#commonissue

Something a lot of writer's struggle with is writer's block. Now everyone goes through it at some point and I know from experience that it is beyond frustrating! So here are a couple of tips to help you get out of your writing rut:

1. Step away from it. 

 One of the best things to do is give yourself a break. As writers we put pressure on ourselves to finish the next chapter for ourselves or our readers and sometimes that is just not going to happen, so just step back and take a breather. 

2. Jump forward. 

Sometimes I find the best way to get my flow back is by jumping forward in the story, then you can go back and fill in the holes with a possible new look on where the story takes you. 

3. Go back to another project. 

If you're anything like me you'll have something like 6 stories on the go! Its ok to drop one story for the meantime and add to one of your other projects, you can always come back to it later. 

5. Read a book. 

Occasionally I will step away from a novel I just can't write and just read something. I find that it opens up my imagination and gets me back into the flow. 6. Let it run its course. Recently I found that my writer's block was so bad I couldn't write for 5 months! I tried and tried and really pushed myself for my natural way with words but my mind was as empty as the blank page in front of me. So I left my computer and after a couple of weeks I tried again and a pattern emerged and just as I thought I'd never get my juices back my mind simply snapped back, all I had to do was give myself some time.