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Out of everything that interrupts the thinking process while crafting a literary piece, a writer’s worst enemy is something very simple yet tedious. That’s correct, the case of writer’s block!
As a writer journeys their way through creating stories, poems, songs, or articles, their road would often be closed off due to writer’s block. Writer’s block comes in many different forms before, during, and even after crafting the writing piece. Examples of these could be lack of motivation, inability to have new ideas, and or fear of starting a new project. If you feel as if you can’t continue a story and nothing comes up in your head on what to write next, that’s when the dreaded enemy has emerged. It could last for a short period of time of an hour, or it could last a longer period as well, sometimes it takes weeks to get the creative mind back.
When writer’s block gets in the way, writers would have the tendency to simply give up on their writing projects or take a break from writing as a whole. Even though getting out of writer’s block might not be an easy task, there are plenty of ways to break out of it and continue on with your passions!
Find activities that are both relaxing and enjoyable!
Instead of forcing out ideas and pressuring yourself, it is best to let our brain relax and let the ideas come out naturally! Writers, even artists, have experienced sudden creative bursts during the most random times of the day when they’re busy or occupied inside their own minds. However, it doesn’t just come out of thin air, it actually has to do with a certain “feel-good” chemical in our brains, dopamine!
According to Alice Flaherty, a well-renowned neuroscientist, it’s been stated that people can differ in creativity levels based on the activity of dopamine in our heads. Calming activities can give us a higher chance to think of creative ideas!
For example, one activity that may help you feel relaxed is by taking a nice warm shower.
The water helps your thoughts to run around to different unique ideas, dubbed as “shower thoughts”. You have the time all to yourself, listening to the rush of the water falling down as it calms you, there’s a possibility that a rush of ideas might arrive in your head!
You could also listen to music. As the following studies show, music can calm the neural activity in the brain, which in turn reduces anxiety, boosts the immune system, and gets you into a relaxed state as well. Even though everyone has their own preferred genres of music, each one can come with its own advantages and disadvantages. Whether it’d be instrumental, which can get you into a productive state, or rock, that’s a mood booster, music can help raise those productivity and creativity levels instantly.
2. Don’t hesitate to ask for the help of others!
Having one mind working on a writing piece is impressive, but having multiple minds work together, sharing ideas, and giving their own inputs is even better! There’s nothing wrong in asking the people you trust for a helping hand, especially when it comes to crafting a literature piece. Whether it’d be giving criticism, suggesting something to be added, or even giving you a simple idea to help you branch out. Not only that, encouraging you to start a piece of art can be a great help! Even if it seems to be something small. As the saying goes, great minds think alike!
3. More helpful ways to get inspired! (If you need these ideas to come out.)
If you need any advice in terms of ways to gain ideas on your own, here’s what we suggest!
Firstly, expose yourself to various different pieces of art. This could be, once again, listening to music! At times, the instrumental or lyrics of the music can help inspire various scenarios that could occur in a story. Another form that could be of great help is literature itself! Reading short stories, poems, and informative texts, and seeing great examples of writing could help you be inspired to continue with your journey. Not only that, but another plus to reading is that it could help enhance your vocabulary and critical thinking skills.
Another way to help gain inspiration is to engage in new experiences and observe your surroundings. According to an abstract compiled by neuroscience Daniel Schacter, the brain uses already stored information to imagine, simulate, and predict future events. However, engaging in new experiences, such as taking a vacation or attending a new restaurant, takes the brain longer to organize and create memories of it. This state encourages creativity!
Travel to new places, take a walk through your neighborhood, and hang out with your loved ones! Memories like these will help encourage those creative juices to develop ideas and motivation.
With all the advice that has been given, it’s best to keep in mind that the only way to actually defeat writer’s block is by doing something about it. Waiting around for it to “go away” won’t help entirely if you want to continue writing. Make sure to do what is best for you to be able to gain new ideas and once again, be motivated to do what you love the most. By being your own supportive superhero, writer’s block won’t reign its terror on you ever again!
Sources:
Written by Brianna Paulino
Research by Jacob Escobar
Edited by Gwen Nicole
Cover page by Yifei Wang
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