Artists of all stripes have a difficult time describing where their motivation to create comes from. Some chalk it up to inspiration (a famously fickle mistress); others, to hard work and rigid schedules. I’m of the personal opinion that the creative drive is in all of us and it just takes some learning and routine maintenance to get it up to speed. I’m a nuts and bolts kind of gal- the brain is a machine and we all need to learn to operate it. In my head, my creative drive is a car. Nothing too fancy, just something that can get me reliably from Point A to Point B. When the car decides not to work, though, fear can set in. Instead of driving down the highway, pages flying past me, I’m suddenly stranded with a flat tire, staring at a blank page. What happened? 

Welcome to writer’s block.

Stalling out on the blank page isn’t just a writer’s problem; it happens to painters, musicians, sculptors, you name it. Creative blocks proliferate every artistic community, no matter how they may visualize their creative drive. Sometimes these blocks are panic-inducing. Mostly, they’re just frustrating. 

The biggest misconception about writer’s block (or any block) is that there’s nothing you can do to fix it. From how people talk about it, once you’ve been cursed with writer’s block, you’re doomed to inactivity until it passes. While that explanation may have worked for authors before the Enlightenment (Divine Inspiration, anyone?), it doesn’t have a lot of footing in our modern-day. We have the tools, the brainpower, and the emotional aptitude to figure out what really causes writer’s block. If you want to beat it, you’ve got to lose the superstitions and understand the reality. The nuts and bolts.

Unfortunately, reality is complex. While my creative drive is a car, yours might be better visualized as a jet ski, and the same solution won’t work for us both. Learning how to diagnose why you have writer’s block is just as important as how you go about fixing it. Self-reflection is a skill, one that every artist should learn to save themselves a lot of time and headaches. Instead of looking up every how you can find and throwing jet ski engines into a Toyota Camry, it’s a lot more productive to slow down, roll up your sleeves, and open the hood to diagnose the problem. Self-reflection can find your why. 

The first step in diagnosing the problem is knowing when and where the problem started. A lot of creative blocks start at the beginning of a project, where the blank page is really, really blank. You may have outlines, notes, some snippets of dialogue, but when the time comes to write the first sentence you sit there in agony. It’s like trying to start your car on a winter morning- the engine’s turning but it won’t catch. By knowing the block appeared as you tried something new, you’ve narrowed down your whys considerably. It could be First Draft Syndrome (something I talk about in my last writing post- if you missed it, check it out here!), or its ugly step-sibling Perfectionism. You could also be overwhelmed or fearful that you aren’t up to the task. The main connection between these things? Self-doubt. Now you know why the block is there, the how is available. Too bad for you, the only cure for self-doubt is to write. 

Yeah, yeah, throw your tomatoes at me. I get it. It’s not a good answer but it is the answer. When you’re dealing with self-doubt you have to push through or you’ll never start. You’ll stare at the document, daydream at work, and write little snippets of something on post-its but never actually write. It’s better to make something that kind of sucks than to never make anything at all. Accept your bad first draft for what it is: practice. A sketch. You can get better later. For now, push through.

But what if the block appears in the middle? You’ve been chugging along on a manuscript for weeks, hundreds of pages complete when suddenly you’re stuck. The words won’t come out, even when you know the next steps. It’s like cruising on the highway at 75mph when suddenly the engine dies. You’re forced to pull over, wondering what the hell went wrong. Stranded, with a smoking car, you kick the tire and ask why?

These issues are harder to diagnose. It could be internal- something within the work so far isn’t working, you’re burnt out from working too hard, you’re sick or not feeling well- but your environment plays a role too. Did you have a bad day at work? A fight with someone you care about? Tweet something with an erroneous spelling error and end up Twitter’s Person of the Day? All sorts of things can cause bumps on the road. It’s up to you to identify them. 

The how for these is easier, though. In most cases, if the problem is an internal or external stressor the solution is to take a break. Step back from the work. Take a nap. Play some video games. Let your brain turn off for a while before you force yourself back to it. A car that’s stuck on the side of the road doesn’t need you to strain yourself pushing it. It needs you to do your best to relax and wait a bit. Help will arrive. When you sit back down at your desk you’ll find the words will come easier and your goals will be clearer.

We’ve tackled the two most common blocks, but there’s one more that eludes even the most experienced artists: The unknown block. You could be perfectly content, mentally and physically healthy, living a life you’ve always dreamed of, and you still get blocked. You check for internal or external stressors and can’t identify an issue. You’re not burdened with self-doubt. So what is it? Why are you blocked?

Great question.

There will be times when the why can’t be found. All the self-reflection in the world can’t force a creative block out of the way if you can’t figure out what’s bugging you. Absent a clear why you’re forced to skip to the how. Figuring out how to fix a car when you can only guess at the issue is hard to do, but it’s not impossible. Tinkering, if mostly ineffective, eventually pays off.

Novelty feeds imagination. To make interesting things, one must have interesting experiences. If your brain is stuck with no why in sight, make the process of writing new again. If you normally write on the computer, force yourself to write with a pen and paper, or a typewriter. Instead of writing short stories, give poetry a shot. Make mixtapes for your characters or subject. Write terrible, sexy fanfiction. Take a drawing class so you can visualize your settings more clearly. So long as you are working on your project, no matter how tangentially, you’re helping your brain get around the block. It may take a few tries (or more) to figure out what works for you, but that’s expected when you don’t have a why to work off of. 

No matter what your why or how end up being, the important thing to remember is that there is a way out. Even if you somehow have to build yourself a new car, you’ll get back on the road again eventually. Writer’s block, and any creative blocks, happen to everyone and most people find their way out. What’s important is that you don’t give up. Seriously, let me say that again: DON’T. GIVE. UP. The world is a rough place and creativity is a light, for audiences and creators alike. Keep that creative engine running, even if it means a break or a new way of working. The words will follow.