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You just sit there gazing at your computer screen and repeatedly trying to wriggle your fingers to try and output something to the screen. Yet, nothing is coming out.
You sit up, move around the room, hoping desperately that when you return to your computer, that your writing muse will suddenly come home and you’ll miraculously be able to write again. But far from it, when you return to the table, you still notice that you can’t still write anything of worth.
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So you get mad and throw the computer away in vexation. You stand up and yell out in frustration, while you kick the standing table to a corner of the room.
Yes, you’re angry and you just want to let it out. Heck? Why not? You have dozens of words trapped inside you, still they won’t come out. Believe me; you have every right to be angry.
Is your story a little bit like this person’s story above? If yes, then what you currently have is called writers’ block or bloggers block. And it’s simply the inability of a writer or blogger to jump start a new piece of writing or to complete an already existing one.
So now that you have it, how on earth do you come out of it?
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That a nice question. Overcoming writers block or bloggers block doesn’t take much effort. If you want to come out from that muse-less rut, then start applying these 4 nuggets below.
They are –
1. Just Keep Writing
That’s the truth; don’t ever stop writing. I know it’s kind of weird to urge you to write when you literally can’t write up even a good sentence. I also know that its lame telling you to stress and crack your brain muscles on what other writers and bloggers have already told you won’t work. But still, give it a try, because it works for me.
However, in order for you to understand why I’m asking you to write when you possibly can’t write, I’ll use a personal story of when I had a serious block that kept me incapacitated for weeks on end.
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During that time, I couldn’t write anything. I just kept “hoping” that very soon the block would naturally go away. But that didn’t happen. That’s when I realized that waiting for my muse to come back won’t do me or my clients any good.
So I reached for my computer, opened up MS Word and started freestyling (writing whatever comes to mind), this I kept doing, though hard and strenuous, yet I kept at it, and hours later, I suddenly realized that I was writing smoothly as before when I didn’t have the block.
That day alone taught me that sometimes, in other to overcome some tough problems we encounter, we just need to toughen up a little bit and face the problem square in the face, showing them that we’re bigger and tougher than they are.
So, write and keep writing. Believe me, if you don’t stop writing, that block will surely drop off from you. And in addition to all these aforementioned, when you want to write, try and turn off your Microsoft Word Processor’s spell checker. Turning off the spell checker will reduce the little corrections you make while you type and it will also help you keep your writing flow in check.
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In case you use Windows’ Microsoft Word, then this little tutorial below will show you how to turn off the Microsoft Word Spell Checker.
To turn it off, do this:
– Click on the Logo
– This will immediately bring out the asynchronously drop down menu. Click on “Word Options” (shown below).
– Once you click on “Word Options”, a small page will come up. Click on Proofing.
That action will bring up the Proofing page. Once you’re there, promptly uncheck “Check spelling as you type”, “Mark grammar errors as you type”, and “Check grammar with spelling” (shown below).
Once you’’ve done that, then you can zoom off to freestyle writing without thinking of grammatical errors or good punctuations. And I can assure you, if you keep at it, that block will surely leave you alone for good.
2. Record Your Writing, Instead.
This is a wonderful tactic that I recently discovered months ago and I took leverage of it seriously. So during those times when I found out that ideas aren’aren’t just coming out of me to the screen, or when I discover that I can’t write up that post no matter how much I try, I immediately switch on my Windows’ Sound Recorder and start speaking non-stop until I talk out the entire post that I couldn’t write out before.
Give it a try. It works perfectly well, because talking is so cheap and very easy than writing. Why did I say so?
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Well, it’s because during writing, you’ll have to watch your punctuation, grammar and sentences whether they make sense or flow well; but during talking, you don’t even think of punctuation or any of the other things I made mentioned of. What you only do is talk; and talking out that post ideas or book idea will tremendously help you write it easily when you want to write it down.
That said, to find the Windows’ Sound Recorder on your computer, do this:
Click on START >> Then type in these words – “Sound recorder” (without the quotes) >> and hit ENTER. This will promptly bring up the sound recorder and you can start recording your ideas in no time.
3. Just Take a Nap
Yes! Sometimes, that’s what your body has been trying to convey to you for a very long time. But the problem is, you just don’t see or feel it. You’re so tired and yet you want to write; you’re sick, and yet you’re cracking your brain to send something to the blank screen. . . . . . . . . STOP! Yes, you’ve got to stop. What you need is rest, and until you’ve rested, I don’t see that block leaving anytime soon.
I’ve been in a block one time so many where I obviously had headache and I was trying to write at same time. Of course, I knew it won’t work, yet I kept pushing myself until my brain shut down definitely.
So, since then, I’ve learned not write but sleep when I feel really tired. And I noticed that after taking that short nap, I usually wake up fully energized; so when I approach that writing again which was giving me serious problems before, I find myself finishing it in no time and less stress.
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So rest and take that nap you’ve been avoiding for a very long time. This way, when you wake up, the block won’t be there anymore to terrorize you.
4. Do Some Research
The core reason why people, especially bloggers, fall into writers block is because they won’t take out adequate time to research about what they want to write on; instead, they’ll keep cracking their brain to churn out the whole writing with the few info’s they read up.
And when the brain can’t take it no more, it goes into a phase of self denial. As if it’s telling you with arms crossed and a gnarl on its face, that except you research indepthly on the materials available, then it’s on definite strike.
Then if you refuse and keep forcing yourself to write up something, then the brain might automatically switch into writers block that will obviously stay for days, if not weeks.
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So, do your research properly, because this might be the cause of the recent block you feel when you want to write.
Likewise, don’t forget to take down core points, important points, as you go ahead to research materials for your next write up. You can use these tools if you want to research better and remember more.
They’re – Evernote (a wonderful e-note good for storing short or long research materials) and Skitch (good for sniping and snapping screens that’ll you find useful or that you’ll need for a tutorial post).
In Conclusion
Following all these wonderful nuggets will surely and quickly help you overcome that dreadful writers’ block you’ve been battling with for a long time now. Just give these tips a try and kiss writers block goodbye.
So in conclusion, before I go, I’ll like to ask, “Which strategy do you use to overcome writers block that I currently don’t know of?” Let’s meet in the comment to discuss this.
Don’t forget to share this awesome post with friends. Thanks for reading.