Tips for Conquering Writer’s Block:

​My dearest kitty cats and kitten caboodles, it’s time to talk about something that can be very real and frustrating as a writer that can dampen even your brightest of days: WRITER’S BLOCK. Well fear not my friends, this dementor-esque creature living in your mind and sucking away your imagination does not have to exist; especially not in your imagination – I feel like that would be self destructive, but anyway, that’s not the point. As a writer myself, I have been blessed with many ideas that continue on an endless list that is added to every day. Below I have listed a ton of different practices I use to constantly and consistently create new worlds, characters, and stories that I feel are worth telling! Check it out!:

​Travel to New Places as Often as You Can!

• Treading over new ground is the best and most beneficial way to come across new inspiration, uncovered stories, or a new found imagination. If you are in a place of unfamiliar territory, your observation levels are heightened to a new extreme  - take advantage of what your mind, heart, eyes, ears, nose, hands, and toes tell you. The feelings you get will take you to places unknown that you further want to explore even when you’re standing still. These places are the worlds in which you will create. Write it down while the feeling is fresh!

People Watch on the daily

• I couldn’t stress this enough! Whether you’re taking the train to work or are sitting by the window in the coffee shop looking out onto those bustling downtown - keep your mind, eyes, and heart open as people pass by. Pay attention to what their eyes are saying about what they’re going through. Listen to the way they talk and what their dialogue says about them. Take in the music they listen to, the way they walk, what they look like, and unique features they may possess – they might just inspire a new character. 

​Read Newspaper Articles and Letters from Then and Now

• My goodness, some crazy things go on in the world each day! Some are even in your hometown, and sometimes the best ones took place decades ago! Make sure you read the local newspaper as often as you can and then go to your community library and look back to the articles and stories shared about your hometown or some random city around you. There’s no telling what concepts could be derived from a simple happenstance a hundred years ago, or beloved characters from a single interview. Give it a go. You just might be surprised.  

​Listen to Music and Go for a Walk.

• There’s something about getting the blood flowing and listening to the lyrics of some of your favorite tunes. If you really listen carefully to what each artist is saying and then taking in your surroundings at the same time, the music can dig into some deeper feelings you may have or create an idea in your head you might want to act upon. It’s a great way to get the wheels of your imagination turning!

​Look through Photographs and Paintings. 

•   Whether they’re of people, places, things, or are swirly, weird and abstract photographs and paintings provide a certain beauty other than the obvious visual they posses. These things allow you to create your own story based off of a picture, a look, a color, a stroke of paint, or the perception you have on it. So next time you’re at a museum, looking at a photo on Pinterest, or looking through a book that holds different collections of art, take a few moments or minutes longer to really look at the piece that calls out to you in particular. Analyze it emphatically and see what you come up with. There are millions of ways each story could go. 

​Keep a Sketch Booklet of all the Characters You come across and imagine.

• Going back to the people watching on the daily – draw these people! The way you draw them will even heighten the details of the character that is created through your own perception. Whether you make their nose a little longer, or color their shirt in pink instead of blue, or give them an Afro instead of long wispy hair – it’ll make your character more unique to you and the story you might create. Underneath the picture you draw of them, give them a name, an occupation, what they do for fun, where they come from, what their aspirations and fears are, as well as maybe a catch phrase. Allow them the opportunity to come to life. A story just around who they are just might be the next hit. 

​Free Write Five Minutes at the Beginning of Each Day

• After you wake up, do your yoga, and make your morning coffee, sit down with a notebook of yours and just write for five minutes. It could be about absolutely anything. It could be about what’s on your mind, something you dreamt of, a feeling you might have, a person you want to see – anything! This will get your creative juices flowing right away in the morning and a way to activate your mind for the rest of the day. Also – writing every day is important to stay involved in your craft and constantly learning. 

​Use the Word of the Day on www.Dictionary.com and Write a Story. 

• This is a fun challenge I like to do. Instead of Free writing sometimes, I do this and come up with the wildest things. For example, the word of the day today is forbearance and based off of the definition of this word, I would create a concept for a story told in a three-act structure summary! It’s fun – plus it’s a way to extend your vocabulary. 

​Sit Alone in Nature

• Sitting in a space where the only sounds you hear are those of nature will allow you to enter a realm to think and expand your creativity in.  Also, while you’re here, express your thoughts, fears, story points, characters, or questions you may have out loud. Hearing them in an empty space and directed towards yourself will allow you to think more deeply about them compared to just writing them down. I always like to go to the beach at night and listen to the waves crash while I lay or sit on the sand. Some of the best points or moments in my life as a writer have been while sitting in nature.

​Keep a Journal and Write in it every day. 

• Going along with the necessity of writing every day, if you write about your day, the events that happened, the people you met, how you felt, and what progress you may have made – no matter how simple, it’s important to document your life’s journey. You can always go back and take tidbits from it to make stories from in the future. Either way – it’ll be the story of your life – and that’s pretty dang cool. 

​Read. 

• Chances are if you want to be a writer and would like people to read your stories, you should probably be reading other peoples stories too. Not only would you be reading to make yourself a better writer and to expand your imagination and knowledge, but you’d also be getting an idea of what’s selling and is interesting to people. If you want to become a better writer, read every day. 

​I hope some of these practices will help you along the way to creating your next masterpiece! If anyone has questions regarding story, want to send your stuff over to me for an opinion, or want to know more about the business of screenwriting, please reach out via comment below or through e-mail! I want to help you succeed and get your stories out there to share with the world!!!
 
I hope you all are having the most fabulous day and creating constantly!!
 
XOXO
 
 
Mary Gabrielle Strause