When You Just Get Stuck… Escaping Writer’s Block

It happens to all of us: we have something to write, whether it is a paper or a project, and we put it off and put it off, because when it comes down to it, we have nothing to say. You sit there, staring at the screen, setting all the margins, changing the font, and creating a header, all to put off the inevitable–you still have to write something. I get it–it’s hard to do, sometimes the topic isn’t appealing, sometime you have something else to do, or maybe you just don’t like to write. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting staring at an empty screen, knowing that it is what is keeping you from your comfy bed or your great friends. I offer you some simple tips to breaking this pattern. I have found them to be true in my own endeavors, and while sometimes I just don’t have it in me, most of the time these tips work.

First of all, stop “prepping.” Prepping is what we all do whenever we are putting off starting the paper. You set the margins, the paragraph spacing, the size, the font, the header, the title, etc. This is pointless, because while eventually this will need to be done, without the actual paper this setup is useless and will earn you a failing grade. All prepping does is prolong your anxiety about starting; it allows you to circumvent the real task for as long as possible. By ignoring all of these preliminaries and diving right in, you’ll get done faster.

Secondly, just because it’s called an “introduction” doesn’t mean you have to write it first. Introductions can sometimes be the hardest part of a paper. This is mainly due to the fact that it is meant to outline what the entire paper is going to be about, and in what order. Sometimes you just don’t know yet. Jumping into your different ideas and getting down what you know you want to say is more important than the fluffy beginning. Once you’ve written in the substance, it will be simple to go back and highlight it in your introduction. Waiting for the perfect introduction to happen is a good waste of time when you could be writing your main ideas.

Finally, when you’re truly stuck, give it up to honesty. This isn’t always the most applicable depending on the assignment, but generally, it will work for you. If you’re not sure how to begin an essay or analysis or an article, because you don’t know what your professor is looking for, or what the “smart” thing is to say, just write what you think. By breaking down and sharing the only thing on your mind regarding the subject, you will find topics to grow from, and you will develop ideas that can be refined. If anything, at least you’ve gotten something down–that’s better than nothing, right? Take it from one who knows–it’s Monday night, before a deadline, and I was staring at an empty screen without a single clue what to write. What did I do? I wrote about writer’s block.