Tips For Combating Writer's Block | The Odyssey Online
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The Secret Ingredients For Combating Writer's Block

Suggestions on how to write when you're at a complete loss of words.

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Writing can be really difficult at times, especially when you're not in the mood to write about anything in particular. I say this as I'm sitting here not having any clue about what to write about for today because the past week has not been particularly exciting in my life. Whenever something really exciting happens in my life is when I feel the most compelled to write my thoughts down. The piece that I'm writing isn't even the exciting event sometimes, rather my feelings generated from the said event.

Whenever I encounter the infamous writer's block, I usually treat it by putting my phone and computer down and by first taking a nap. Naps are my cure to absolutely everything because waking up from a nap is like a fresh start. I then go for a drive to someplace I haven't gone before to give my brain some relaxation time. When your brain is running low on energy, I find that it's very difficult to be productive. I don't think I can accomplish anything when my brain is tired. There's no point in writing when your brain can't think straight for five minutes without distraction. If you write like this, usually I find the things I write make no sense at all or have no flow.

To generate new ideas about what I want to write about, I like to read the newspaper. Articles and editorials generally get my brain working and allow me to think about what is going on in my community and the world around me. Often, I find that I am most compelled to write about my own life experiences of travel and hardships I've faced or about current events and social movements. Writing about social movements has been my favorite thing to write about recently because there are so many of them going on and they often correlate to the major that I'm studying.

I also often find that the best pieces I write are often ones that are triggered by anger and wanting to see some sort of change happen. Whenever I read something that makes me mad, I immediately want to write my feelings about it down.
Whenever I feel like something should not be allowed to happen, I write my feelings about it down. Whenever I think that something needs to be changed in the world so it happens less, I write my feelings about it down. Whenever someone says something to me that makes me really upset, I write my feelings about it down.

When genuine emotion is triggered, the content you write will be better because readers will hear your voice come through the piece. I find that recently, a lot of the things that have made me want to write due to anger have been stories I've heard on the news, and op-eds in the newspaper. Writing a response to someone's opinion is one of my favorite things to do. Especially because not enough people know how to respond to someone's opinion without attacking them. It is completely OK to disagree with someone and write your feelings down in response to what they have said on an event that may have occurred.
This type of writing works very well for the era we are in because it seems as though everyone always has something to say about everything.

Writing can be difficult when you have absolutely no inspiration. For example, the reason I'm writing this is that I am angry that I have absolutely no clue what to write about because nothing has gone on that's exciting. I suggest when you experience writer's block, to just take a break from trying to think about what you're going to write and rather just let the idea come to you.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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