Six Ways to Smash Writer’s Block 

It’s something which is horribly familiar to all us writers: the empty laptop screen, the blank notebook page, the grim sensation that after keeping a day free especially for writing, nothing is coming out… 

What causes writer’s block, and how do we get through it? 

Here are some tried and tested techniques. 

1. Try freewriting

This is described by psychologytoday.com as ‘a technique in which writers generate spontaneous, unstructured content’. I’d translate this as: write for the joy of it.  

Freewriting isn’t like automatic writing, where you let stream-of-consciousness prose flow from your fingertips in an unstructured tide of words. You can link freewriting to the project you’ve stalled on.  

Invent a random scene in which you choose a character and write for fun, just to see what happens. No rules, no pre-imposed structure, no tailored conclusion. It doesn’t matter if your character doesn’t yet have a role in the novel or short story you’re working on. It doesn’t matter if the scene is set in a random place you’ve selected for its novelty value. Writing for the joy of it will reconnect you with why you started all this in the first place.  

Does it work? Yes! While working on my debut novel, I had regular blockages when the story just wouldn’t come out. So, I experimented with freewriting in a series of ‘test scenes’. The characters and scenarios I chose for freewriting didn’t all make the final cut of my novel, but I had so much fun crafting a dark futuristic environment, with its gothic basement clubs and its hybrid characters, that it put me back on the rails again. A couple of pages in, and I was reminded why I love doing what I do. Eventually, I was back on track, writing scenes that did make the final cut.  

2. Reconsider your writing environment 

A study by Kaempfer & Vos (2019) revealed that if you have a familiar place and a regular habit attached to your writing, it does indeed boost creativity. The brain recognises cues indicating that it’s now time to work.  

Whether it’s a coffee at your kitchen table, or a walk in the park before you sit down to write, any routine or ritual can help. My first two novels were written and edited in children’s soft play areas surrounded by noisy kids and piped music. I look back now and don’t know how I did it, but my brain knew that my best opportunity to write was when the kids were occupied. Noisy soft play areas built themselves into my own writing ritual for several years. Now my kids are teens, that landscape has changed – and I couldn’t write in a play-zone if I tried!  

Today, I have different writing rituals: making a cup of herbal tea, taking out a specific notebook and a specific ink pen filled with bottle ink, and then sitting in peace and quiet for five minutes before opening my laptop. Making sure the cats are fed (so that I don’t get harassed) is an essential part of the ritual.  

I have a friend who does yoga on her writing mornings, and another who does a park run first. It can literally be anything which gives you a sense of routine and prepares the brain for the creative work to follow.  

3. Focus on plot  

If you hit a brick wall and feel you can’t progress, this might relate to plot. Sometimes, our creative mind knows before our conscious mind that something isn’t quite right, and it stalls us. Perhaps you need to revisit the backbone of your story.  

Take a break and think about it. Are you writing a random genre mash which instinct tells you is a bit too off-the-wall to be truly viable? Is your novel heavily influenced by film and TV, and have you realised this might not be the best way forward? Is your antagonist not powerful enough yet? Does your protagonist not yet have a proper quest? Any of these things can create a mental brick wall.  

So, what to do about it? Fortunately, there’s plenty of advice at Jericho to help you tease out these concerns and look at your project from a multitude of angles. Once you’ve recognised the problem, everything starts to make sense. Why not put your novel in a nutshell by writing a one or two sentence premise, to consolidate the core heartbeat of the story?  

4. Create a work plan  

With no work plan, writing a novel can seem like a huge task. This can lead to stalling, as you wonder where to start and how you’re ever going to conquer it.  

Minimize the overwhelm by creating a work plan. The maths suggests that a novel of 80,000 words equates to around 1,500 words a week if your goal is to finish a draft in a year. If you want to write a draft over two years, the weekly wordcount reduces to 770 words.  

A novel for younger readers (say, 50,000 words) equates to 960 words a week in a year, or 480 words a week over two years. It’s a pacing trick that works a treat because suddenly, the wordcount looks a little bit less daunting. 

5. Read!   

Take a reading break. It’s amazing how reading (or listening to) any genre of novel can bubble away in your creative subconscious and inspire you to add a new facet to your own story.  

The bonus is that for us writers, reading is a ‘working break’ rather than an excuse not to get started. Read outside your comfort zone, too. It’s amazing where this might lead in terms of ideas, word choices and prose style.  

6. Be kind to yourself  

It’s as normal for us writers to work in fits and starts as it is to write religiously for a set time every day. It’s also normal to swap between the two.  

Just because you’ve created a work schedule doesn’t mean to say you aren’t allowed to shift it around, or take time out if life gets in the way. It happens. Just know you aren’t alone.  

Happy writing!

Want more from Liz? Apply now for a place in her tutor group on the next Ultimate Novel Writing Programme intake or book a 20 minute one-to-one mentoring session with her for just £20. These are the perfect way to sense-check your story idea, ensure it’s worth investing in and road-test whether working with Liz for a longer period is right for you. If you go on to study or book more mentoring with us, the cost of this session will be credited back to you. 

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