How to Break Through Writer’s Block by Turning Within
Sometimes when we sit down to write, our muse eludes us. Perhaps we’re tired. Maybe we feel overwhelmed or don’t know where to start. Instead of looking outside ourselves to begin the writing process, we can also turn within ourselves.
If you find that you can not seem to get started with your writing, open a new document, or turn to clean page and begin writing about the feeling. Put down your fears and frustrations on the page. Make a list of all the things you have to do that are weighing on your mind. Maybe you’re upset with your boyfriend for not asking how your presentation went. Perhaps you resent your coworker who received a promotion but never seems to be as productive as you. Possibly, you just feel blah.
Write about pound cake fresh from the oven soon to be served with homemade vanilla ice cream and peaches from the farmers market. Reminisce about your first international vacation as a young adult and how you discovered pavlova at that little diner on Circular Quay and then watched the bats fly out from under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset. Remember that time you wandered into a thrift store on a whim and found the perfect outfit that you were able to pay for with only the change in the bottom of your purse.
Jot down that crazy idea you have for a screenplay about a young vegan activist who goes undercover as a server to undermine a local steakhouse and falls in love with the gentleman rancher who provides its beef. Imagine what a genetically modified velcro peel-and-eat shrimp would taste and how much easier it would be to remove from its shell. Fantasize about what it would be like to be shorter, taller, skinnier, beefier, black, white, or purple.
At this point, you may notice that you’ve gotten into the groove of writing by taking the backdoor. It’s like running on a treadmill for ten minutes before lifting weights. You’ve warmed and loosened up your writing muscles, and you’re now ready to tackle the heavy lifting of your writing project.