To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to write this post on when I started it. I have a feeling that now, exactly halfway through NaNoWriMo 2016, many of you are feeling the same way. The third week in, writer's block is rearing its ugly head and keeping you from putting those much needed words down on paper, just as I stared at the blinking curser for about thirty minutes before beginning this post.
I've had my fair experience with writer's block, and I know just how frustrating it can be, especially when you have a very specific goal, such as 20 to 50 thousand words in a month. As it is with my own NaNo novel, I'm only at 27% of my goal, while I should be at 50% (I blame the six minute speech I have to give in History class tomorrow...). However, while writer's block might seem like something impossible to push past, there are ways to get writing again.
So here is my third NaNoWriMo tip for you.
Survival Tip #3: Get Writing Again
There are three main ways that I have found work for getting past writer's block--hence the rather vague and obvious overarching tip.
1: Write something unrelated
This often works better outside of NaNoWriMo, when there isn't a time constraint. It is sometimes helpful to step away from your work in progress for a few days/weeks/months, and work on a different project. I often have at least three different projects going on at once; most recently I have been working on revising both a novel and a play, writing my NaNo novel, and planning two other novels in an unrelated series. Whenever I feel stuck on one project, I briefly transition to a different one, so that I always have something that I'm working on. Often, just by putting down words for a different project, my writer's block for my main work goes away.
During this month, you might not necessarily have an entirely different novel to work on, but a quick alternative can be finding random writing prompts for short stories. Take thirty minutes and write as much as you can for the writing prompt you choose, then go back to your work in progress and see if the block is gone.
If you don't want to work on a different project entirely, just skip the scene you're having trouble with and move on. By writing a different chapter of the same novel, you might work out the issue you were having anyway.
2: Talk it out
Explain the problem you're having to a friend, colleague, parent, sibling, even a pet or diary. Bounce ideas off of them, and see if they can help you get writing again. Sometimes, a fresh opinion can get the creative juices flowing, and help you to solve problems. Sometimes just the act of explaining your issue can be enough to rid yourself of your writer's block. I keep a document of notes for each of my projects, and whenever I have an idea or a problem, I do stream-of-consciousness writing to figure out my next steps. Not only has that helped solve many issues, but it has also yielded some new ideas I probably wouldn't have come up with otherwise.
3: Take a walk
If you really can't figure out what to write, put the book aside entirely. Go outside and take a walk. Blast some music and dance. Go to the gym and work out. Swim laps. Shoot hoops. Play hockey. Go for a ride. The simple act of doing something physical will get oxygen flowing to your brain, and your mind will subconsciously work on the issue even if you aren't consciously thinking about it. And this doesn't just work for writing; I've been in the middle of playing Just Dance on the Wii (yes, we still have a Wii) and have figured out the answer to a chemistry question I was stuck on. Doing something completely unrelated to writing, chemistry, math, etc. can often help greatly. So if you're really stuck, take a break and take a walk.
Congratulations to everyone for getting through the first half of NaNoWriMo, and I hope that these tips will help you to power through the second half! Keep writing, and come back next week for Survival Tip #4!
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