3 Ways to Clear, Not Fear, Writer’s Block — Without Using AI
Failure to write well or consistently is often a self-fulfilling prophecy: Nothing chokes creativity like the fear of choking. That’s a vicious cycle — but a breakable one.
Writer’s block should be cleared, not feared. Here are three personally proven ways to clear writer’s block, by converting nerves into writing you’re proud of:
1. Scribble notes to yourself whenever you have an idea to write about. If I’m not already writing when lightning strikes, I make a note on my phone in Google Keep. If I am already writing, I slam the Enter key three or four times, write a few keywords to remind Future Michael of his brilliant tangent, then return to the paragraph I was working on.
This practice will assure you that you're leaving no brilliant thought behind. It will also save you from developing specious ideas that, on later reflection, aren’t so brilliant or worth chasing. (For more on this tip, see my recent LinkedIn post.)
2. Isolate and insulate the most creative hours of your day. To I.D. those hours, compare yourself to Herman Melville's characters in the short story “Bartleby the Scrivener.” Nippers spends the whole morning fussing, fidgeting, and fighting distraction, until settling in after lunch to write productively and peacefully. Turkey is the opposite, writing distraction free until after lunch, by which time he is worked up, less accurate, and as likely to create more problems than he solves.
I'm a bit of both. I write best in the first hour of my day, when my prospects are brightest, and in the last hour of my day, when I'm staring down the barrel of broken promises I made to my planner.
3. Write for your God first. Have you heard about the concert pianist who got so nervous he couldn't remember the notes of his score? He didn't freak out. He just started running his fingers over the piano keys, casually playing and speaking into the mic to his patient audience, until muscle memory kicked in. He brought the house down.
Similarly, back when I needed to write $150+ worth of material a day to stay off government assistance, nerves were nasty. But I developed a morning habit of reading a chapter of Scripture and journaling my thoughts on it, along with a prayer (often a desperate plea for help). I would do this first thing, before starting to write or edit anything else — partly to warm up my fingers on my keyboard, and partly because I knew that no matter what else I failed at that day, the only way for me to fail at writing a prayer was not to try.