Top 10 No Bullshit Ways to End Writers Block

One of the most debilitating of all conditions a writer or artist can suffer is “Writer’s Block” or sometimes just a “Block.”  Creatives can go months or even years without doing anything productive with their work, which in my experience, sucks harder than a desperate prostitute.  Working on transforming what I see in my mind to the page or canvas or whatever, is the thing that brings me most joy, so when I don’t do it, I suffer.  No joke (when I can’t get a group together for Dungeons and Dragons for long periods, I get my mega-bitch pants on).

SO!  Here is Synesthesia’s certified top ten No Bullshit proven methods to get your creative juices on (insert panty joke here)

10: SETTING: I am a firm proponent of a vibrational universe. My interests are keen when it comes to the nature of the universe and I enjoy entertaining thoughts about string theory, magick and collective consciousness.  It has been my experience that creating “sacred space” drastically improves where you aim your thoughts.  At the very minimum, change the space to accommodate the mood you are trying to get into.  Light candles or some shit.  Play the right music (see MUSIC). I get even more specific.  Set the mood as you would for a date with your subject.  In my case, it’s usually with my characters. If I were writing about Y’lenn for example, I would be listening to Slipknot (or Drowning Pool… or Nine Inch Nails) and burn black, blue or red candles (chapter pending).  But if I were writing about Amalia for example, I’d be switching it up to Avril Lavign (or Kelly Osborne… or VNV Nation) and burning sandalwood incense.  Change your desktop background to a slideshow of images that remind you of what you’re working on.  Remove yourself from the mundane world as much as possible.

9: SLEEP. I don’t know about you, but when I’m beat, the last thing I want to do is be creative (unless I’m playing table top games.  I’ve been quoted saying “I would play on my deathbed!”).  Being well rested is critical to clear thinking.  I remember writing a whole dialogue groggy from a hard day, looking at it the next morning and saying, “What the fuck…?” and trashing it.

8: BRAIN FOOD: When I go shopping, I always include a small budget for “Brain Food.”  For me, this is largely junk food (Diet Pepsi and Hostess Cakes are my inner fat girl’s favorite).  This kind of food is my go-to reach over and sustain my basic needs while I’m imprinting my soul on my work kind of stuff.  As you can imagine, this is all-consuming, and I need optimal carbs and caffeine readily available.  Stuff that’s real bad for me is the most pleasing, but if you’re trying to cut calories and chemicals, try healthy alternatives like trail mix or seltzer water.  But I gotta be honest, in order for this to stay No Bullshit certified, I must admit the worse the snack is for you, the better you’ll feel in the mood to create.

7: RECREATIONAL DRUGS: If you came here hoping for a politically correct guide it would render it 80% ineffective.  I’m real with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m an exemplary member of society (if you’re a creative, would you really want to be?).  I’m also not encouraging you to do something illegal and get caught, but the Goddess honest truth is some of my best ideas came to me while under the influence of marijuana or psilocybin.  As an addict in recovery, I acknowledge the dangers of using this route to pick the recesses of my brain, but one thing I have learned in all my dances with substance is the reasons why I abused them, and the reasons I have used them to better my health and mind.  Some traditionalists will toot the horn, “There is no such thing as moderation,” and for most who cannot emotionally mature enough, this is true.  The mentality is that the risk is not worth it.  Creatively, I can assure everyone that the risk HAS been worth it for me.  It’s still risky, but in order to better my mind I am willing to take that risk when I have experienced a plethora of positive results.  So am I pro-drug? Yes and no.  But this list is about what gets me out of a writer’s block, and it’s the No Bullshit certified truth when I tell you that a bowl jumped me right out of that funk at the right times.

6: SIDE PROJECTS: “Fuck this, fuck you, fuck him, fuck her, FUCK EVERYTHING.” This attitude is very easy to slip into when one is stuck.  Even moving onto other chapters, even rearranging dialog, even editing… it’s hopeless.  I can’t move forward with this material anymore and I’m just so sick of it!! Relax.  Breath.  Here, watch this: “Fuck That.”  Time to funnel creative energies into something else for a while.  It’s like changing the scenery for a bit, which any creative will tell you can be really helpful.  Put what your working on DOWN and work on something else, even if it’s just a fanfic (see FANFICTIONS).  A fresh set of souls to manipulate to my will (uh… I mean my characters I’m writing about) in a new setting is refreshing, trust me.

5: MUSIC: What better way to alter your consciousness than with music! Science proves this (SCIENCE!!).  I get very specific with the kind of music I’m listening to when I’m trying to be creative.  I have this silly tic that if I’m listening to just an artist or a song off of a particular album (without a playlist order), I must listen to the entire album IN ORDER.  It’s a silly tic, and for that reason if I am writing, I make playlists catered to the project, sometimes down to the individual characters.  Y’lenn’s is over three hours long, but that’s three hours in his mindset, feeling the motive behind him rather than guessing at it based on his previous actions in other chapters.  The place in my heart where I feel the music is the same place where all my stories and creations come from.  What I play is how I write.

4: STRESS: How can I possibly write when everything is going so wrong?! My ex is dragging me through a custody battle! I might be evicted next month if I can’t pay rent!  I’m going through a crushing break up right now!  My loved one is dying/dead!  Hold up. See this image?

The key concept of this meme is to channel your stress into your project.  Feel hatred for someone or something? Describe it through the eyes of a character that hates.  Frustrated? A rounded character has a gamut of negative and positive emotions as well as the signature one or two that defines them.  Make someone pissed and weave it right in.  Take stock in every stressful (and amazing! don’t forget the good!) experience in your life and describe it in excruciating detail through the lens of your project.  This is not only good for your writing, but epic for mental health.  A classic example of this is how J.K. Rowling took her crippling depression and turned them into the soul-sucking, happiness-eating Dementors.  Turn the shitty moments into something moving that a reader or viewer can truly relate to.  It obviously works.

3: FANFICTION: What?! Another controversial subject?! Syn, you bad blogger!  Some authors condone it (like J.K. Rowling) and others condemn it (like Anne Rice).  I personally love it to pieces.  It’s creative masturbation, because you will never make money off of it, but it does feel good, and it hones your skills while harmlessly dangling other people’s characters out on your whims.  Best of all, there is tons of feedback from the fan community (a bit of hate if you’re skills aren’t snuff or delving into erotica, which is actually more common than you’d think). You don’t even have to share any of these crazy ideas you put someone else’s universe though! (though it does help to get feedback, even if the fandom sucks).  It is an amazing exercise to get into the head of a character that someone else already laid the groundwork for in personality.  Staying canon is a challenge sometimes!  Let it be known here that any of my published works are welcome to get the fanfic treatment, even if I think you’re insane for ever thinking that Y’lenn and Jace would hook up in a million years.

2: IDLING: Despite our best efforts, nothing comes.  We are utterly dry of ideas.  Hopelessly stuck.  Here is when you can use the time you waste effectively.  While you’re scrolling through Facebook instead of brainstorming, visit some art or creative pages.  Read articles about the things you are creating.  I highly recommend Deviantart (where a huge stock of my featured images come from).  Watch TV and movies that inspire you (some of my favorites are Penny Dreadful, Howl’s Moving Castle and Firefly/Serenity [ironically a deceased pair of series…].  FINE I’LL SAY IT *looks over shoulder and grumbles softly*: Game of Thrones). Play video games, but not the kind that have you mindlessly farm like World of Warcraft or Farmville.  Play things with story; things that have substance (my favorites are Undertale, Dragon Age and of course the love of my life, Final Fantasy VII).  Read the classics that inspired you to write in the first place (Lord of the Rings, A Wrinkle in Time and Harry Potter).  Visit a museum or the local Historical Society.  My personal favorite way to come up with new material: table top roleplay (won’t rant about that… yet…)

1: TIME.  I hear this from EVERYBODY who takes writing seriously.  Set time aside EVERY DAY to write (or art!).  Plaster an alert on your phone.  Work with your schedule.  Some people are fresher at 7am (unholy beasts from what I can tell.  At least drown yourself in coffee at that hour…), some at 9pm (NIGHT OWLS UNITE!), some can only get work done on their lunch hour (poor, sad things).  Some even place a timer for a mandatory minimum time to creatively ejaculate.  As is with sex (in women anyway), I don’t “get off” every time I sit down and type, write or art, but it still feels good.  And even if it’s a struggle, do everything you can to pop that creative mojo Viagra (please gods when I get enough subs to advertise let Viagra flash on my page. Amen).  See SETTING.

I hope this helped! Next week I will be doing a Nostalgia Review on an older work of fantasy, which includes (but is not limited to) books, movies/TV, games or other inspirational work.  If you have a request for a Review (doesn’t necessarily have to be nostalgia [+5 years old]), hit that Contact button!  I’ll toss it in my schedule!

KEEP CREATING!

featured image by parororo on Deviantart