What is Writer’s Block?

What is Writer’s Block?

I think that’s a more complicated answer than we’d like to think, but there is hope.

The simple answer can be found in a dictionary.

“the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.”

I think this definition is partially true, but I don’t think it covers all the reasons someone experiences writer’s block.

1. Fear

People might not realize it, but fear plays a big part of why many writers run into writer’s block symptoms.

It could be fear of failure. We can stop writing because we become paralyzed with the idea of anyone reading what we’ve written and calling it trash.

It could be fear of rejection. We could spend hours and days and weeks and months or even years writing a story only to hear a publisher say “No.”

In fact, many successful authors have.

It could be fear of not being good enough. What could be worse of all is that we spend all this work and effort on a project and in the end we find out how bad it really is. That can be devastating if someone was under the illusion that they were good and come to find out they really aren’t. And even worse if they aren’t willing to work past it and become better.

2. Laziness

Sometimes we say it’s writer’s block, but really we just don’t feel like working on it today. We’ve worked on it for hours and hours all week long and we want a break.

So on any given day we might sit down to write something and our brain just kind of turns off toward the project and deep down we really are okay with that as we don’t actually want to write anything today anyway.

3. Burnout

Close to laziness is burnout. We’ve stayed up until 2 am every night and right now the last thing we want to do is think about what to write next. 

We have a million things going on in our lives and each one of them stresses us out in a different way, and if we don’t take some time to rest we will most likely implode.

So that Friday deadline is looking more and more fierce as it comes piledriving at us in full force and nothing seems to be stopping it. The stress really builds up and the work becomes paralyzing when we stop to think about all the possible consequences of not getting it done on  time.

4. Creative block

This really is more of a normal case of writer’s block. 

We are slamming through the project and then suddenly, blam, nothing. All creative juices slam to a halt. What happened?

It’s hard to say. Usually this comes from a lack of research and planning.

Some authors and writers would say this almost never happens to them because they outline the entire story beforehand.

I would tend to agree with this notion. If we take the time to outline the entire thing and make sure we have enough resources to look through along the way when we run out of ideas I would think that the ability to see what’s coming next would be much stronger.

If you are the type of writer that just starts writing and sees where it ends up, I would say that you will face this problem more often than someone that outlines everything.

Confession: I am totally guilty of this on a daily basis. 

I am 100% by nature the type of writer that gets an idea and just starts writing. Where the idea came from can give me a bit of a heading but otherwise the story or project usually unfolds before me as I write it.

Now, learning from James Patterson I did pick some very powerful outlining tips that I have taken advantage of from time to time.

But on a normal basis I usually just sit down or lay down and start researching and writing.

What is Writer’s Block?

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5. Not enough research

Since I am the type of writer that doesn’t naturally want to outline, this is where I can often run into writer’s block if I’m not careful.

Sometimes we don’t do enough research or we don’t have our research tabs organized in an easy fashion to be able to continue forward.

The last thing we want to do as people that have to get the project done is to sit down and stare at a blank page and a blinking cursor and try to think our way out of writer’s block.

Nope. We need to read about what we want to write and find interesting facts and thoughts to bring to the page. To do this we have to be CONSTANTLY researching.

For me, writing is not just writing. It is a never ending flow of reading, writing, reading, writing, reading, writing.

So make sure you don’t hit writer’s block because you’re not doing enough research.

To add to this, I should definitely say you can watch videos too if that’s more your speed.

I find that video learning and writing slows me down so I try to do it, but it’s not my personal go to.

I am much more trained and geared to skim quickly and write.

I say this because it is important for you as a writer to figure out how you learn best and utilize that as a strength. 

People learn differently. A close friend of mine learns very well through audio and video. He puts videos and podcasts on 2x speed and he’s off on the races. He’s learning and using what he learns that way.

I am not like that, as we discussed.

So it just goes to show, you have to try different things and figure out what works best for you.

5. Too tired

Writer’s block can come from simple things like being sleepy or tired.  The brain isn’t flowing at 100% and it needs to take a break or have sleep.

This can be a bigger factor than one might realize or expect. 

Sometimes it’s better to take a nap or go to sleep than grab that next cup of coffee. Unless it’s crunch time, then definitely grab the coffee.  🙂

6. Boredom

Sometimes it’s not writer’s block. It’s just boredom.

You might be bored with the genre your in, the story itself, or a character you’ve been working on. You could be bored with a scene, a lore, or a backstory that’s taking forever to hash out.

You might be bored with a copywriting or freelance project that just doesn’t have any interest to you whatsoever.

Whatever the scenario may be, boredom can really kill creativity. And if you are bored with a project it can feel like it takes a loooooooong time to get it finished and out of the way to make room for projects you care about.

Final Thoughts:

What is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block seems to just be any amount of time where we run out of things to write, but the underlying causes could be any number of things.

There can be a plethora of reasons to attribute to any type of writer’s block you may be facing, but taking the time to understand your specific case of writer’s block can lead you to a quick solution on how to get rid of writer’s block.

Hope this helps!

Happy writing!

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Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome?

Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome? Which is holding you back as a writer?

How to beat imposter’s syndrome as a writer.

Is it imposter syndrome? Is it writer’s block? Or is it fear?

What is imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome can really be summed up as fear.

• Fear of not being good enough
• Fear of failure
• Fear of letting others down

Which makes you wonder, “Am I experiencing writer’s block because I can’t think of anything to write, or is it actually fear?”

In most cases, it’s anxiety and fear. We sum up writer’s block as if it’s a catch-all for any reason I can’t write today.

But in reality, if we are honest with ourselves, fear stops us from writing.

– Fear of failure

– Fear of rejection

– Fear of not being good enough

– Fear of being made fun of

And, let’s be honest again if we don’t write, more than likely those things won’t happen about our writing because it doesn’t exist yet.

Therefore, no one can make fun of it and we can continue to toy with the story in our minds and talk about it with our friends without the worry of judgment over whether it’s actually good or not.

But how do we defeat this fear?

How do we get the courage to write out our story even when we are so worried about failure?

1. Write only 50 words.

You’re probably thinking that I’m joking.

Write only 50 words? Is this a trick? That’s like writing nothing.

Au contraire, my friend. That’s the point. It’s not nothing. It’s 50 words.

And it serves its purpose. It’s meant to make us relax when we head to write.

If I said write 10,000 or even 1,000 words that might sound daunting, but 50 words are essentially peanuts. It’s nothing.

So don’t worry, just relax and write 50 words.

If you end up writing more during your session, great. If you don’t, great. The goal was to get down 50 and you’ve accomplished your writing goal for today!

You should check it off your list and feel good about it.

The next time your mind is racing about all the reasons you shouldn’t write, just write 50 and call it a day if you don’t feel like writing more after that.

2. Lay down.

Famous authors have been doing this trick for years.

In fact, I’m doing it right now. (I’m not famous) That’s right. I do a good bit of my writing lying down. Not sure when it started, but it does have its perks and it helps make the writing process more relaxed.

This, in turn, can help us focus better as we write.

It is beneficial for our writing processes overall. It helps us relax while we write and we look forward to doing it again.

That is one of the keys to writing: do it in such a way that you look forward to doing it again.

If you make your writing procedure a humdrum that you cringe at, more than likely, you will quit before you really get into it.

If you are able to make ways to enjoy it. It’ll be much easier to do every day.

And as a writer that’s one of our main goals: to get ourselves to do it every single day.

Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

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Bluehost hosts your blog so that you can own your domain and make money blogging. Check them out only if you’re interested in making money blogging; otherwise, go for a free blog instead 🙂

Already own a blog? Monetize with Ezoic. Make 5X more on ads with Ezoic! See for yourself. – These ads use machine learning. Set it and leave it.

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Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

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Or

Optional: See if this FREE Amazon book will pique your interest. It is a part of Project Gutenberg. If you love Little Women, you should give this book a try as well.

Now back to the show: Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

3. Don’t show it to anyone till it is done and pretty.

One of the reasons we get afraid to write is we worry what others will say about it.

This is a very normal fear.

Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it goes away without some battling and effort.

One thing you can do to help yourself get over that fear is to never show your work before it’s finished.

Artists do this.

If you’re in the middle of a painting you would never want to show it to anyone, because it would look like some weird blobs.

And that’s because in the middle of the process there are some weird blobs.

Same thing with our stories. In the middle, there might be loose ends, bad wording, and bad grammar.

But if we keep it to ourselves and write out the entire thing before showing it to anyone this will take a huge weight of fear off of us just to write and not worry about it.

When you are in the process of writing, write as if no one is going to ever see it. Then you are free to write.

(In the editing process you can start to worry about people seeing it 😉 )

Bonus:

Someone might be wondering, “what if I want someone to read it in the middle to see if I’m on the right track?”

That’s totally fine. The point is to make you feel less nervous so you can actually start writing and not put it off because of fear.

In fact, if you are going to have someone sample it, I recommend polishing off a chapter or two and having them read it after you’ve edited them a bit.

Pick someone you trust and that also is interested in the genre you’re writing.

Hope this helps!

Happy writing!

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Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

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Bluehost hosts your blog so that you can own your domain and make money blogging. Check them out only if you’re interested in making money blogging; otherwise, go for a free blog instead 🙂

Already own a blog? Monetize with Ezoic. Make 5X more on ads with Ezoic! See for yourself. – These ads use machine learning. Set it and leave it.

Try Grammarly, The Free tool that should be in every writer’s toolbelt.

Try it for free now.

Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

Check this out.

Is Writing your craft? You might love this. Check out the 4,900+ reviews it has on Amazon to see if this might be what you’re looking for.

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Now back to the show: Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

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Interested in starting a blog of your own (and making an extra $100-$600 monthly)? Check out Bluehost.

Need a Cheaper Plan? Try DreamHost.

If you enjoy Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome, storytelling, and creating content in general, you might love owning a domain of your own where you can write about it? Ever want to own your own domain name (Yourname.com)?

Bluehost hosts your blog so that you can own your domain and make money blogging. Check them out only if you’re interested in making money blogging; otherwise, go for a free blog instead 🙂

Already own a blog? Monetize with Ezoic. Make 5X more on ads with Ezoic! See for yourself. – These ads use machine learning. Set it and leave it.

Try Grammarly, The Free tool that should be in every writer’s toolbelt.

Try it for free now.

Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

Check this out.

Is Writing your craft? You might love this. Check out the 4,900+ reviews it has on Amazon to see if this might be what you’re looking for.

Or

Optional: See if this FREE Amazon book will pique your interest. It is a part of Project Gutenberg. If you love Little Women, you should give this book a try as well.

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Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome

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