I’ve got writer’s block. It’s not my first time. I’ve been writing and independently publishing for ten years, and I’ve written over sixty books—over 4 million words—but I’ve still had times of writer’s block…which is why I decided to write this.
There are some people that don’t think writer’s block is a real thing and…well…I think they have a point. Writer’s block can sometimes be used as an excuse, but I believe if you can’t write—for whatever reason—then it’s writer’s block, even if you want to call it something else.
So what is writer’s block?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, writer’s block is a psychological reticence that prevents a writer from writing. I am loath to disagree with Merriam-Webster, but I would like to add that my definition is anything that stops you from writing is writer’s block.
With that in mind, and my current state of writer’s block, I started to think about the different reasons why someone might not be able to write. It started with the very selfish reason of trying to work out why I couldn’t write, but then I thought it might help others, so…here we are.
Below is a list of 10 types of writer’s block. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but I have had personal experience with each of these ten types.
I’ve tried to explain them the best I can and added some solutions that may help, but this all comes with a caveat. There is an old proverb that says ‘the same boiling water that hardens eggs, softens potatoes’ which means…well…everyone is different and as such, different things will work differently for different people (and how many times can I use the word different into that sentence haha).
This is not a prescription. These are tools you can try, but if they don’t work for you, then that’s fine. Maybe trying one tool will actually reveal another, more useful tool.
10 Types of Writer’s Block
1. Blank Page Paralysis
The dreaded blank page. This could be a problem when you first sit down to a new book, or it might just be a new chapter. Whatever it is, the blank page is scary. How are you going to fill it? There are ways to prevent this, but that’s not much help when you’re staring at a blank page with nothing in your brain. So what do you do? Just write. Don’t yell at me! I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous. But I’m serious. Just write. ANYTHING. Nonsense. Gibberish. Random stream of consciousness rubbish. Write about what you hear, smell, see, feel. Just get some words on the page so it is no longer blank. Follow your thoughts. Free write. Fill the page. It just might be enough to unblock your inspiration.
2. Just Vibes
Have you ever got a great idea for a story but…there is no actual story? You know what you want it to feel like, you know how you want your readers to react, but you have nothing else. No characters, no world, no plot…just vibes. This one takes some homework and if you’re a pantser then you will not like what I’m going to say. When all you’ve got is ‘just vibes’, then you need to do a bit of world-building. Think about the ‘vibes’ and then put characters into it. What kind of world fits the vibe? For you pantsers, you don’t need to get super detailed, but you do need some rough outlines or a framework to build your story on. Just spend some time in your vibes and let the world and the characters form around you. When you know who your story is about, then it will be easier to know what it is about.
3. No One’s Getting Any Action
And by that, I mean, you have fully fleshed out characters, but they are just standing around and not doing anything. You have no plot. Even a character-based story needs, well, a story. Spend some time putting your characters in different scenarios, put them in uncomfortable situations and see what happens. Get to know your characters. What are their weaknesses. What are their sore spots, trigger points. Push them. Be mean to them. Find out what they need to heal, to make them whole. Or kill one of them and see what happens to the others…mwa-ha-ha!
4. Boredom
This is a tricky one. Sometimes you think you’re bored with your story, but you’re really blocked by one of the other types. Or maybe you have shiny-new-thing syndrome (I have to admit that I suffer from this a lot). But sometimes you’ve spent so much time with your story that you are actually bored. You’ve probably read it five million times and the spark is no longer there. That does not necessarily mean your story is boring, even if you feel like it is. My advice is to back away slowly. Put your story in the metaphorical drawer and leave it alone. Start writing something else. Anything else. A blog post (hehe) or a short story or a recipe or a poem or a song or start that new story you’ve been thinking about. But give yourself a time limit. Give it a week or too, maybe a month at the most and then go back to your original story. Sit down with it and read it through from the start and you just might find the spark you need.
5. Standing at a Crossroads
You have reached a point in your story when you need to make a decision about what your characters should do next. This can cause you to freeze up and not be able to write because you’re afraid of making the wrong decision. That is the key. Worrying that you’re going to choose the wrong way. But that’s the great thing about writing. Even if you decide to go left and it doesn’t work, you can go back to the crossroad and go right, or straight ahead or…whatever. So, my advice is to just pick one road and write boldly in that direction. You will soon know if it is not working, if that is the case then you can go back and try something else. The words on the page are not permanent. It might hurt a little bit to discard those hard-won words but in the end your story will benefit. And don’t forget, you can save those words in another file and use them later if you need to.
6. Too Many Tabs Open
For those not familiar with this phrase, having too many tabs open refers to being overwhelmed…like when you have lots of webpages open on your computer and it slows everything down. This is another one that I am often the victim of. I have a busy brain and while I am an author, I am also studying at university and working as well as being an artist and being part of a family. I have an over-active imagination, I catastrophise, and I am a chronic over-thinker which means I always have several tabs open at the same time and quite often I have too many tabs open. When I identify this as my problem, I know it’s time to take a break. Go for a walk, or meditate, or do some yoga, or maybe just sleep. In my experience I know that sustaining too many tabs open can lead to burn out, which takes a lot longer to recover from. Taking time out can sometimes feel counterproductive, especially if you are on a deadline, but it will help in the long run. Doing physical activity also has the added benefit of clearing the cobwebs from the brain – the deep breathing helps that results from a bit of physical exertion helps too.
7. No Time
Some people might argue that not having time is not the same as writer’s block but let me refer those people to my definition above. Anything that stops you writing is writer’s block. I can’t give you more hours in the day, but if you find that you never seem to have time to write, it might be a good idea to do a time audit. Where do you spend your time? Spend a couple of days or a week noting exactly what you do for each hour of the day. Think of hours in the day as money. How much money do you have to spend? Where do you spend this money? This can be confronting, but once you know where you spend your time, you can make decisions about tweaking your routine to make some time for your writing. Is there something you can cut out of your routine so you have time to write? This might not always be possible. I know in the last few months I have just not had time to write because of study and work commitments. If you find the same, then let yourself off the hook. Don’t feel guilty about not writing. Understand that this might just be a season in your life.
8. Roadblock
Have you written yourself into a corner with no way out? It is very tempting to use deus ex machina to get your character out of it, but that’s kind of cheating and readers will always notice. If you’ve reached a dead-end, then maybe it’s time to backtrack. Did you miss a turn? Is there something that needs to happen first? If you have a brilliant idea to get yourself out of your dilemma but it feels too deus ex machina, then maybe you just need to foreshadow it. Go back and subtly seed your solution throughout, so when you get to that part, the resolution doesn’t feel like it came from nowhere.
9. End of the Road
This is not the same as a roadblock. This is when the road literally ends…like on the movie Speed when the bus is on that bridge, but then they discover the bridge isn’t complete…yeah…it’s the end of the road. What does this look like in your story? There is no more plot. You haven’t reached the end of the story, but there is no more forward momentum. The solution for this kind of goes against the way I write. I write very linearly—from start to finish—but I have found that when I am experiencing this end of the road feeling I need to break my own rules and skip forward to the end. If I know how the story is going to end, then I can work backwards to discover the steps I need to get there.
10. Black Hole
I have found this the scariest of all the writer’s blocks. I have often questioned whether my ability to write has dried up, I’ve used it all, my career is over. The vacuum of the black hole, the absolute void feels like it is sucking my soul dry. Let me encourage you that there is a way out of the black hole…you just need to fill it. Your creative well is empty. It’s time to start refilling it. Read or listen to books, listen to podcasts or music, watch your favourite movies, series, documentaries. Whatever it is, whatever inspires you, do that. It might be taking a walk in nature, or around the city. It might be people watching or bird watching or sitting on the beach and just watching the waves roll in. It might be taking to the waves with a surfboard or going snorkelling or having a massage or a facial. This is the time to be gentle with yourself. Look inside and see what you need, what will fill your creative well
Procrastination
A note about procrastination…it is not the reason you can’t write, it is a symptom of writer’s block. If you find yourself cleaning the house or scrolling on your phone instead of writing, then you know you’re blocked and it’s time to investigate why you’re blocked. I have found that stacking the dishwasher or doing something mundane can help me find my way out of my block, but I need to be intentional about it. If I’m cleaning to avoid writing, then it won’t help. But if I use cleaning as a way to interrogate why I’m blocked and maybe problem solve, doing something mundane like stacking the dishwasher can help my brain work through the problem.
So that’s my list…can you see yourself in any of those or maybe it has helped you identify another type of writer’s block? Has any of my solutions given you a spark? I hope so. My solutions might not work exactly the same way for you, but I hope it has helped give you ideas of ways to tackle your own blocks. Did you have a lightbulb moment? Drop it in the comments. It just might help someone else.
