How to Overcome Writer's Block

Winning strategies to write your masterpiece by guest blogger, Louise Kaestner.

You’re staring at the word processor, stomach torn in shreds from the inside out. A deadline looms, whether it is for an assignment or a social media post. A wayward raven screams from outside your room, landing on the sill, its beak clattering on the glass. Bile rises in the back of your throat. Veins throb in your forehead. Sirens scream in the distance. Your world crashes before around you. There is still not a blessed word on your word processor except for ‘redrum’ in Times New Roman size 24.

It's official: you have writer’s block.

What Is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block is not some big block that says ‘writer’ and sits on your laptop. The non diagnosable, but quite real, experience is when anybody who is trying to write can’t put two words together to make a coherent sentence. Incoherent sentences are also a part of writer’s block, but we won’t get into that today. The reality of writer’s block is terrifying if you are producing content to a deadline. Writer’s block happens to everybody.

The condition is not limited to mental processes. There are physiological catalysts and consequences when you experience writer’s block. The writer’s prefrontal cortex overloads for a great many reasons when they experience writer's block. This could be because of fatigue, pressure, food insecurity and various forms of anxiety. Once the prefrontal cortex overloads, it disengages from the rest of the brain, and the writer can’t write. That’s one small part of the story.

There is, within each of our brains, this disastrous little beastie called the amygdala. This is the part of the brain that comes online when the prefrontal cortex heads out to lunch with either the secretary or the pool boy. When that monster takes control, you have no hope of writing even one legible word. This part of the brain is the same part of the brain that spurs you onto compulsively tooting your horn in peak hour traffic, with stalled cars, when you are late.

Once the amygdala is in control, a deceitful hormone called cortisol sprints through your system, telling you your life is in danger. For the most part, if you are sitting in front of your laptop or with a pen and paper in hand, unless there is an earthquake, volcanic eruption or tidal wave, you are quite safe. However, the brain doesn’t believe that and now the body is on the bandwagon.

What to do when you're in a state of fight or flight.

Step One: Chill Out!

Always easier said than done when the writer is in a state of fight or flight. This is where I add that as much as you may believe you need another cup of coffee, as an artificial, but legal, psychoactive stimulant, you don’t want the coffee. It will contribute to writer’s block, not solve it.

Chilling out is simple: do your favourite activity so long as it isn’t stressful. This could be walking, meditating or practicing mindfulness. You could take the kids to the park or the dog to the beach. It doesn’t matter. You have a happy place, whether in or out of your mind, so embrace it.

Step Two: Ignore Your Writing

Ignore your writing until you have settled down. If there is a deadline, manage it. If it is a boss or a co-worker, be honest and tell them you’re having challenges. If it is an assignment, seek help from your tutors, teachers or lecturers. A few words aren’t worth your sanity. If you are locked away in a psych ward, you will probably write some amazing, surreal stuff. I know because I’ve read some awesome prose and poetry from people with extreme challenges. However, you don’t want writer’s block to get that far. It’s easier to write without the pretty white jacket which is straighter than a sans-serif font.

Step Three: Write

Now that you’ve emotionally regulated, gotten a tan, worn out the rubber on your sneakers and let your laptop cool, it’s time to sit back down in front of it and write. With a clear, calm, cool, happy relaxed mind, you should be able to write easier. If you’re still stuck, close your eyes and watch the movie play out. Write what you see. This is the answer, the miracle, the cure to writer’s block.

Simple

You gasp and let loose a triumphant holler at the word processor as you smash the mouse button on the save icon. The smell of fresh roasted, designer coffee wafts through the air. Birdsong tinkles beyond your window. Children’s laughter trickles into your den. The masterpiece is done. You are free from writer’s block and on your way to publication.

You win…

…or do you?

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Louise Kaestner is a writer who completed an internship at the prestigious Curtin Space Science and Technology Centre where her work focussed on a series of researcher interviews. The interviews were designed to break down difficult scientific concept into layman's terms making her the perfect guest blogger to take a deep dive into the brain science behind writer's block.

To learn more about Louise and the freelance writing services she offers, please visit her website.

Louise Kaestner