When you’re writing a novel, there almost always comes a time of writer’s block. The writing slows down, you don’t know where to continue, you are assaulted by doubts and, in the end, you no longer feel like continuing with the process. It’s happened: you’re stuck!
Blockages are part of the normal process of writing. Your brain is simply taking the time it needs to create, to solve problems with the plot, characters, etc. So don’t perceive blocking as a problem, but as an opportunity.
Blocking always has a cause, and if you find it, you will be able to tackle it effectively and continue with your work.
Here are some ideas for overcoming writer’s block
Stop Writing and do Something Else
Put the story you were working on hold for a while. To make yourself feel better, you can set a certain time, for example, a day, or a week.
However, you must take advantage of that time. And you should exercise your creativity during that time: paint, take pictures, knit, and make crafts.
Use the Freewriting Technique
Freewriting consists of writing uninterruptedly for a fixed period, without a pre-established topic, and without paying attention to spelling and grammar.
In other words, it is about letting yourself go and writing freely whatever comes into your head. Of course, you must do it for a fixed period. Ten to twenty minutes is recommended.
Create Mind Maps
Making mind maps is one of the best things you can do. It is useful to undo a block, but you can also make them when you start writing.
Take a blank sheet of paper (or a whiteboard, or a wall and post-its) and write in the center the theme or main idea around which your novel revolves—for example, time travel.
Then create a second level of ideas related to the main idea. Continuing with the time travel example, we could think of clocks, past, present, future, technology, etc.
Go even further down the scale of related concepts. But now you must think of ideas that relate to the second-level words: clock calculator, past carriages, present-economic crisis, future-space travel, technology-computers, etc.
Finally, relate the third-level words to the central idea: how does a calculator relate to time travel, and how does a carriage relate to time travel?
Rest assured that this procedure will give you some ideas that you will want to get to work on right away. The next time this happens to you, and you find yourself blocked, try some of these ideas and you will see that some of them help you to get out of the creative stagnation. Also, and quite important, learn to give yourself time, and know your writing processes. This way you will also know what works best for you when it comes to overcoming a blockage.