How To overcome the Writer's Block

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The Writer’s Block is the term associated with losing the ability to write, after having written for some time. It is estimated that many aspiring, as well as established writers can go through this phase at some point of time in their writing career.

What was my Writer’s Block? After being published in 2004 in Chicken Soup for the Soul series, I received fan-mail from several children in the United States, India and Europe. The Indian kids were very excited about a story by an Indian author. It felt great, but then I didn’t write again for a while. A few years later, Chicken Soup republished the story in the Best of Chicken Soup... edition and I should have been encouraged enough to write more. But questions that kept coming to my mind were - what do I write about? And is this really meant for me? How do I find time? So, I did not write anything for three to four years. I always had the desire to write but just  never got to doing it. Since at least some of you may have gone through this feeling or have a Writer’s block to begin with - How can we Overcome the Writer's Block?

Here are five easy steps

Step 1) Call yourself a Writer: Here is a tough question. Do you call yourself a writer? Writing was not a  major source of income for me.  I had an existing career already and I defined myself by that.  It felt odd, perhaps a little arrogant to call myself a “writer”.  Then I read an article about published and unpublished writers. “Unpublished writer,” that sounded inspirational.

So if you do not have a lot of published work to your credit, but still have the drive within you, you could start by calling yourself an unpublished writer. Just saying it aloud feels like you have this treasure trove of ideas, waiting to be written on paper and then be published eventually. Believe you are a writer. When somebody asks if you write, say with confidence – Yes. Don’t be dismissive. Humility is a virtue, but self- confidence is empowering. The difference for me was monumental. From being a person who occasionally dabbled in writing, calling myself a writer inspired me tremendously and helped me overcome my block. 

Step 2) Practice writing: Use every opportunity that comes your way to contribute your stories to. Put together your first draft. Read it and rewrite it. When you go through any emotional experience, write down how you feel at that time. Make mental notes and go back and spend a few minutes writing. As it is said a bad piece of writing is always better than a blank page. 

Step 3) Share your writing: Have it read by your own honest board of critics. Mine consists of my children, my sister and my friends. They both quickly point out anything they don’t like. Feedback is a major part of any writer's journey. Find a critiques group and join it. I found mine through SCBWI -Society of Children's Book Writers. My critiques group is a group of authors who give me feedback on my writing.  

4) Do not worry about the Competition: There will always successful writers out there. Do not compare yourself to other writers or their success. Instead your goal should be to better than yourself.  Make friends with other authors. Make them your support system and be their support system as well. 

5) Take Failure out of your dictionary : If writing is something you want to do as well then, jump up enthusiastically and launch your career. You can decide if any failure you encounter is really a stumbling block or a stepping stone to your future success. Write as therapy for yourself. Write to share your life experience.  Even if folks are lukewarm .. at least your journey has started.  You may not yet have any best-selling publication to your credit, but that doesn’t mean it is not in store for you in the future.  J

So to repeat the 5 steps to Overcome the Writer's Block - 

(1) Be bold and you call yourself a Writer.  

(2) Practice Writing as much as you can.

(3) Share your Writing and accept feedback.

(4) Don't worry about the competition

(5) Take Failure out of your Dictionary.