Writer’s Block: Every Writer’s Worst Enemy . . . Or Is It?

I open my laptop eagerly, ready to write down the idea that has been brewing in my mind the past few days. Opening Google Docs, I click on my latest story and scroll to where I left off. Poising my fingers over the keyboard, I’m excited to finish that one chapter I’ve been having problems with. Two hours later, I have a splitting headache and am still waiting for my brain to work.

We all know how awful writer’s block is. We open up our latest and greatest story, get ready to type . . . and then stare at the blinking line for the next hour. We plead with our brains to cooperate when we have deadlines or a certain word count we want to reach by the end of the week. We get a great new idea and are excited to write it–only we don’t know how to get it down on paper.

But what if writer’s block is just our brains saying, “Hey! We need a break!”? What if we can’t write a good chapter simply because we’ve drained our supply of creativity? We can’t always force our brains to be creative, because then we would never give ourselves breaks.

So the next time you get writer’s block, take a walk or go sit outside for a while. Maybe even step away from writing entirely to allow your brain to have a break and come up with fresh ideas. Take some time to just relax and think, or go to a library or coffee shop to change your surroundings.

Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear your experiences of dealing with writers block, and how you overcame it!

-Brenda