BEATING WRITERS BLOCK- A SHORT GUIDE

Every writer has experienced and can relate to the term 'writer's block' and I'm sure it looks the same for a lot of us. Staring at a blank page, procrastination just to avoid the frustration of it or typing something out just to get started and shaking your head with every key you push. It's easy to put things off and wait for the next creativity spell to be cast over you but sometimes we have deadlines, we have things we want to get done for our own motives and sometimes you need a quick fix. So, how do you kickstart your creativity?

TURN TO OTHERS IN YOUR FIELD

Musicians experience the feeling of hitting that creative wall and I've heard many stories of creators locking themselves away and listening to other performer's music on repeat and doing little else. Although I'm not advising you to lock yourself away and read blog posts all day, I definitely think we can take some inspiration and lessons from looking at people within our field of work. I find that after reading a good blog post, I'm inspired to create something myself. If possible, try to forget about what's at hand and focus on taking in as much content from other people. Inspiration sparks from unknown places and forcing it might just not work.

SCRIBBLE IDEAS ON A PAGE

One of the worst feelings is watching your cursor flashing. Waiting for you to write something- anything! In some ways, the first words are the hardest to get down. Scribbling some different ideas on a page might help in this instance. Write down different scenarios for your character or outcomes of your blog post and maybe even create a mindmap of different ideas.

LOOK AT OTHER FORMS OF MEDIA

If turning to those in your field doesn't help, maybe try consuming other forms of media or pursue another creative endeavor to get out of your head for a while. Try reading articles in your favourite magazine, watching a movie, listening to some good music, read some poems or even turn your hand to some craftwork or colouring in.

TAKE SOME TIME OUT

Even if there's a deadline for your piece of work, taking even 5 minutes away from your screen or notepad can be enough to allow you to come back with a fresh pair of eyes and critique the work you've already done and thus inspire you to continue writing. If I'm feeling writer's block has hit me particularly hard I like to meditate for a while so that I can start afresh with my writing. Scrapping what we've already put down on paper can sound counterproductive but if the old way doesn't inspire us, maybe it's time to change things up.

If all else fails, stick the kettle on, load a TED talk like this one.

What do you like to do to kick start your creativity?