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Unlocking Your Imagination: The War Against Writer’s Block
- Emily Eakin
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Imagine yourself sitting at your computer late one evening, curled up in a blanket, soft ambient music playing alongside a burning candle and with nothing but uninterrupted time to write.
The conditions are perfect. The words should flow from your hands to your manuscript easily. But there’s one problem: you’re hit with an intense writer’s block that is so debilitating, you end up doom scrolling for hours on the internet instead.
And your manuscript remains unchanged. And it stays like that for weeks, until inspiration finally strikes.
When inspiration finally strikes, you think you’ve figured it out. That AHA! moment convinces you you’ll never suffer from writer’s block again. But waiting for inspiration to hit is a vicious and unforgiving cycle, an enemy that is determined to hold you back from becoming the author of your dreams. And eventually you find yourself wondering, how do I win the war against writer’s block?
The only way you can beat writer’s block is by not sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike. Easier said than done, right?
The First Battle
Our fight against writer’s block begins when the excitement of writing diminishes and the burnout sets in. We’ve convinced ourselves writing is impossible and we neglect our creativity for the sake of hoping ideas eventually come to us. At this point, we may begin to feel discouraged, or even decide that we don’t enjoy writing anymore.
But creativity must be nurtured.
Unlocking your imagination can help you learn to love writing again. It doesn't mean you will never have to deal with writer’s block again but it does mean that when you encounter writer’s block, you will have an easier time defending yourself against it.
Let’s start simple, with three components that you see in almost every story: a character, a setting, and a conflict.
Imagine a character. Any character that is not your own. It could be Harry Potter, Gandalf, The Doctor, etc.
Now imagine a setting. Any setting that is not your own. It could be Tatooine, District 12, Disney World, etc.
And lastly, I want you to think of a magical object. It could be something you create or something from an existing story, such as the sword Excalibur.
If Harry Potter were on Tatooine, how would he interact with the setting? Would he try to use magic to avoid the heat and sand? If Harry Potter had Excalibur while on Tatooine, would he try to bury the sword to protect it from the sand people living there?
Based on the character, setting, and object you chose, ask yourself these questions: How does this character interact with their setting? How does the object create conflict in this character’s setting?
They may seem like silly questions at first—I mean, when would Harry Potter ever be on Tatooine?! But that’s the point. This exercise puts characters in random settings with random objects that we would never have imagined together. Trying to fit these disconnected pieces together will stimulate your imagination.
When you’re sitting at your computer, unable to think of any ideas for your story, start with this exercise instead to help you start thinking of new ideas and ways that characters interact with conflict. It allows your creative juices to start flowing and by the time you’re done thinking about these questions, you may find that your confidence in developing story ideas has returned!
The Second Battle
Do you ever notice you're spending too much time staring at a screen? Sometimes after a long day of using computers and phones, the last thing we want to do is sit in front of another screen to write. Yet another screen makes it very hard to fight writer’s block when this happens, especially if your brain goes right into work-mode!
But do not fear, for there are ways to overcome this battle. You can find inspiration to write without relying on computers.
When your screen's got your blocked, try creating a "world bible" for your story. Start with a binder or notebook and think about the specific details you keep referring back to while writing. This should include character profiles, "weird facts" and legends about your world's creatures, a calendar or story timeline, even pictures or quick drawings. Create a table of contents to help you stay organized. This is a great way to productively work on your story without having to stare at a computer screen... plus it's a quick-reference guide to help you later!
If you have the space, create a stickie wall! Everyone’s stickie wall will look different depending on how you outline your story (that’s the beauty of it!) and all you need is the blank space of a wall, door, or even a stiff posterboard. Start by outlining your chapters/scenes/events on each stickie. Now is the fun part! You get to stick your outline in order on the wall. Creating a stickie wall helps you visualize your story and can help spark your imagination. Seeing the events of your story in front of you might help you find things to change, add, or cut, which can help with revision, too. You can leave your stickie wall up for as long as you need it and can even reference it in the future when you’re back to writing on your computer!
The White Flag
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it is okay to throw up a white flag. Imagine yourself signing a truce with your writer’s block and take a break.
Look to other things that still encourage your creativity to flourish without the pressure of constantly having to produce writing. Spending time on other creative outlets helps avoid writing burnout. It allows us to breathe and reset, creating a space in our brains for creativity that we might not have had before.
When you're ready to dive back into writing, you may find yourself even more motivated and excited about writing than before. It may seem like less of a chore, and more of an opportunity to create something beautiful.
Winning the Battle
The words tumble out of our mouths all too often:
“I can’t do it.”
“I can’t think of any ideas.”
“I can’t write.”
These lies fill our minds every time the block hits and we find ourselves staring at that blinking cursor for hours. Writing is hard, but by facing writer’s block one battle at a time, you can write the story of your dreams.
The simple truth is the word can’t inhibits your potential. If you are passionate about storytelling, then you have the ability to write. You can write the story you’ve been dreaming about. Don’t allow negative words like can’t to control your thoughts. Empower yourself today by taking the first step in winning the war against writer’s block.
Editor's note: This last point is a neurotypical response. It's all well and good to say you shouldn't let "can't" control your thoughts but as a writer with ADHD, I can personally attest that my ND brain doesn't work like that. "Can't" is consistent with being both overstimulated and bored, and stems from a lifetime of being told that I "have potential" and "must not be trying hard enough". These are lies. Writers with ADHD give everything we have, we just spend most of it trying to fit our star-shaped brain into a triangle-shaped hole. Writer's block is a hurdle we face much more often than NT writers because once we work out the ending, we're bored. THAT is where the "can't" comes from. If you focus on the reader instead, about making sure the reader gets all the information you already know, "can't" doesn't stand a chance.
About the author: Hi! My name is Emily and I am a student at the University of North Georgia. I am studying Writing and Publication with a minor in Communications. I've worked for Disney for five years—so as you can imagine I LOVE all things Disney!! I also love doing anything outdoors, reading, and creative writing. My absolute dream is to become a published author one day!!
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