What Writers Should Do When Drawing A Blank

what to write aboutAs I write this, I am sitting at a local coffee shop.

There is a girl here who is about three or four years of age and she has completely taken over the shop.

The girl’s hair is tied up in a ponytail and she’s wearing a green and white striped t-shirt that’s a perfect mismatch to her pink shoes. She’s speaking in an unintelligible phrases and delightful squeals, and she’s prancing around the shop as if she owns the place—and as far as she is concerned, she does.

As an innocent bystander, it’s hard for me to be annoyed by her because, for one: she’s absolutely adorable. And, two: she is being her true, unencumbered self.

It is very hard not to be amazed by this girl’s audacious choice to be absolutely genuine in public.

The Magic of Unencumbered Living

It’s not often you see an adult be their true, unencumbered self in public.

No, we adults are way too insecure.

But children do this kind of thing all a time. When they do it, it’s sometimes arresting to all the adults in the room. But most of the time, when a child is simply being his or her natural, silly self, it is very endearing to everyone present.

A child like the girl I see at this coffee shop still doesn’t know that there’s anything wrong with squealing with the delight when she feels like squealing with delight. She doesn’t know that there’s anything wrong with running around a coffee shop, and playing an impromptu game of hide-and-go seek with her little brother, when she feels like doing so. She doesn’t know that there are some people out there who might not like what she has to say, or might not even understand what she says—no, a child like the girl at this coffee shop just says what she wants say simply because she wants to say it.

She doesn’t see anything wrong with just being herself.

And what a magical sight she is to see.

Laughing and playing and being free.

Meanwhile, all the adults in the room are sitting up straight, talking quietly, and trying desperately to look normal—they don’t want to stick out.

The Magic of Unencumbered Writing

When I’m writing, and I find myself drawing a blank, it’s usually because I’m trying to be someone else’s idea of a writer.

But it was not too long ago that I realized that when I tried being someone else’s idea of a writer, I got stuck. I got terribly stuck.

I wondered: “What will they think of me when I accidentally slip into my true nature, and they realize that I’m actually no Shakespeare? That I am, in actuality, no Dumas? That I am, after all, no Tolkien, no Williams, no Moraga, Hansberry, Valdez, or Lee?  Will they laugh at me? Will they scorn me? Will they raise their noses and look down at me?”

In the past, when I drew a blank, I would often ponder all these questions—and then I would get tangled up in them—and then I wouldn’t be able to move forward.

Write Like You: Stop Trying To Write Like Somebody Else

My job as a writer is to write as much like me as I can.

Why is this my job?

Because I’m the only writer that I can write like. I really can’t write like anyone else. If I try, then I have just guaranteed my failure.

So, when I’m drawing a serious blank, I try to remember to return to my unencumbered nature.

Rather than worry that I might not live up to someone else’s idea of a writer, instead, I try to ask myself:

“What if I walk around this passage like I own this place? What if I say anything I want, however I want, without the slightest fear that anything bad will happen to me? What if I stomp through this novel confidentially, and playfully, like I’m engaging in an impromptu game of hide-and-go-seek with the pages? What if I try to make the reader giggle with delight, just for the sake of making them giggle with delight? What if I just write like my natural, unencumbered self?”

When I start asking myself these kinds of “what if” questions, I stop holding myself back and, suddenly, something changes in me.

Suddenly, I’m liberated.

I’m confident again, and the writing flows out of me. My “blank” is filled.

Suddenly, my writing is a magical sight to see.

I’m laughing and playing and being free.

What Writers Need To Do When They’re Drawing A Blank

If you’re drawing a blank in your writing today, I suggest that you try leading yourself back to your natural, unencumbered nature.

I know, it sounds like a vague and abstract concept. But it’s actually not as hard as it looks.

Try this:

Just empty your mind, take a deep breath, and tell yourself that you DO NOT need to write like any other writer other than the one that you currently are. Don’t ask yourself to write like anybody else. Instead, ask yourself to write like you.

Then, proceed to write.

How Do I Know When I’m Writing From My Unencumbered Nature?

How do you know when you’re writing from your unencumbered nature?

Well, you know your writing from your unencumbered nature because the writing flows easily—the writing feels like home, and there’s not much strain in its execution.

You know you’re writing from your true, unencumbered nature when you can put your writing out there, and let it prance around the page like it owns the place; when you can let your writing speak in tongues that not everyone will understand, but that will delight people anyway (because the words will sound so daring and new.)

You know you’re writing in your true, unencumbered nature when you feel like you want to make your readers squeal with the delight, just for the sake of making them squeal with delight; when you finally stop trying to be a serious, boring, “grown-up” writer and allow yourself to play hide-and-go seek with your story.

You know you’re writing from your true, unencumbered nature when, for once, everything feels right.

It feels right because you’re no longer trying to be what everyone else wants you to be—or what you think everyone else wants you to be. It feels right because you’re no longer holding back your wonderful, unique majesty. It feels right because, for once—for once—you’re no longer afraid of what others may think of you.

When you write from your unencumbered nature, you will no longer draw a blank. You’ll be able to get the writing done.

What is more: your writing will be a magical sight to see.

Why?

Because you’ll finally be laughing, playing, and being free.

A guest post by Ollin Morales. He is a fiction writer,  freelance writer, blogger, and ghostwriter. His blog, Courage 2 Create, chronicles his journey as he writes his first fiction novel.  His blog was named one of The Top Ten Blogs for Writers by WriteToDone two years in a row (2011, 2012).

How to Cultivate Creativity: What Science Teaches Us About Freeing the Mind

cultivate creativity

Cultivate creativity

Do you struggle with creativity in your writing?

Have you ever spent hours racking your brain trying to solve a creative problem, with no success?

Do you try to force creative moments through sheer effort?

The science shows this may not be the best approach.

Before we jump into the details, let’s see if you can answer these puzzles:

1. Marsha and Majorie were born on the same day of the same month of the same year to the same mother and the same father, yet they are not twins. How is that possible?

2. A prisoner was attempting to escape from a tower. He found a rope in his cell that was half as long as required to permit him to reach the ground safely. He divided the rope in half, tied the two parts together, and escaped. How could he have done this?

3. A man has married twenty women in a small town. All of the women are still alive and none of them is divorced. The man has broken no laws. Who is the man?

You can scan to the end for the answers. (But read the rest of the post first)!

The best creative moments come through insight, not effort

These word games are called insight puzzles, and they were written by researchers studying creativity. They have a common theme – they answers tend to come by flashes of insight rather than by rational deduction.

Chances are, the answers to these puzzles came to you right away or not at all. I’ll be honest – I couldn’t solve any of them at first! But when I read them to my boyfriend, he got all the answers immediately (cue me being extremely jealous). What gives?

Let yourself be distracted

In his book Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer talks about the specific mental processes behind creativity. He talks about how being able to let your mind wander is a key part to encouraging creative insights.

I am very focused, and have no problem filtering out distractions and attending to one specific task for an extended period of time (a trait that has served me well through years of medical school and residency).

My boyfriend, on the other hand, is incredibly distractable, to the degree that it’s a running joke in our relationship how he quickly he jumps between different interests and projects (last week it was truffle farming, this week it’s do-it-yourself solar panel construction, next week it will be artistic welding). He was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as a teenager and has been a free spirit ever since.

The thing is, solving creative problems often involves considering a lot of options, at least subconsciously, before coming to the answer. So focusing too much can actually be detrimental because you tend to ignore potential solutions by only focusing on what you feel is the most likely solution.

In fact, one study of college undergraduates showed that those diagnosed with ADHD performed significantly higher on measures of creativity, both in terms of their performance on creative tests in the lab and their creative achievements (measured by professional awards and accolades), than students without ADHD. Getting distracted can actually encourage creative insights.

In retrospect, my relentless focus kept the creative part of my brain from making the remote associations it needed to in order to solve the puzzles. Trying to force the insight prevented it.

So if sheer effort inhibits creativity, what can you do to encourage creative insights when you need them? After all, the words don’t write themselves, and as we all know, deadlines come and go regardless of whether we’ve felt inspired to create.

Strive for the right frame of mind rather than the answer

Thankfully for us, there are studies showing that certain conditions can encourage creative insights. In particular, feeling relaxed can help your creative juices flow. This is because states of relaxation are associated with a particular type of brain wave called alpha waves, which come about when a person is sitting calmly, usually with their eyes closed, but not asleep.

In one study, participants were hooked up to EEGs (a machine that measures brain waves), and asked to solve creative puzzles like the ones at the beginning of this post.  Interestingly, whether or not a person had alpha waves predicted whether they were able to subsequently solve the puzzles. Those participants who didn’t have alpha waves weren’t able to solve the puzzles, even when they were given hints!

In another study, people who scored higher on measures of happiness were able to solve more puzzles.  And getting people into a happy mood by showing them comedy clips helped them more effectively tackle the puzzles.

So how does this translate to practical strategies to increase creativity? Remember that relaxation is key. Instead of trying to solve the problem directly (which can inhibit creativity), try to create the calm state of mind that is best suited for creativity. Take a warm shower, get a massage, or go for a walk.

Let yourself stop trying to intentionally try to solve the problem. Go into alpha-wave mode. You may find your mind jumping to make a connection it didn’t make before.

Let go of preconceptions about how the problem can be solved

Let’s talk about a different insight puzzle to illustrate another point – that whenever you are stumped by a creative problem, you are probably making assumptions about the scope of available solutions. See if you can solve this one:

A giant inverted steel pyramid is perfectly balanced on its point. Any movement will cause it to topple over. Underneath the pyramid is a $100 bill. How do you remove the bill without disturbing the pyramid?

You may have been able to get it right away, but if not, I have an idea of where you might be getting stuck. You’re visualizing the problem: imagining the giant pyramid, seeing the dollar beneath it, picturing how you might slip it out without toppling the whole thing over.

But by imagining the problem too specifically you’re actually making a number of assumptions that are not a part of the constraints of the puzzle. In particular, what are you assuming about the word remove? Are you assuming the bill needs to be… intact?

Get it yet? The solution is to set the bill on fire.

By intentionally stepping back and reconsidering the meaning of each word in the problem, new possibilities can appear. For each puzzle at the start of this post, the answer comes out of seeing one or two words in a different light.

So instead of fighting against yourself when you hit the creative doldrums, give yourself permission to relax, get distracted, and let your mind wander, and then try coming back to the problem from a different perspective. You may just find the answer striking you!

What state of mind helps you feel creative? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

[Answers to the puzzles: 1) They're triplets, 2) He divided the rope lengthwise, 3) A priest.]

This is a guest post by Elana Miller, MD. She is a psychiatry resident and founder of Zen Psychiatry, a space to talk about integrative strategies be happy, live well, and fulfill your greatest potential. Follow her on Twitter or join the discussion on Facebook.

Unleash Your Writing With This Trick From the Movies

When you sit down to write, do you sometimes feel you’re wasting your time?

It can seem like an impossible task, to start from scratch and build a name for yourself as a writer.

After all, there are already so many other, more successful writers.

They get all the attention.

Their blogs have like a bazillion followers and yours has eight.

It seems hopeless

It’s especially tough if you’re trying to earn money from your writing.

The whole freelance-writing game seems so competitive.

And crowded with established pros.

It seems pretty unlikely you could start at this late date and end up earning real money.

Why even start? Why try?

I mean, let’s be realistic here.

Or that’s how you might think, sitting at your writing desk, full of despair.

At the movies, it’s different

When we sit down in that darkened theater, something magical happens.

We believe that mutant turtles that are trained ninjas live in the sewers of New York.

And that British children might attend a school where they can learn to be magicians.

A young girl can travel over the rainbow in a flying house to a kingdom of tiny people.

In showbiz, they call this shift in our thinking the suspension of disbelief.

Ordinarily, we would immediately dismiss these notions. Preposterous!

But under the right circumstances, we pause. We quiet the voice in our head that says, “That’s ridiculous.”

We want to go on this journey, and we let the movie transport us there.

For a time, we believe.

Bring the magic home with you

Now, try applying suspension of disbelief to your writing.

You want to write, yes? This is a journey you want to take.

You can take the first step by letting go of all your thoughts and worries about what you think are the realities of the writing world.

Let that world of the concrete slip away.

Because writing is all about fantasy, isn’t it? And creating new worlds?

So just for today, believe that you can write something wonderful — and it will find an audience.

You might write something that will move and inspire other people. Or teach them how to do something useful.

Your writing is special. No one else writes like you.

Believe that there is room in the writing world for your unique voice.

Suspend disbelief

Many of the most difficult tasks are only achievable if we don’t look at the hard facts too closely.

It’s better not to think about everything that could go wrong, or how long and hard the road might be if we’re planning to summit Everest, for instance.

Or write.

Now look at your fingers and realize what you’ve got in there: magic.

Milo went ahead and rescued the princesses in The Phantom Toolbooth because no one told him the task was impossible until the end.

Building a writing career is the same.

You might think that logically, it’s impossible…but just forget about that for a few hours now, while you’re writing.

Because great new writers emerge every day. Every year there are new bestselling breakout authors.

Find your guide

If you find roadblocks along the way, ask for help, just like the hero always does in the movies. Maybe there’s a scarecrow on the path, or a strange, little green bog dweller who turns out to be a Jedi master.

Turn off the part of your mind that wants to point out it can’t be done, just like you do at the movies.

Keep learning, and keep writing. For now, imagine you have a bright future ahead as a writer.

Envision the writing life you want, and then write your way there.

One day, you might find you don’t have to pretend anymore.

This guest post is by Carol Tice. Looking for a guide? Carol Tice has a 4-week bootcamp starting July 10: The Step by Step Guide to Freelance Writing Success For more info, click here.

Do you want to become a successful blogger? Join the A-List Blogger Club, the insanely useful training for all stages of blogging. Click below to find out more.

Does Writing Make you Feel Like a Failure or a Fraud? (How that Can Boost Your Creativity)

How feeling like a failure can make you more creativeIf writing makes you feel like a fraud or a failure, you may have experienced T. S. Eliot’s version of hell, where “nothing connects with nothing.”

Good!

No, I’m not crazy.

And I’m not kidding.

It is good.

Turns out these negative feelings are an essential part of the creative process.

So go ahead and wallow in them—at least for a little while.

Here’s why.

Before the breakthrough there has to be a block, according to Jonah Lehrer, author of Imagine: How Creativity Works.

You may need to give up so you can move on.

Our brains actually need this “stumped” phase to realize that it’s time to try something new.

Then, and only then, can your brain search out new ideas to help you blast past that block.

So learn to recognize when feelings of fear or frustration mean that it’s time to stop.

Then surrender to the unknown.

Give your brain the break it needs to look elsewhere for inspiration.  (Click here for my previous post on using the brain’s reticular activating system to spur creativity)

“Creativity is the residue of time wasted,” according to Albert Einstein.

Einstein was right.

It is precisely this wasted time that often gives rise to insight, which is commonly known as the “eureka” or “aha” moment, according to Lehrer.

Working harder, with focused attention, when searching for new insight is simply the wrong strategy,

Yet how many times do we find ourselves sitting in front of the computer staring intently at the screen, trying to will something—anything–to happen.

You can’t force an aha moment to happen.

So stop trying.

Get up and get away for a while or work on something else.

As you begin to practice this strategy of letting go, you’ll train your brain to know when it’s time to search out new paradigms and new associations.

Soon those new ideas will be flowing freely.

Just don’t forget to come back and get to work.

Here’s the rub:  The epiphany or breakthrough is just the beginning.

Then the hard work begins.

This involves the other half of the creative tool box—focused attention and stick-to-it-iveness.

Focused attention gives you the ability to structure your writing and to be a ruthless editor, removing all the superfluous material and choosing the best words to get your point across.

These skills separate the pros from the amateurs.

The pros possess the ability to deal with the pain, the knowledge to take a break and then have the determination to get back to work, slogging through the tough stuff.

Remember–Frustration, fear and failure will always be just around the corner.

And that’s a good thing…

It just means your skills and abilities are about to grow.

Please share in the comments section how you’ve overcome your fears and frustrations so we can all learn from your experience.

Cheryl Craigie is the new Contributing Editor for Write to Done. She’s a former broadcasting and foundation executive who left the fast track to build a life in the mountains of North Carolina. She’s kept a journal most of her life and has written numerous articles, blog posts, editorials, grants, newsletters, personal essays, scripts, short stories, and speeches.  She describes herself as a mountain-hiking, guitar-playing, bird-watching, cat and dog lover.

Her blog is called, The Manageable Life. The tagline says it all:  ”Choose to live better”.

Now that’s Cheryl’s on board, we’ve got lots of exciting plans in the works. Here are just a few examples:

  • Amping up our content based on suggestions from our new DreamTeam. Click here for more information about the DreamTeam and to sign up if you haven’t already done so.
  • Developing Resource Pages. Soon you’ll find a carefully curated selection of our favorite writing books, journals, etc., available directly from our site. However, if you want to purchase Imagine:  How Creativity Works now, click here. (For Kindle edition, click here). We receive a small commission on sales from Amazon.
  • Creating online courses which will help you overcome your fear, jumpstart your creativity and polish your writing. We’re just in the beginning stage of content development, so please be patient. We don’t want to roll these out until we’re confident that they meet our exacting standards.

Stay tuned for more details.

Do you want to become a successful blogger? Join the A-List Blogger Club, the insanely useful training for all stages of blogging. Click below to find out more.

The Definitive Guide to Successful Online Writing

Do you ever think about giving up on writing?

On some days does being a writer just feel like a big struggle?

This is a normal reaction.

We live in a fast, information-filled world that bombards us with a constant stream of technology. We’re told about countless things we “must” do in order to succeed as a writer.

It’s overwhelming.

You may find yourself wondering…

a) is writing the right choice for me?
b) do I even have the writing skills necessary to “make it?”
c) what do I really need to know about writing to succeed?

Well, guess what?

The Write Guide for a Stumble-free Path to Success will point you in the right direction so you can pick yourself, stop second guessing yourself, and get you moving onto a smoother writing path to success.

Read on to learn how.

Every topic in this post will give you an important piece of the writing puzzle. Put them all together and you will have the complete view of what you need to succeed as a writer.

This guide gives you clear steps, insight, and beneficial ideas, that help you understand your strengths as a writer. Plus, you will learn some of the most important skills for writing in today’s world so you don’t have to waste anymore time going off your path.

And there’s more. This guide gives you personal attention. We are all different, so generic advice just doesn’t cut it. That’s why The Write Guide for a Stumble-free Path to Success is designed to help you discover what’s important to you personally, as well as just how you can keep yourself intact while navigating through the Internet writing jungle.

All the articles we link to in each chapter provides information that is easy to grasp, straightforward, and unmissably useful.

Are you ready to stop stumbling and start moving smoothly?

Okay. Let’s do it!

Introducing:

The Write Guide for a Stumble-free Path to Success

You may use this guide by clicking on any of the chapter links below to jump straight to a topic or you might choose to start at the beginning and read through to the end.

Chapter 1. Your Personal Writing Road
Chapter 2. Your Writing Kickstart
Chapter 3. Online Writing that Works
Chapter 4. Blogging Essentials
Chapter 5. Get it Done
Chapter 6. Keeping the You in Your Writing
Chapter 7. Bonus – Notch Up Your Creativity

Chapter 1. Your Personal Writing Road

To know if you are a successful writer you must have a personal definition of what success is and it’s important to know where your specific strengths lie. The tips and information in this chapter will help you with this.

Chapter 2. Your Writing Kickstart

As a writer, sometimes you need a kickstart or some secret insights to rev yourself up so you can keep moving on your path to success. Use the topics in this chapter to get your writing engine going.

Chapter 3. Online Writing that Works

Here are your simple tips and methods for writing in today’s world so no more unexpected pitfalls. These ideas work, are easy to use, and will help give you the confidence you need to stay on your writing journey.

Chapter 4. Blogging Essentials

Most writers today who are trying to succeed online, at one point or another, are also bloggers, or at least contribute to other blogs. Here are the essentials you need to you can write content that generates traffic, readers, and conversions or sales.

Chapter 5. Get it Done

Writers often have so many creative ideas in their head they either feel blank, don’t know where to begin, or get so scattered they don’t complete projects. Use the following information to get your writing done.

Chapter 6. Keeping the You in Your Writing

Don’t lose yourself in the writing jungle. It’s important to keep your ideas intact because your unique voice is what the world most needs from you as a writer.

Chapter 7. Bonus – Notch Up Your Creativity

Every writer, newbie or seasoned, needs a creative boost now and then. Feel free to use the ideas in this chapter whenever you need them.

Your writing path does not have to be such a struggle. Let this resource ease you past the potential pitfalls so that your writing journey will be long, prosperous, and filled with joy.

What aspect of writing are you struggling with? Let us know in the comments below.

A guest post by Karen Daniels, topselling amazon author and online writing coach who blogs at zencopy.com. Check out her free Authors Writing and Branding Resource.