ramraghav.com

Here I am, afflicted with the most common disease writers of all persuasions face – the dreaded writer’s block. I’ve been staring at my computer since the morning, trying to come up with something to post on this website, except that nothing seems to occur to me today. At least, nothing that occurs to me usually. And then, like a bolt of lightning, it strikes me: that I could write a piece about writing. A piece about unblocking my writer’s block. Something that would get me out of this hole, something that could potentially help other writers get out of this hole. Great. So here I go.

Read
To able to write, you need to read. It’s one of the most fundamental principles of writing. The more you read, the more you learn – about both language and the world in general – and the better you will be able to express yourself. So when you find yourself stymied, unable to express your thoughts, the first logical step to take is to read. Read something, anything. Anything that interests you, anything that’s going on in the world at the moment. Read stuff related to your work or your passions, to what you write about or what you don’t write about. Since you’re at a momentary loss for words, reading may very well help you find those words expressed by someone else.

Take a break, do something else
You’re not getting any writing done, so you might as well use that time getting something else done. Like maybe calling the credit card company to ask about that finance charge on your last statement. Or maybe taking the dog for the walk that you’re going to have to anyway. A writer’s block is basically the state where your thoughts are, subconsciously, not directed towards your writing. Taking a break directs your thoughts elsewhere, so that when you get back to the writing board, you can refocus with greater clarity.

Clear up your mind
There is burn-out in every task. From programming to acting to writing, every task exhausts mental resources. When those resources are extinguished, you can no longer do those tasks with ease that you earlier used to do. The obvious solution here is to replenish those reserves. To do this, you essentially need to clear up your mind of all the competing thoughts that have accumulated over a period of time – thoughts that arise as part of the normal passage of daily life. Think of your mind as your study desk. When you start using it, the desk is absolutely clean. But with every passing day, the desk tends to accumulate clutter – letters, notes etc. Eventually it reaches a point where there is space for no more. The only thing to do now is to clean up the desk, to remove the clutter. Similarly, try to remove the clutter from your mind. An excellent way to do this is through meditation, but simply closing your eyes and letting your muscles relax for a few seconds can also do wonders.

Understand why you want to write
Almost everyone that writes writes because of a reason. That reason could be professional or personal, compulsion or choice. But there is always a reason. Try to understand what that reason is, analyse it. Understanding why you want to write what you want write sets you a goal to achieve, it gives you a sense of purpose. And when there is a sense a purpose, the capacity to achieve that will be discovered from within. For instance, this article came about when I started thinking why I wanted to write, why I wanted to post something today. I then realized that the reason I wanted to write was because I wanted to share my experiences and observations with others in the hope that they may find it useful and to shape a society that values righteousness and principles. And this article right here is an experience I absolutely want to share.

Write something below your potential (and you’ll improve it automatically)
You know you can do better. This is a very simple concept: the human mind knows exactly what it is and what it is not capable of. Have you ever felt you could do something and then ended up doing it, even though your friends said you possibly couldn’t? The world may say otherwise, but your inner mind knows exactly what your capabilities are. And when it is tickled, it will go about doing its thing in its own natural way. Apply the same rule here. You’re having a mental block so you can’t bring up the right words that you feel are worth your time. So instead, come up words that are not worth your time. Write something that you would never consider making public. And when the draft is finished, you’ll realize that you have subconsciously started altering, editing the document to meet your own quality standards. It’s only natural.

Write something you don’t usually write about
I’d have never thought that I’d write an article about writing. It’s simply not the thing that interests me usually. And yet I am writing this, and I am happy that I am writing this. This piece has given me something to share with the world, and has helped me come out my writer’s block. A win-win. Writing about the same stuff gets boring, even if not in the conventional sense. Your inner mind runs out of ideas, and simply refuses to replenish those reserves. So consider writing something else, something different, something new. Something whose reserves have not been tapped in the mind. If you write politics, consider writing poetry. If you write spirituality, write business for a change. You’d be surprised how good you are at writing on topics you didn’t earlier consider your strengths.

Focus
If nothing else works, simply focus. It’s just one word, but it carries a lot of meaning. Focus your thoughts on your writing. On why you are writing, what you are writing and how you are writing. Take a moment and think out your writing before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard these days). Close out the world around you and direct all your energies and thoughts towards this purpose, and you will realize that after an initial struggle, you will get your usual dexterity back. Your words will start flowing freely once more.