Writers’ block can be a real pain. It can be incredibly exhausting trying to come up with a good idea. For example, just imagine you are writing a practice regents essay and all the the sudden you don’t know what to write about. It can just feel like your brain stopped working and it’s because you can’t come up with something to write about. One thing that can cause an intense case of writers’ block is giving yourself too much self-criticism. If you constantly criticize everything you write, you will get discouraged easily and constantly think everything you write isn’t good enough. With these strategies, your writers’ block will become a distant memory.

1. Take a Break from Writing: Sometimes the reason for writers’ block is you put too much focus on your writing. You are not leaving time for other important things like sleep, going out, and spending time with family and friends, or other homework that needs done. One high school student I spoke to said “I was stuck for so long I started to neglect doing my other homework, and I stopped hanging out with my friends because I was so stressed about having to finish this assignment. I took a few days off and then I finished my assignment in under an hour!” This is what can happen if you just take a break and go walk your dog or play on the playground for a while.
2. Media Use: Social media can be an excellent way to connect with people and share your writing ideas. However social media can become a large distraction when it comes to writing. If you procrastinate like I do when it comes to writing, social media is an excellent distraction from writing, which can be a good or bad thing. Everyone needs a break from time-to-time, but when it becomes a constant distraction, you may begin to have some problems with meeting your deadlines. Now there are some apps you can use that stop your social media apps for a set time period making it easier to focus. Two apps you could use are called Blocksite and FocusMe.
3. Change your Environment: Sometimes you can’t write because you have been writing somewhere with too many distractions or with not enough distractions. You have to find a writing spot that works for you. Some people need to have noise while others need complete silence. If you need noise, I suggest you go to a public place like the park or a coffee shop, so there is noise but not too much. If you need silence, I recommend working in a library. It would probably be the best option because it is one of the quietest places, so you can focus.
4. Don’t be Over-Critical: When it comes to writing, it’s very easy to be over-critical of your personal work. As a society the majority of writers think that everything we write has to be perfect the first time. When it isn’t, we create this illusion that everything we write is terrible. We can go back and edit. Just because it’s not perfect doesn’t automatically mean it is horrible. Relax and have fun with your writing. Don’t worry about if it’s not perfect, no writing is!
5. Just Keep Writing: This is the one of the most effective methods for overcoming writer’s block. If you can’t decide what to write about, you could just ask someone to give you three words and create a story using those words. Another possibility is you can write about not knowing what to write about. That is exactly how this article came together. An idea could just come to you while writing. This is one of the quickest ways to get yourself back to writing.

These are just some tips to help you overcome your case of writers’ block. Hopefully after reading this article, you can get back to writing!