Ah, writer's block. That terrible feeling you get when your brain comes to a dead end and you feel your creativity start to wane. "Where did all my bright ideas go?" you wonder to yourself as your deadline comes closer and closer. "I used to have so many ideas...surely they're not all gone."

No, they're not gone. Sometimes your mind just hits a red light and refuses to keep driving, even though the light is green and you need to go.

Now, this isn't going to be one of those "How To" articles that attempts to teach you all the answers in a few simple bullet points because the reality is that there really is no simple solution to writer's block. You kind of just have to relax your mind enough so that the lightbulb goes off once more and the spark reignites - because what usually ends up happening with writer's block is that once you realize you don't have anything to write about, the more you think about it and the more of a screeching standstill you come to. So I'm just going to tell you some things I do to combat this phenomenon when I have no idea what to write about.

First off, I ask everyone for ideas, and I mean everyone. I ask my boyfriend, my friends, my family, Instagram polls, etc. And even if I don't end up going with their ideas, then I still have extra ideas on the backburner to write about in the future.

Secondly, I think back on my day. I think back on things that I've seen, heard, or observed throughout the last 24 hours. I dwell on college, friendships, relationships, and life. And usually, something pops out at me. And if that doesn't work for you, think bigger. Even if nothing significant is going on in your life, there's always something going on somewhere else that you could bring to life through written words.

Something I write about a lot when I'm lacking ideas is faith. Now, I understand that not everyone is a Christian, but everyone has something that they believe in. It doesn't matter who you are - if you're alive, you believe in something. It could be Santa Claus, or it could be the Tooth Fairy. No matter what it is, there's almost always personal reasoning behind the things we believe in, and it's really easy to write about topics we are passionate about. So just find something in your life that you feel strongly about and write about it - why you believe in it, how you think it can apply to society, etc.

Finally, I ask for extensions. I find it a lot less stressful for me if I have a few extra days to get my mind back on track. Use that extra time to refocus yourself and get proper rest. Then when the time comes, dedicate yourself to the task at hand. Sit down at your laptop with a cup of coffee and tell your brain to write. If you tune out distractions and focus solely on writing, it will be a lot easier to climb over the mental obstacles and once more beat writer's block.