Writer’s block is every author’s worst nightmare. Is it possible to overcome writer’s block, and how? Here below, we will give you an understanding of a few creative techniques that can be used to cure writer’s block – it doesn’t matter if you are at the very beginning or in the middle of the writing process.
Creative Writing
Creative writing is any technique that helps you find new ideas, boost your creativity and improve your language skills. Writing classes for authors often include these techniques in their programs. When you use these techniques, get on them even though they might seem weird or unnecessary at first sight.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a very popular technique, as it is useful to develop new ideas and lines of action. Choose a topic and write down any word that comes to your mind. Afterwards, you have to categorize these terms by writing down the words and connecting them with lines symbolizing the relationships between the categories. In this way, a complex mind map will be drawn that can be used as a basis for your texts.
Detail Texts
The goal of creative techniques is not to help you write a complete text. The “Detail Text Method” for example is about writing five sentences to describe a word – mainly an object, a person or a characteristic. Then, the paragraphs can become part of a bigger work and contribute to create vivid images in your readers’ mind.
Free Writing
Free writing is a more unusual option to cope with writer’s block. In this case, you sit down in front of a blank page and write continuously without regard to spelling, grammar or topic. Write down everything that comes to your mind, it doesn’t matter if it is a word or a whole sentence. The important thing is that you do not stop writing. Through this technique, you can overcome blocks of apathy and collect thoughts and ideas you were not able to express.
Emotive Language Analysis
Emotive language analysis works best in groups. As is the case with brain storming, you have to write down all words associated to a specific topic. Unlike brainstorming, here the topic is changed after a set period of time (from 10 to 20 minutes). The goal is to achieve a fluent transition and discover new connections. This technique can help your create harmonic scene changes in your work.
Change in Perspective
A factor that might trigger writer’s block is that we only take into account our experiences, feelings and points of view, but a change of perspective is crucial to create not only authentic and diversified characters and lines of action, but also to hold details that are obvious for us but unknown for our readers. You can simply learn how to change your perspective. Shake off familiar patterns and observe things in an unbiased way – this technique will help you develop new ideas. Imagine for example that someone does not know what a telephone is and how it works. How would you describe it? Or else, what would happen if someone – e.g. one of your characters – were persuaded of something you do not agree to, how would their train of thoughts be? How would they behave? How would they argue?
Waterfall Model Question
The waterfall model is a simple and yet efficient method. Through waterfall model questions, you can fill entire pages with banalities. When we were children, we used to be so good at asking questions that we could become irritating. It makes sense to fall back into old patterns and start asking questions such as “How?” “Why?” “Where?” “When?” Every question can be answered and result in new questions with new answers. This method is particularly good to avoid possible mistakes during text composition. It is effective to put your ideas on hold and not to evaluate them immediately. Quantity over quality – the more ideas you have, the more good ideas you can filter out of from them.
