Ever find yourself unable to type in a single sentence despite the deadline looming over you? If so, you’ve made acquaintance with writer’s block – the incapacity to make any progress in your writing. But luckily, it’s not a death sentence: there are some simple ways to overcome writer’s block, and EssayService experts are here to share them!
So, if you’ve ever come dangerously close to missing a deadline because of writer’s block, this is a read for you. Let’s break down the eight tips for overcoming it, as suggested by professional writers.
1. Brainstorm Ideas
Let’s imagine you’re tasked with writing an argumentative essay, and you have full reigns regarding the topic. That’s where the trouble may start: you may be struggling with settling on what to write about.
In this case, it’s time for you to start brainstorming ideas. Here are several suggestions to help you kick off this creative process:
- Jot down whatever pops up in your mind. All ideas are valid when you’re brainstorming!
- Create a mind map. Put the key concept in the center and write down associations around it. Then, add more associations for each of those words or phrases.
- Do some research. Ideas rarely appear in a vacuum, so draw inspiration from what’s already out there! You can look for argumentative essay topics online and use them to come up with your own, for example.
2. Opt for a Non-Linear Path
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If you struggle with the opening of your masterpiece, you don’t have to start with it. In fact, there’s no hard-set rule regarding the order in which you have to write your text. You can start anywhere in the middle if you wish to – and that’s completely fine!
So, if you struggle with a particular part of your work, go ahead and skip it for the time being. Once you finish the rest of the piece, the words will probably come naturally to you for that previously challenging section.
3. Stop Waiting for Inspiration
Often, students wait for the ephemeral inspiration to strike them when they need to craft a particularly challenging essay. But that’s a trap: you may be left waiting for it forever – and never experience it.
Self-discipline is times more efficient than inspiration at writing, academic or not – and getting better at it, too. So, schedule your writing session and make a commitment to work on your assignment for at least five minutes. Chances are, you’ll get so involved in the process that you won’t notice the five minutes pass!
4. Let Yourself Be Bad at It
Don’t pressure yourself into writing exclusively A-worthy material. Even the best of the best don’t create outstanding texts on the first try.
Sometimes, the best way to beat writer’s block is to just force yourself to start writing – even if you don’t feel like it or if you don’t think you’re up for the challenge. Create the first draft, let it sit, and return to it after a day or two. Polishing it off will allow you to make your draft perfect.
5. Make the Topic More Interesting
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Let’s face it: you don’t always have total control over the topic of your assignment. And sometimes, the topic simply doesn’t spark any interest in you. It’s boring you to death. So, of course, you don’t feel like writing a single word about it!
In this case, tinker with the topic itself. Tinker with ideas on how you can make it more compelling for you. For example, you can tweak it by heading in the compare-and-contrast essay direction and juxtaposing it with another topic that you actually care about.
6. Take a Break
If you’ve done nothing but write for the past several hours or days, you may be feeling like your creativity has been drained. In such a case, taking a break will allow you to recharge your batteries, and words will come more easily to you after that.
You can go for a walk, do some exercises, or take care of some mundane chores – or just work on other types of assignments. If you’re usually not an avid writer, it’s also a good idea to use the Pomodoro technique when you’re working on your assignment. This technique means working in cycles of 25 minutes of work and five minutes of leisure.
7. Eliminate Distractions
In some cases, what you perceive as writer’s block is just procrastination in disguise. You may be getting distracted by checking notifications on your phone, chatting with your roommates or flatmates, or browsing TikTok.
If that hits close to home, take extra care of avoiding distractions once you set out to work on your assignment. Put your phone somewhere you won’t see it, turn on the Do Not Disturb mode, and ask not to get disturbed. Consider investing in noise-canceling headphones and installing a time tracker, too.
8. Break the Assignment Down
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If you struggle with an assignment because it seems immense to you, breaking it down into more manageable parts is a sure way to resolve your anxiety. There are three main ways you can do it:
- Based on the expected word count. For example, you can promise yourself to write 500 words per day for a 1,500-word essay.
- Based on the time required. If you think writing this assignment will take you six hours in total, you can choose to dedicate one hour a day to it. However, you need to be able to assess the required time accurately for this approach to be efficient.
- Based on the outline. Once you have the outline, you can set out to craft the first two sections on Monday, the second two – on Tuesday, and the last two – on Wednesday.
In Conclusion
Writer’s block is inevitable if you write a lot in your life. It’s a natural part of the cycle. Fortunately, it’s not unbeatable: you can easily counter it by taking a break, forcing yourself to work on the task at hand or eliminating distractions from your workflow.
It’s up to you now to figure out which tips listed above work for you. That’s because writer’s block comes in a variety of shapes and forms, and so do its root causes. Combine that with the fact that people are different, and you can’t provide a one-size-fits-all solution – you can only suggest some fixes!
