by Dr. Kristin Huggins, Consultant
Writer’s Block is kryptonite for the academic scholar. You finish your coursework for the day, and open your computer to continue drafting the introduction for your article. You stare at the blank screen, the cursor blinking like a ticking time bomb. You have nothing. Your creative energy has been spent, and you’re bringing an empty tank to the table. You close your laptop and tell yourself that you’ll try again tomorrow when your writer’s block has lifted. Except it doesn’t. So you don’t write the next day. Or the next. Until a week goes by. Then another.
Suddenly you’ve missed a whole month of drafting potential. All because of writer’s block.
The truth is that even the most experienced writer (no matter the genre) experiences writer’s block–a term used to describe that “stuck” feeling writers encounter, as if your synapses suddenly stopped firing and you forgot how to form words on a page. And the temptation is to wait it out.
But the reality is that writer’s block is patient. It has all the time in the world. And it can outwait you any day of the week. You, on the other hand, cannot afford to sit and wait for creative genius to strike! You have to go on the offensive, utilizing strategies to become “unstuck”.
If you feel stuck in your writing, try these five strategies below for overcoming writer’s block.
Step Away for a Moment (But ONLY a Moment!)
If you’ve stared at your computer screen for several hours in the last few days, chances are you need to allow your eyes (and brain) to do a soft reset. Stepping away from your workspace and getting sunlight on your face will do wonders for your creative flow. If you’re unable to go outside or leave your desk, simply standing up and stretching for 5 minutes will help encourage blood flow and give your eyes a much-needed break from staring incessantly at the blue screen of your computer.
Try Switching Your Writing Medium
Utilizing various writing mediums is a great way to break through writer’s block and brainstorm new ideas. If you’re writing your paper on a computer, pull out a journal or legal pad and try handwriting the next section of your paper.
I’ve also found it incredibly helpful NOT to write in Microsoft Word. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I find the process of drafting in Word very intimidating since this is the program I use for final drafts and formatting seminar papers, articles, and book chapters. If I try to begin a writing project in Word, I end up editing as I write, which hinders my creative output.
As a result, I remove myself from this space and draft in a basic writing tool like Wordpad, OneNote, or Notes (for Mac users). These are very basic text-editing programs that don’t carry all the bells, whistles, and pressure that comes with Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Once the initial drafting process is complete, I then copy and paste into Word to begin the revision process! (Plus, it’s always exciting to see my page count expand once I double-space my text.)
Storyboard Your Idea/Thesis/Problem
For my Kinesthetic Drafters: Using a whiteboard or an easel pad can help you conceptualize big-picture items in your work and group categories, themes, and seminal sources accordingly underneath those macro-level items. I find the use of a whiteboard especially helpful when working on a complicated literature review.
Storyboarding also provides a great opportunity for you to test the congruency and linearity of your project by mapping out your work with visuals. If you want to read more about how to use storyboarding to prototype your research project, check out this fantastic article:
Use a Writing Playlist to Generate New Ideas
For my Audio Drafters: Spotify and Youtube are both excellent sources for curating the perfect writing playlist. While drafting the first two chapters of my dissertation, I assigned specific tracks to sections of my literature review and methodology sections, based on the topic, the level of writing required, or how I felt about that particular area of my dissertation draft.
For example, I had a very difficult time working through my historical analysis section of the literature review, compiling vocal pedagogy treatises in several languages from 1592 to 1873. To help with my writing flow in this section, I listened to the soundtrack from Leigh Bardugo’s “Shadow and Bone” Netflix series (deeply rooted in traditional Russian motifs) and the soundtrack to the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim video game (an interesting blend of medieval themes, harpsichord, and lush orchestration). For me, these albums transported me into a similar space as what I was describing in my historical section.
Listen to what makes you feel your best and most creative when you are drafting!
Break Down Your “Drafting To-Do List” into Smaller, More Manageable Tasks
When my cohort began to analyze their data and draft the results chapter of our dissertation, we were completely overwhelmed. It seemed like an insurmountable task: our data didn’t make sense, or the statistical test we planned to run didn’t work because the assumptions failed, or our response rate was skewed. The obstacles standing in our way made it feel as if we would never get done writing up our work.
It was then that a faculty advisor reminded us of her favorite saying: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
And she was right.
When you reframe your focus from your end result (a finished paper/article/thesis/dissertation) to the smaller, bite-sized chunks you need to complete, the impossible suddenly feels possible. Look at your project. Look at the components of your work. What can you tackle today with the time you have available? What steps do you need to take before you can tackle that item? Break things down as small as you can. (Plus, the extra dopamine hit when you remove the to-do item in your planner is a lovely bonus!)
I hope you found these tips for overcoming Writer’s Block helpful! Remember that everyone approaches writing from a different perspective and a different background, so what works for one person may not work for another. Don’t be afraid to try several things to break through your roadblock. Don’t give up!
Happy Writing, Dear Reader.