Overcoming Writer's Block

OvercomingWriter’sBlock

We’ve all experienced the dread of sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper – or more likely these days, a blank screen – and the words that should spill from brain to fingertip to page simply aren’t coming. Staring into space with an exasperated sigh we realize writer’s block is tightening its frustrating grip.

Members of Wayland’s English Department shared some of their best tips and hints for banishing unproductive time at the keyboard.

James Cleary

“All writers need to accept that their first draft, or couple of drafts, are going to be unsatisfactory.

“Good writing often means working through frustration and having faith in the writing process. Staring at a blank page and hoping that inspiration will strike out of the clear blue sky isn’t helpful. You’ve got to put pen to paper, get your ideas on the page, and then revise, revise, revise. While some writers have natural talent, the most successful writers are the ones who are willing to diligently follow a process and put in the necessary work.”

Elise Krause `04

“I usually advise students to start with the second paragraph. This recommendation seems counterintuitive, but students frequently feel pressured to ‘start their writing the right way.’ This preoccupation contributes to writer’s block.”

Andrew McDonnell

“When I see students struggling to get started with their essays, I usually encourage them to start in the middle.

I tell them to skip the introduction and begin to tackle their strongest argument. Sometimes it’s easier to write an introduction after you’ve finished all your arguments. When it comes to creative writing, I sometimes give them a prompt, even something as simple as one word, and tell them to create a conversation between two people they don’t know. The first line has to make use of or allude to that word.”

“After students have fleshed out their main ideas, they often have a better handle on how to introduce them.”

Martha Kesler H`08

“My ‘old school’ suggestion is to splurge on some nice pens to get a surge of confidence. The more modern suggestion is to use different fonts and colors on the computer.”

Jeff Thompson

“I ask students to ask themselves how they organize themselves best for freewriting. They decide if they like mind maps (diagrams with words and/or pictures) or ‘stream of consciousness freewriting’. I instruct them to start writing for 10 to 15 minutes without stopping to overthink. Just write.”

“With mind maps, they create possible main ideas as hubs. Then they can write ‘spokes’ or lines leading to supporting details attached to main ideas. Ideas move from broad or general to specific. Later, they can choose which ideas seem best to write about and ignore ideas that seem unrelated to the topic.”

“When freewriting, I stress that rules of grammar and punctuation are not important, and it’s okay to get completely off topic for a sentence or two as long as the overall writing is about the topic. Later, they can pick their best ideas from what they write.”

“Both techniques get the writer started, which is the most important item sometimes. Often, to their own surprise, they get something tangible out of what may seem disorganized writing.”