To break out of writer's block, write something every day, however little, get new input from other writers, books, and films, rest, and stop worrying about perfection in the first draft. The 6 tips below show how.
Writer's block can hit at the worst moments, and it can hit anyone, from the amateur to the professional writer. If it has hit you right now, don't worry: there are easy ways to overcome it.
1. No more zero days
For some writers, the block lasts for days or weeks in which not a single word gets written. Break the silence and commit to no more zero days. Even if it is only two minutes of rushed writing, do it. If you are short on time or on a deadline, make it "no more zero hours": within every hour, make sure you write something, anything.
2. Spend time with other writers
Do you know other writers? Ask whether they would like to meet for lunch or dinner. When creative minds get together, ideas tend to follow. A famous example is a lunch at Pixar in 1994. As the story goes, four of the studio's leading storytellers were wondering what to make after Toy Story. Over that lunch, they came up with the first ideas for four later box-office successes: A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and WALL-E.
3. Watch a film or read a book
Staying shut up inside your own head won't get you anywhere when you have writer's block. Pick up a new book or go out to see a film. Other people's creative work can have an amazing effect on you.
While you are at it, try to analyze the book or film: how the plot flows, how the characters develop, and the twists and turns the story takes.
4. Get some sleep
When did you last have a good night's sleep? You may be mistaking fatigue for writer's block. Instead of pacing up and down in search of an idea, go to bed. If you are on a deadline, take a short nap now and then. When your brain has been working at full speed for days on end, a good rest does wonders for your focus and creativity.
5. Save perfection for later
If you keep worrying about a plot hole in your story or about sentences that don't flow the way you want, writer's block finds you an easy target. Do yourself a favor and accept imperfection as part of the process. A blacksmith doesn't forge and polish a blade at the same time. First the blade is forged, ground, and hardened. Only then is it polished.
Once you have the building blocks in place, just move on. Polish your writing after a good rest, or ask someone with a fresh pair of eyes to do it for you. Keeping the two jobs apart is also the idea behind separating writing and proofreading. And if you still worry about spelling and grammar mistakes, the Spell Checker can find them once the draft is done.
6. Use the 3, 2, 1, write trick
Open a new, blank document in your favorite word processor, or take a pen and paper. Count down from 3 to 1 and write whatever is on your mind. Write how you feel right now or what you would really like to do. All things considered, the best medicine for writer's block is, well, to start writing.
For more ideas, see how to get rid of writer's block.