Welcome hopeless writers, welcome to the article that will solve all your problems (or at least try to).
Let me tell you a short story:
Once upon a time there was a dreamer who had a great story in mind. She knew what she wanted to happen, she knew what morals the book would show, and she even decided on the names and stories of the characters, although she changed them all the time.
This writer took pains to make a timeline to allow the story to unfold precisely in her mind.
Everything was ready and organised.
Now all that remained was to start writing.
So she happily opened a docs on which she would complete her book in a few months.
The air was electric and joyful, she had the scent of a new beginning and there was nothing that could stop her.
So the bursting writer put her hands on the keyboard.
She looked up at the screen and saw the blank page.
Her brain, like a good chameleon, mimicked the page and suddenly became blank.
She still knew what she had to write. She knew in which direction the words should take her. But nothing came out.
The whole alphabet remained stuck in the mechanisms of her imagination without ever reaching the digital sheet.
She suddenly felt weak, having lost her courage.
This writer now finds herself having written millions of words, on a different document docs.
She still has the same hands and imagination as her past self. She still has the same skills.
The only thing that has changed is that she has found what works for her.
And today that now-satisfied writer will do her best to help you get the creative juices flowing.
I don’t want any of you to miss the opportunity to tell your story because of the blank page syndrome.
Yes it is scary and yes it takes courage to overcome it.
But once you get unstuck nothing will stop you.
Kick-starting your writing, without a thousand doubts is the dream of many.
There are several effective strategies to overcome this creative block and free your mind to write with confidence and flow.
In this article, we will explore some useful tips and tricks to help you overcome blank page syndrome and unlock your creative potential.
So now I will stop babbling and start giving you the answers you are here for.
How to overcome blank page syndrome
Take advantage of sudden creativity
Write as soon as you feel the creativity and excitement of inspiration. Don’t let that feeling of passion go to waste, run straight to a sheet of paper or a computer and write whatever is on your mind.
Even if it is a future scene from your book that you do not need right now, even if it is not about any story but is just a moment you want to immortalise.
If you see an image and it brings a romantic scene to mind, don’t wait for the idea to pass.
Run and write it down.
Remember that no writing is useless, everything accumulates in your experience and each word will be better than the one before.
Write what you like
Even if the book you want to write is in a different genre or about something else, find a way to incorporate your literary tastes into it.
I for one love mythological creatures and magic in literature. I have started my book at least four times and in the first three I made the mistake of writing machine-like, without any passion.
Writing is a very personal process. You cannot claim to be a writer without revealing yourself in the pages you write.
The book will always be somewhat your child, it will inherit some of your fears, your dreams, your thoughts.
You must allow your identity to come out through your creative writing. Do not even imagine how much this will motivate you to continue writing your manuscript.
Follow what you are passionate about and you will no longer even know the meaning of the phrase ‘writer’s block’.
Read and be inspired
Every time I read a new book, I notice that its teachings or some of the details come out in my writing.
We don’t realise it but as we read our unconscious works and stores every piece of information in the source of creativity.
It’s not plagiarism, because it’s not like you have to take pieces of the story. But you will find that you naturally add those details to the story to enrich it.
You are allowed to take inspiration; new stories are born that way.
This will happen to you whether you notice it or not.
So the advice I want to give you is to read many books, but above all, read different books.
Of different genres and by writers who write differently.
Each book will add to the previous one and give your story a depth that it would otherwise lack.
You have certainly realised this, but if you are wondering what this has to do with the blank page syndrome, easy.
Every single book. Every single scene and story written in the words of different writers will accumulate in your mind and give you an endless source of creativity. You will be full of stories to tell.
This will greatly help you to not even notice the blank page because you will be too busy narrating the scene that excites you.
Skip what blocks you
I’m going to say something blasphemous now, don’t hit me.
When I ended up with 3 different starts to the same story I let it go for a while. I always thought the last version was the best but I always got stuck at a specific point, even before the real story started.
I would write about an ordinary day of the protagonist and no matter how much I re-turned it and improved it, I would get bored (and you should know that if you get bored, the reader is already asleep).
One day I was scrolling through Pinterest and I see pictures showing phrases of encouragement for writers. Personally, those help me a lot and give me a rare energy that makes me write, write, write, until I use up my imagination.
So I immediately ran to my desk, sat down and quickly opened a new document.
At that point I didn’t think about anything, I just wrote.
I wrote about magic, what I like, and I wrote about dreams. I wrote whatever came to me without thinking twice. Without doubting myself.
But above all, what made me keep writing even after all the excess energy had subsided, was that I started the character’s story straight away.
I did not write about just any day of the protagonist. I wrote about the day that changes her life and starts her journey.
When I read a book in which nothing happens for the first 150 pages I get bored to death, quite honestly.
I understand getting to know the characters https://iinkonscreen.com/questions-to-ask-your-new-characters/ but I need action, I need to see something happen.
And somehow I had deluded myself that I could write like this, that I could devote myself to character introductions by putting them in limbo, where nothing changes or moves.
Unfortunately that’s not for me and I’m glad I finally realised that.
If you think you have the same problem, try starting the book in the middle of the action. It costs you nothing and if it works for you you will have saved your story from falling into oblivion.
( If after you start you realise that you want the beginning of your story to go a little slower, no problem. Now you will have much more experience, you will know the characters better and you will be able to make even an ordinary day special for the reader. You can ALWAYS go back so don’t let yourself get stopped, go ahead and complete the draft of your story)
So to sum up.
To beat the blank page syndrome:
- Write as soon as you are in a creative flow
- Write what you like to read
- Read lots of books and don’t be afraid to get inspired
- Start the story in the middle of the action, skip the boring passages if they block you
If your problem with writing is procrastination, in addition to these tips you can rely on this article, I am sure it will help you. Don’t forget to follow the blog on Pinterest and subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss any new writing tips.
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