Break Free From Writer’s Block

Maya Angelou spoke on writer’s block in a way that no one else could. She once said: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

We love to see our writers succeed, it’s literally our favorite thing in the world. We know writing isn’t easy, and we wanted to share some of our favorite tips to help expand your brain and let your creativity flow.

Here are our top tips to get past writer’s block and get new ideas rolling in your head and onto LivingWriter.

An empty mind is the devil’s workshop they say, and they’re absolutely wrong!

Our #1 tip to cure writers block and get your creative juices flowing, is to stop trying. Go for a walk. Change your environment. Don’t think about your writing for a little bit.

Award-winning mystery writer Patricia Highsmith used to say that her ideas came to her from the corner of her eye, her peripheral, while she was doing something completely different from writing.

J.K. Rowling devised Harry Potter in her head during a quiet train ride.

An empty mind is the wizards workshop!

The One Habit of Highly Effective Writers

Routine, routine, routine. Pick a time you’re going to write and make a habit of it. Whether it’s during your first-morning coffee (my favorite) or right after your lunch break. Train your body to get into the creative state with sense cues.

One writer I know sprays a particular perfume on her wrists right before she sits down to write. This barrels her into writing mode every time. Get a routine down and your mind will thank you for it with luscious words.

Drop your ego and embrace your child-like sensibilities

Not trying to get all woo-woo here I promise. In one of the most prestigious classes on graphic design, they talk about brain dumps. Brain dumps are the bread and butter of creativity and it helps you tap into that “why?” mentality you had as a child and break away from your strict way of thinking.

How do you do them? Open up a blank story on LivingWriter or a New Chapter in your story, call it “Brain Dump”. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Now without judgment, without reservation, write down any and all plots, characters, ideas, and settings that come to mind. The crazier the better. Five minutes. You should have some pretty zany stuff, if you’re laughing at your thoughts, you’re doing good.

After the 5 minutes is up, take perspective of the wonderful mess you’ve created. You’ll undoubtedly find nuggets of pieces you want to write.

Try out one of our templates

Hands down the most used template on LivingWriter is the 27 Beat Chapter Plot. This breaks down your entire book into 27 chapters and if you hit all 27, you’ve got a full book.

We strongly recommend watching the video from which we got the inspiration for the plot here: https://youtu.be/fe3eodLF_Uo

Once you watch Kat’s video on the subject, just fire up a story with the 27 Beat Template on LivingWriter and start filling in the details.