How to Handle Writers' Block

Video Transcript

"REBECCA SATO: Hi. I'm Rebecca with ExpertVillage.com, and we're going to talk about writer's block. That's like the big scary thing that you hear writers talking about or worried about. And if you haven't experienced it as a writer yet, you will at some point. And for some people, it's a minor nuisance; and for other people, it can be devastating because it can last for hours, days, months even. And I personally haven't experience that but I do have sympathy for it because I have experienced it for hours at a time and that's very frustrating when you have a schedule and a deadline to meet. So let's talk about some techniques that you can use when you're experiencing writer's block. First of all, if you come to a point in your writing whether it's commercial or you're doing some copywriting or you have a client or if you're writing a novel that you're hoping to have published or that you already have a contract for, it doesn't matter. Whatever kind of writing you're doing, if you get to a point where you don't know what to write anymore, you just don't. The first thing you want to realize is don't stay where you're at. Don't sit there and stare at the computer for another half hour getting more and more frustrated. Just get up. For example, if I was sitting here working on something and it just wasn't flowing--or sometimes, writer's block can come in increments like slowly over time it gets worst. So you might not even be aware of it until you get to the point where you're like: "Wow, this is going very slow." At that point, I would just kind of. I was--this is what works for me and I'm sure everyone has different techniques but I'll show what works for me. I'll have to stand up and do some deep breathing. You know, kinda, if you do yoga, it's like the pranayama breath, where you just breathe in very deep, circular breathes. And for me, it helps to just kinda move around, move my body. This actually gets your blood flowing and your brain needs oxygen, and oxygen is brought to your brain through your blood. So sometimes when you're sitting there writing, it can actually--writer's block can be a physiologically thing. So I'll move a lot just kind of--it doesn't matter. If you do yoga, do some yoga poses. If you just want to move around like I'm doing now, just kind of doing whatever you want, just get up and move. Don't sit there and stare at the computer because it's only going to make it worst. Another thing you guys might want to do is just leave the room altogether and just get outside for a few minutes. Breathe some fresh air. You know, a lot of times, that will make a really big difference and I'm not saying that's going to fix everything, obviously. Sometimes, writer's block can be a lot more serious than that. But for all intents and purposes, that's a great start. Try that first before you move on to anything more drastic than that. You could try and get your ideas flowing."