How To Beat Writer’s Block

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

I joke with my students and #writingboss clients that I don’t believe in writer’s block and there’s no such thing as inspiration.

Letting go of the idea that we will be hit by a lightning bolt from the heavens while we sit in a pretty garret while wearing something frilly and/or sexy is especially challenging. Most movies or TV shows that involve writers show two versions of writing — the one where the writer stares at a blank screen miserably or the pretty garret where it all comes together.

Here’s my tip. I’ve written and published most of my books this way.

In the mornings, not every day, but when I can, I try to get up, set a timer for an hour, and write some garbage. I don’t think too much about the quality of the writing (sometimes it’s awful, sometimes it’s amazing, sometimes it’s in the middle) and I just type or if I’m writing in a notebook, I write whatever comes to mind.

I try to do this until I have a shitty first draft of something — an essay, a poem, a novel. I try not to go back too much or at all to revise and review. I just keep writing. The pen or the pencil or the keyboard is always moving. I don’t spell check, Google anything, or fix sentences. I don’t censor myself. I try very hard during that one hour or sometimes it’s 45 minutes to not go online and/or look at social media. It’s hard, and…