How to Avoid Writer's Block

How to Avoid Writer's Block

All writers have at some point or another in their writing career experienced the awful sensation of writer’s block. The internet has all sorts of advice for writers on how to get over writer’s block, but many writers often prefer to avoid writer’s block in the first place. Writer’s block cannot be escaped indefinitely, but there are some ways to decrease a writer’s chances of suffering from writer’s block that is caused by a lack of inspiration and/or a fear of judgment from one’s audience.
Avoiding Writer’s Block That Stems From a Lack of Inspiration
“Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that bitch.” ~ Lili St. Crow
Many writers have successfully avoided writer’s block by not limiting themselves to only one writing project at a time. These writers will often have two or three writing projects that they either switch between as the inspiration strikes them, or that they assign a specific amount of time to each project. For example, some writers will have two writing projects that they work on and they will alternate months or weeks for each project. This method of switching between projects at a scheduled time truly allows the writer to develop a sense of discipline and a strong writing habit that allows the writer to truly embrace Lili St. Crow’s method of writing to avoid writer’s block.
Some writers also find it helpful to not just have more than one writing project going on at a time, but to have one of the projects be a fiction project and the other project a non-fiction writing project. When writers keep switching between fiction and non-fiction writing projects, it often makes it harder for writer’s block to start.
Avoiding Writer’s Block That Stems From a Fear of Judgment
 “All writing problems are psychological problems. Blocks usually stem from the fear of being judged. If you imagine the world listening, you'll never write a line. That's why privacy is so important. You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone.” ~ Erica Jong
Many writers have had success by using Erica Jong’s method of writing; this method allows the writer to avoid writer’s block by simply writing for themselves without fear of any sort of judgement from anyone else. The writers that use this method tend to write straight from the heart without letting themselves get bogged down by proper punctuation, thoughts about what other people will think about their writing, or marketing. By removing all of these worries from the equation entirely, these writers are able to avoid writer's block.
Create a Unique Method of Avoiding Writer’s Block
Every writer is unique and thus each method of avoiding writer’s block will need to be adjusted and made unique to each writer’s struggles with writer’s block and their writing method. If a writer is more prone to having everything planned out and organized then Lili St. Crow’s method might be best, but that writer might also prefer to work only on one writing project at a time. In that case, the writer might devise a schedule for when to switch between chapters or sections of their writing project. A writer that is more spontaneous might benefit more from switching between their main writing project and short story writing, as it would allow the writer to switch from one type of writing to another based on their inclination and inspiration.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke