to face this task in the future.