My Writing Process: Breaking Through My Writer's Block

This past week I have been stuck in the same repetitive routine: I open up my new word document whilst laying in bed -- planning, of course, to write the next best selling novel -- and... nothing. Instead, I find myself staring blankly at my laptop screen, contemplating why I have even attempted to become a writer in the first place. I write a sentence, maybe two, only to end up pressing the backspace button in frustration. Ever day, seven days in a row, I have sat in front of a blank laptop screen after months of not writing a word, asking myself one simple question: why has this process, a process that I love and am passionate about, become so damn hard? Perhaps... perhaps I have lost my writing mojo...

I blame the writer's block on the amount of stress I have involuntarily accumulated due to a sudden increase in work hours and trying to finish my assignments for university in time. I want to write, I strive to be writing. But the act of sitting down and writing has become so extremely foreign to me after spending months and months with a case of bad writer's block. However, ever since my venture back into writing, I have been determined to break through my writer's block and actually spend some time writing.

And finally, I did. I wrote. Can I hear a boo-yeah?!

Last night I was alone in my bedroom, listening to some of my favourite Angus and Julia Stone songs, and suddenly an idea hit me. I have been struggling the most with how to re-write my novel for months -- seriously, first chapters are the worst -- and finally I was struck with an idea that caused me to practically jump off my bed, grab my laptop and spend the rest of the night writing. I managed to write the first chapter without stopping to edit, and began the second. I would, however, like to sadly admit that it was probably the worst piece of writing I have ever done, but hey, I wrote an entire chapter. How? Because I turned off my inner editor, who is both overwhelming and bossy, and decided to simply write without worrying about sentence structure or grammar, and instead focus entirely on getting my ideas down.

I am very excited to share with you some more of my writing process in the future, but in the meantime, if you are battling your own case of writer's block, here are some tips on how to defeat it:

1. Calm down, listen to some music and forget: 

Keyword: forget. Or, just simply, clear your mind. This time round what developed my writer's block was an insane amount of stress. In order to successfully battle my writer's block I had to calm down and relax. Personally, I find the best way to defeat it is listen to calming music, like Angus and Julia Stone or The Jezebels, and letting my mind forget about everyday life and stress.

2. Work on your characters: 

Sometimes, by just working on your characters (creating character profiles, writing short stories, casting your characters with actors/actresses/models, interviewing them, etc.) you can learn so much more about them and perhaps, consequently, discover a completely new avenue to explore in your novel.

3. Read: 

Taking a break from your work and immersing yourself in somebody else's is a wonderful way that I find to fight my writer's block. However, it is important to make sure that when you come back to your own work that you don't allow another author's work slip into your own.